Aula· Spain, city by cityLa Rioja
Nájera
«Nájera guarda el gran monasterio de Santa María la Real.»Nájera keeps the great monastery of Santa María la Real.
Nájera stands on the banks of the Najerilla, beneath a red sandstone cliff carved with caves, on the Camino de Santiago. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Navarre in the 11th century, and the monastery that its kings founded preserves a pantheon with about thirty royal tombs carved in stone.
Did you know
A king, a partridge, a cave.
Legend has it that the royal monastery was founded after a king, while chasing a partridge, discovered a cave with a miraculous image of the Virgin.
How they talk in Nájera
«Najerino» is the local demonym and «Najerilla» the river that defines the valley. «Peregrino» and «albergue» are everyday words due to the position on the Camino.
golmajería
Confectionery, sweets, or a collection of treats. Used to talk about sweets and pastry preparations from the Riojan tradition.
Everyday life in Nájera
The monastery carved into the rock
Santa María la Real rests against a red wall, and inside is the pantheon of the kings of Navarre: you enter from the centre of the village, and the cloister is an everyday passage.
«El monasterio está pegado a la roca.» — The monastery is attached to the rock.
The «Najerilla» divides the village
The river separates the old part under the rock from the new one, and you cross with pedestrian bridges: people use them dozens of times a day.
The «albergue» full from April to October
The Camino passes through the centre and the hostel is full from April to October: the bars serve breakfast from six, and the line of backpacks is part of the landscape.
«¿Queda alguna cama libre?» — Is there any bed left free?
What to eat in Nájera
Caparrones
Small red beans cooked slowly with chorizo, morcilla and bacon.
Menestra riojana
Vegetables from the garden stewed one by one and then put together.
Patatas a la riojana
Potatoes broken by hand with chorizo and dried pepper.
Festivals in Nájera
San Juan y San Pedro
from 23 to 30 June
They dance «Las Vueltas» turning around the bandstand, all together, as has been done for generations.
What to see in Nájera
Monasterio de Santa María la Real
The pantheon of the kings of Navarre, built around a cave.
Peña de Nájera
The red cliff above the village, hollowed out with caves and with the viewpoint at the top.
Puente de Nájera
The bridge over the Najerilla where the Camino de Santiago passes.
Where Nájera comes from
A falcon, a cave and a kingdom
923
The reconquest
Ordoño II and Sancho Garcés take it from the Muslims.
11th century
The capital
It becomes the capital of the kingdom of Navarre: here money is minted and the court is held.
1052
The monastery
García Sánchez III founds Santa María la Real above the cave where the story places the finding of the statue.
12th century → today
The Camino
A stop on the French Camino: pilgrims have been passing through for a thousand years.
Want to learn Spanish by travelling across Spain?
In Aula every lesson is a city lighting up on the map — Nájera is one of them. Two hundred lessons from A1 to C2, free, starting from your level.
Start from Nájera →