The Monastery of Santa María de San Salvador de Cañas is an abbey of nuns of the congregation of monasteries of Cistercian nuns of San Bernardo located in the municipality of Cañas, in La Rioja (Spain). Also known as the Monasterio de la Luz, it was one of the first female Cistercian communities on the peninsula. It is inhabited by nuns belonging to the Cistercian Order of San Bernardo or Castile. The complex was declared a National Monument in 1943.
The monastery has a valuable collection of relics. Among them, the horseshoes of the horse of Santiago, which Diego López II de Haro picked up at the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa and would give to his daughter, Blessed Doña Urraca, a piece of the cross of Christ or Lignum Crucis, the relics of the Cardeña martyrs from 1609 and those of Santa Engracia de Zaragoza from 1694.
Seven manuscripts from Cañas have been identified, thanks to their fragments or mentions, highlighting a Castilian Cistercian missal from the years 1267-1279. One has remained intact in the monastery library, a Burgundian antiphonary made around 1200.
Working hours
Wednesday
Closed
Thursday
Closed
Friday
10AM–1:30PM
4–7PM
Saturday
Closed
Sunday
Closed
Monday
Closed
Tuesday
Closed
How to get to?
Address: Abadía de Santa María del Salvador, Pl. Carretera, 12, 26325 Cañas, La Rioja, Spain
From Logroño 33 min (39.9 km) via A-12
From Madrid 3 hr 44 min (331 km) via A-1
