Monastery of Veruela

Skilled in managing water resources and with Huecha river so close, the monks deployed a vast web of little swamps, mills and irrigation canals.

From year 1145 on the monastery building was started. Once you arrive, a one-kilometer long wall will welcome you, leaving inside the enclosure everything monks would need: water, the mill and the orchard garden

After crossing the wall, a cool promenade below trees leads you to the church gate, simple but cathedral-like…this is why it took 250 years to be built. From then on to the Levantinian Gothic cloister, whose capitals are decorated Cistercian-like, with plants. In the middle, the washing room, a space where monks used to wash themselves before every meal. The rest of sets and rooms lead to this stone garden.

In the austere meeting hall big decisions were made. In a deadly silence currently, some graves can be found. Pay attention to the beauty portico with arcs and thin columns supporting the ribbed vault.

Stop in the refectory, the hall where the monks took the meals silently while they were listening to the reader. In monks’ room, they copied and illustrated books. En the calefactory or heated room, the eldest ones could get warm. Step by step, following each room, you are going to get an idea about the Cistercian way of life.

Cistercian monks dwelled Veruela until 1835. The monastery remained abandoned due to Mendizábal’s confiscation. It became a romantic place, summer destination and a perfect spot for healing illnesses near the Moncayo’s winds. At the end of 1863, Bécquer arrived here with his brother… no better place to inspire ‘Letters from my cell’.

A promenade around this territory and its strengthening gastronomy will get you back on your feet, both mind and body. Much more than a dream.