General Map

Former Church and Monastery of San Jerónimo (16th-17th c.) and exhibition space

Former Church and Monastery of San Jerónimo (16th-17th c.) and exhibition space

A historic monastery from the 16th-17th century, it stands out for its Gothic and Renaissance architecture, and offers an exhibition space in a unique and cu...
This monastery was founded in 1502 by the Enriquez family. Built as a spiritual annex to their palace and as a luxurious family pantheon, the Baza monastery was the only Hieronymite monastery, apart from the one in the capital, established in the whole of the old kingdom of Granada, with a single nave and transept indicated on the ground plan, with chapels on the north side. The main chapel of the church, made of stone, was built in 1535 in the late Gothic style, and was used as a family pantheon for the Enriquez-Luna family. The chancel is octagonal in shape with buttresses on the outside. This first section is covered with star-shaped ribbed vaults. The central nave is covered by a half-barrel vault with lunettes supported by splayed arches over a continuous entablature. It has a choir at the foot. The sacristy was built in 1588. The church was finished in 1690 with the construction of the stonework doorway and the enclosure of the side walls in masonry. The west bay of the monastery with the remains of the cells, the refectory and some of the arcades of the splendid cloister built by Juan García de Gibaja in 1554 in Tuscan order are preserved. The south façade of this bay also stands out, facing a second cloister or courtyard adjacent to the previous one, around which the monastery's production and storage rooms were built, such as the wine press, the wine cellar and the oil mill, of which some remains have been preserved.In the War of Independence it suffered the same fate as other convents in Baza, being abandoned by its inhabitants, and its rooms were used as barracks and stables for the French troops.Barrio de Rabalía: An old Arab suburb called Hedar, made up of 40 houses, located outside the city walls and separated from the medina by the Nasrid macaber or cemetery. After the Christian conquest of Baza, the neighbourhood was occupied in its entirety by settlers from the neighbouring Palace of Los Enriquez. It retains its original urban layout, to which the new settlement of the monastery of San Jerónimo had to adapt. It was connected to the city in the 16th century thanks to the opening of the Carrera de Palacio, which arose as a result of the construction of the aforementioned Palace of Los Enríquez.Espacio ExpositivoThis is one of the places where exhibitions are usually held.