Sahagún - San Lorenzo

Legend tells, that in the 3rd century, the Facundus and Primitivus were martyred here. In 872 a monastery was founded in honor of the two martyrs, but it was destroyed again in 873. After the reconstruction, there was further destruction by Almansor at the end of the 10th century.

The Way of St. James runs here and when in 1085, a market town was founded, which, was endowed with royal privileges, it was very attractive to pilgrims to settle here. In 1085 the bridge over the Rio Cea was also built, which is still in use.

Thanks to donations from Alfonso VI. and his successors, Sahagún became the most powerful abbey on the Camino Francés, minting its own coins. The decline began at the latest when the Catholic Monarchs decided to support the monastery of San Benito in Valladolid. Sahagún became dependent on this monastery and lost importance and privileges.

An earlier church of the same name was mentioned in Sahagún as early as 1110. The existing church was built in the first half of the 13th century. Nothing is known about the commissioner. It could have been a priory church. The nave was completed in the Gothic style a little later than the choir area.