Nuestra Señora de la Soterraña
| Monasterio de Nuestra Señora de la Soterraña | |
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| Basic information | |
| Location | Santa María la Real de Nieva, Spain |
| Geographic coordinates | 41°04′13″N 4°24′23″W / 41.070139°N 4.406472°WCoordinates: 41°04′13″N 4°24′23″W / 41.070139°N 4.406472°W |
| Affiliation | Roman Catholic |
| District | Diocese of Segovia |
| Province | Province of Segovia |
| Country | Spain |
| Status | Active (as church) |
| Heritage designation | Bien de Interés Cultural |
| Architectural description | |
| Architectural type | Monastery |
| Architectural style | Gothic |
| Groundbreaking | 1393 |
| Completed | 1432 |
| Direction of façade | North |
Nuestra Señora de la Soterraña Spanish pronunciation: [nwestɾä se̞ɲoɾä de̞ lä so̞te̞räɲä] (Spanish for Our Lady of Soterraña) is a Gothic church and monastery located at Santa María la Real de Nieva, Province of Segovia, Spain. It was built between late 14th and early 15th centuries.
In 1920, two of its elements, the facade and the cloister, were designated as national monuments. Its present designation is Bien de Interés Cultural.
In 1392, a wooden sculpture of Mary was discovered buried, probably hidden since Muslim invasion, in a piece of open ground at the municipality of Nieva, where the village of Santa María de Nieva sits now. This fact was considered a miracle, and the Queen Catherine of Lancaster ordered the building of a sanctuary there and a village around it, to the worship of that Virgin’s image, called Soterraña, an old Spanish word that means 'subterranean'. She did it against the opinions of the priest of Nieva, that wanted to bring the image to his village, and nobility of Segovia that preferred moving it to the town. However, the Queen aquieved two papal bulls from Clement VII, in February 1393, to released the sanctuary from the Nieva’s priest jurisdiction, and getting indulgences for the visitors in certain days.
The Queen Catherine defrayed a large part of the building with Crown funds, many worshipers also contributed with their own money for the works, and these contributions were increased by two new bulls of Pope Benedict XII, in 1395, giving indulgences whom give money to the construction.
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