The Cathedral, a great sanctuary of the Leonese royal family

When we visit the Pulchra Leonina we pay special attention to the cleanliness and balance of its Gothic style, and especially its wonderful stained glass windows, a unique ensemble in all of Spain and one of the most valuable in the world. But the Cathedral of León is also a gigantic elevated monument to glorify both the Kingdom of León and its reigning family, and a large part of its perimeter is dedicated to serve as a burial mound for members of this family. For this reason, the dynasties or the members of the families who believed themselves with succession rights to the Leonese throne always wanted to be buried in the Cathedral, the spiritual epicenter of the country, and this was no less than until the 18th century, when members of the Gutierre's family (the same as that of the famous palace) made this request. On the other hand, the leonese see was built on plans from the 13th century, when there were still kings in León, and its structure clearly responds to a coronation cathedral similar to the French. All its iconography is aimed at extolling two clear ideas: Christianity and monarchy. In addition, the infant Juan, the last (and unrecognized) king of León, is the one who has just paid the lonese see, so he is buried in an exceptional place, the trascoro, along with his wife and son. There we can see their graves even today. Furthermore, it was this family that transferred the body of the great king Ordoño II (top right) to that same space, thus glorifying the memory of a kingdom that no longer existed independently. On the left, Alfonso IX, last Leonese king, creator of the University of Salamanca and of the first Cortes.