Veruela Abbey, Cistercian monastery in Vera de Moncayo, Spain
Veruela Abbey is a Cistercian monastery in Vera de Moncayo at the foot of the Moncayo mountains in Spain. The complex includes an abbey church, a medieval cloister, and several outbuildings added over the centuries.
Pedro de Atares founded the monastery in 1145 with help from French monks of Escaladieu Abbey. The complex grew over the centuries and was confiscated and dissolved in the 19th century under secularization laws.
The name Veruela comes from the Latin word for a small settlement and recalls the monastic community that once lived here. Visitors walking through the rooms today notice the plain forms favored by the Cistercians, who valued simplicity and labor above decoration.
Guided tours through the church, cloister, and exhibition rooms are available and help visitors understand the spaces. The complex sits a few kilometers outside the village center and is reached by a country road.
Brothers Gustavo and Valeriano Bécquer spent time in the deserted rooms during the 19th century and found inspiration for poems and drawings here. Their stays helped make the former monastery known in Spanish Romantic literature and art.
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