Colegiata de Santa Juliana

Located in one of the localities of the Cantabrian community is the collegiate church of Santa Juliana, one of the most representative Romanesque monuments of this place. This religious building was built in the twelfth century within what would become the old town of Santillana del Mar, but was not declared a national monument of Spain until 1889.

Although within the old town of this beautiful municipality we can find different buildings of great value, the collegiate church of Santa Juliana is the most striking of all. This building has a great architectural and historical value, so many tourists visit it every year in Santillana del Mar. This is also one of the municipalities through which the Camino del Norte crosses, being the Collegiate Church of Santa Juliana the first place that the pilgrims find when they arrive to this town.

Collegiate Church of Santa Juliana: art and history in one monument

The collegiate church of Santa Juliana, also known as the collegiate church of Santillana del Mar, was built in honor of Santa Juliana. There lie the remains of this saint, then known as Juliana of Nicomedia, who was martyred in the third century. It was for this reason that in Roman times a temple was built in honor of the saint, from which the name Santillana del Mar was born, as the contraction of Santa-Iuliana.

Although this building underwent several remodeling works over the years, it still preserves different original architectural aspects of this religious temple. This was built under a Romanesque style, the classical style at that time and that most extends throughout the building, but over time aspects of other styles were included.