Museum of Rich Fabrics at the Monastery of Las Huelgas

Considered one of the best textile museums in the world.

Specifically, experts consider its collection of medieval Hispano-Moorish fabrics the best in the world in this field. Its more than 300 restored pieces, which reflect the public the way of dressing at the time, include the banner from the famous battle of Las Navas de Tolosa (1212), key in the Christian advance to recover the territory occupied by the Moors. According to tradition, the banner was the spoils obtained by King Alfonso VIII when he defeated the Almohad caliph Al-Nasir during this conflict.The first building of the Royal Monastery of Las Huelgas, which is home to the museum, was built on the order of Alfonso VIII between 1180 and 1190. The Romanesque cloister and the Chapel of the Assumption, a masterpiece of pure Almohad art, are particularly impressive. During the latter part of the first half of the 13th century, a second construction was undertaken, where the current temple stands, including the cloister and the annexes. The will of its founders was to make this place the Royal Pantheon. In the naves of the temple, occupied by the choir of the nuns, are the tombs of these monarchs and their immediate successors. The garments now on display at the Museum of Rich Fabrics can be traced to these tombs.