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San Millán Yuso and Suso Monasteries Travel Guide

Travel to San Millán Yuso and Suso Monasteries - Twin Monasteries Amidst Spectacular Scenery

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Being an exceptional testimony to the introduction and continuous survival of Christian monasticism, from the 6th century to the present day, the San Milan Yuso and Suso monasteries are declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997.

The monastic community founded by St Millán in the mid-6th century became a place of pilgrimage. A fine Romanesque church built in honour of the holy man still stands at the site of Suso. It was here that the first literature was produced in Castilian, from which one of the most widely spoken languages in the world today is derived. In the early 16th century the community was housed in the fine new monastery of Yuso, below the older complex; it is still a thriving community today.

Suso is the older of the two monasteries and is the site where phrases in the Spanish and Basque languages were written for the first time; the codex in question was subsequently preserved in the monastery library at Yuso before being moved to its current location in Madrid.

Attractions in San Millán Yuso and Suso Monasteries

See the two monasteries where San Millán shows the transformation from an eremetic to a cenobitic community in material terms. Today San Millán attracts pilgrims on the Way of St James (although it lies somewhat off the line of the official route between Nájera and Burgos). Also part of Yuso monastery has been converted into a hotel.