The main door is framed by a panel in a baroque-style of coloured stone. A large figure of El Cid on horseback in the centre is flanked by the coat of arms of Cardeña and another of Castilla Leon supported by rampant lions.

 This name is given to the first patio in the monastery. A sober, elegant and monumental patio, it measures 27 metres by 29 metres and is adorned in the centre by a fountain, the work of A. Alonso. This place used to be the site of the “El Cid” palace.

 This is the open reliquary of Cardeña. Beautifully designed and wonderfully silent, it creates a welcoming atmosphere with a well in the centre. The oldest wing of the cloister is in a Romanesque-style dating from the XII century and has red sandstone capitals all of which are decorated with vegetation. In the arcades, red and white stones alternate to create a similar effect to the Mosque in Cordoba. This is the cloister where, according to tradition, 200 monks from Cardeña were martyred around the year 834. Near to one of these angles there is a fountain where fresh water emanates, as if it were energy from the Martyrs.

 This is the most important architectural element in Cardeña. Being strong, formidable and resistant, it has been a witness to long-forgotten times. Dating from the 10^th or the first part of the 11^th centuries, it consists of a square structure attached to the abbey church. It is made up of four parts, the first three preserving the original Romanesque structure with narrow windows in its lower part, half point in the second and two columns in the third. The last part, also with two column windows and used as a belfry, was added in the 15^th century. It has a coat of arms on one of its angles and topped with four elegant, decorated gothic pinnacles from whose bases protrude four carved gargoyles serving as gutters.

 Elegant, with white Light, free of decoration... in a Cistercian style.  It was built in the 15^th century (1447-1457) using limestone mined from the quarries in Hontoria (Burgos) and fashioned to build the columns and cross beams. Four strong pillars each of which measure two metres in diameter provide the support for the nave arches from whose centre hang polychromatic coats of arms. These include that of Pope Eugenio IV –who was governing the Catholic World when the construction of Cardeña began-, and the ones belonging to El Cid, Castilla y León, and Cardeña.  The church contains seven chapels: the Main chapel at the head of the temple full of light thanks to five large Gothic windows. This is no altar panel in the apse but below the three windows there are three images: the Virgin of the Assumption, the patron Saint of the Cistercian Order (centre), St. Bernard (right) and St. Benedict (left).

 This part is built in a Cistercian Gothic style like the church, and serves as an entrance to the former archive and the Chapter Room (Museum). Before entering, the visitor passes through a smaller one which contains a beautiful washroom for liturgical ablutions in the form of a pilgrim’s shell and dating from 1547. Another feature of this entrance to the archive is the winding staircase from the 16^th century. An amazing example of stonemasonry, it is without a central pillar and is perfectly worked as the steps fit into each other.

 This is situated on the left side of the main aisle and dates from the first third of the 18^th century (1735). In a Baroque style, it contains the sarcophagi of El Cid and his wife Doña Jimena who are immortalised by respective recumbent stone-carved figures. Along the side walls, 26 coats-of-arms can be found which belonged to illustrious companions of El Cid – men-at-arms, counts of Castille and members of his family. The remains of some of them have been laid to rest in the peace and quiet that is Cardeña.

 Baroque altar panel in the chapel-pantheon of El Cid. This was fashioned by the monk Friar Pedro Martinez in 1738.

Altar Panel Tabernacle. This is located in the central panel of the church apse below the image of the Crucifixion which adorns the main altar. Its long and irregular shape evokes a closed chest in whose centre the tabernacle stands out. Its author is a current member of the community.

Images of the Assumption and of St. Bernard in the apse of the church.

Monks’ choir. This adorns the main part of the church and consists of 46 seats in florid Gothic style with baroque crests. It is the work of St. Juan de Ortega.

Stone work of Chapter Room (Museum). This is made from carved walnut and dates from the 17^th century. It came to Cardeña from the Monastery in Obarenes.

Paintings by Ribera, 'Juan de Juanes'.

Embroidered Cassock with gold and silver thread on Valencian silk, a style common in the 16^th and 17^th centuries.

And a long etcetera which we will show you on our tour.

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