Monasterio de San Millán de la Cogolla (Suso)
Key facts
- Type
- Monastery
- Religious order
- Benedictine
- Era
- 6th Century
- Architectural style
- Mozarabic-Romanesque
- Founded
- 537
- Current status
- Museum
- Location
- San Millán de la Cogolla, La Rioja
- Region
- La Rioja
The upper monastery where the first words written in Spanish (Glosas Emilianenses) were recorded in the 10th century. A UNESCO World Heritage Site and birthplace of the Spanish language.
History
Founded in the 6th century around the cave hermitage of San Millán (St. Emilian), this monastery became one of the most important scriptoria in medieval Iberia. Around 964, a monk wrote marginal notes in the Glosas Emilianenses — the first known words in both Castilian Spanish and Basque.
Highlights
- Birthplace of written Spanish language
- UNESCO World Heritage Site
- 6th-century Mozarabic architecture
- Cave hermitage of San Millán
More Monasteries in La Rioja
- Monasterio de San Millán de la Cogolla (Yuso) — Benedictine, 11th Century. The grand lower monastery, known as 'El Escorial de La Rioja', housing a magnificent library and ivory coffers. Together with Suso, it forms a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- Monasterio de Valvanera — Benedictine, 11th Century. A remote Benedictine monastery in the Sierra de la Demanda, housing the patron virgin of La Rioja. Set among ancient beech forests, it has been a pilgrimage site for over a thousand years.
- Monasterio de Santa María la Real de Nájera — Benedictine, 11th Century. The royal pantheon of the Kingdom of Navarra-Nájera with a stunning Plateresque cloister. Built into a cliff cave where a king found a statue of the Virgin.
Explore nearby: La Rioja guide