Iglesia de la Vera Cruz
Iglesia de la Vera Cruz is one of the narrated stops on the self-guided Segovia audio walking tour in Gingerguide. Plan about ~25 min here. Press play at the spot for its two to three minute story, or ask the AI guide anything about it.
- Type religious
- Suggested visit ~25 min
- Segovia Segovia guide
About Iglesia de la Vera Cruz
A strange twelve-sided church in the valley below the Alcázar, built to imitate the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, and long, wrongly, credited to the Knights Templar.
The Iglesia de la Vera Cruz (Church of the True Cross), in the Eresma valley outside the walls facing the Alcázar, is a rare twelve-sided Romanesque church built around a central two-storey chapel. Its round plan deliberately imitates the rotunda of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Long popularly attributed to the Knights Templar, it is now believed to have been built by the Order of the Holy Sepulchre and was consecrated, an inscription records, in 1208. It was named for a relic of the True Cross once venerated here, today kept in the nearby village of Zamarramala. After the Holy Sepulchre order was merged away, the church eventually passed to the Order of Malta. Declared a national monument in 1919, it lies within the UNESCO-listed old town of Segovia.
Did you know? The Vera Cruz is a twelve-sided round church built to imitate the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, so a pilgrim who could never reach the Holy Land could stand inside a memory of it here in Castile.
How long should you spend at Iglesia de la Vera Cruz?
Plan about ~25 min at Iglesia de la Vera Cruz. That is enough to take it in and hear its narrated story; stay longer if it grabs you. The tour is self-guided, so there is no rush.
Is Iglesia de la Vera Cruz worth visiting?
Iglesia de la Vera Cruz is one of the 15 sights the Gingerguide team researched and narrated in Segovia, so it earns a place on a self-guided walk. Its story explains why it matters, and you can ask the AI guide anything the story leaves open.
Nearby stops in Segovia
Hear the story of Iglesia de la Vera Cruz
Preview the Segovia tour free in the Gingerguide app.