Group 3 — Chad, Nadia, and Sarah

We visited La Cartuja, an active Carthusian monastery founded in 1442 by King Juan II King of Castile and León. The construction took place on Queen Isabella of Castile (la Católica). Elaborately carved alabaster tombs contain the earthly remains of Juan II and his wife Isabella of Portugal. A number of the statues were damaged when Napoleon’s army passed through Burgos on its way to Portugal.

Behind the altar the retablo includes intricately rendered gilded images of the evangelists. Each appears in their symbolic forms (Matthew: angel; Mark: lion; Luke: bull; John: eagle). The retablo also includes images of the apostles and church fathers (Jerome, Augustine, Ambrose, and Gregory the Great). Saint James appears in his pilgrim form in the lower right portion of the retablo. 

The museum also contains a 19th century painting of the monastery with along the river toward Burgos. It was fun to imagine the sections we had walked as they might have appeared 150 years ago. After the tour we were all exhausted and walked back through the city for our first day off. We returned to the university to have lunch and do laundry in preparation for the festival tonight. We can’t wait to see how the night’s festivities turn out.