Monasterio de San Miguel de los Reyes
Sixteenth-century Hieronymite monastery that served as an asylum, prison until 1966 and school, now home to the Biblioteca Valenciana since 2000.
- Opening hours
- Tue-Fri 10:00-14:00, 17:00-20:00; Sat-Sun and public holidays 11:00-14:00
- Languages
- Valencian, Spanish
- Where
-
Avenida de la Constitución, 284, 46019 València
Valencia
See it on the map ↗ Get directions ↗
What you will see
The site layers an Islamic farmstead, the Cistercian monastery of Sant Bernat de Rascanya, the Hieronymite monastery of San Miguel de los Reyes and a prison complex; the restoration has left traces of each period.
In 1545 the Duke of Calabria obtained a bull from Pope Paul III replacing the Cistercians with the Hieronymites. He wanted a monastery with a school of art and theology centred on his library and a family mausoleum, and commissioned the project to Alonso de Covarrubias. Work began on the south cloister but stopped when the Duke died in 1550; twenty years later it resumed following the model of the Cloister of the Evangelists at El Escorial. The south cloister was finished in 1607 and the church began in 1623.
With the 1835 disentailment the Hieronymite community disappeared. In 1843 it was sold to a private buyer who wanted to demolish it; in 1857 it was converted into a poorhouse and in 1874 the State turned it into a national prison, which did not close until 1966. Between 1971 and 1985 it housed a state school, and since 2000 it has been the seat of the Biblioteca Valenciana, with exhibition halls. The old choir has opened as the Carmen Calvo Space.
Cost
The Biblioteca Valenciana website does not publish tariffs for visiting the building or for guided tours.
Opening hours
The building (south cloister) and exhibition halls are open Tue-Fri 10:00-14:00 and 17:00-20:00, and Sat, Sun and public holidays 11:00-14:00; in August, Tue-Sun 11:00-14:00. Guided tours for individuals and families run on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays on 9 and 12 October, at 12:00 in Valencian and 13:00 in Spanish, no booking needed. In October there are also weekday tours by booking on 96 198 34 00. The Carmen Calvo Space is open Mon-Fri 9:00-14:00: ask at Reception and they will show you around.
How to get there
It is at Avenida de la Constitución 284, 46019 València.
Worth visiting if…
…you are interested in Renaissance architecture and the history of a building that has been a monastery, asylum, prison, school and library. To understand it, the simplest way is to join the weekend guided tour.
