The Collegiate of Saint Mary was the principal church of the city between the XI and XVI century. Its construction is due to Pedro Ansúrez in the eleventh century. Today we retain only some ruins and a few chapels, located near the Church of Santa Maria La Antigua and next to the unfinished cathedral. The cypresses mark what were the pillars and the division of the three ships.
And guess what? There is a connection here between Norway and Valladolid.
Christina of Norway (Kristina Håkonsdotter 1234 — 1262) was a daughter of King Håkon IV of Norway and his wife, Margrete Skuledotter. She was born in Bergen. As part of an alliance she was betrothed to Infante Philip of Castile, brother of King Alfonso X of Castile. They were married on 31 March 1258 in this Collegiate. There are not extant records that provide details about what the marriage was like. They didn´t have children, and just four years later, Christina died at the age of 28 in Seville.
Christina was carried to the abbey church in Covarrubias, which is 40 km south of Burgos. There, her wooden casket was placed within a simple limestone sarcophagus, ornamented with carved grape leaves.
Tradition states that Christina had desired for a church to be built in Spain dedicated to St Olaf. "A modernized version of the simple pre-Roman church" has been built nearby Covarrubias. 750 years later, a church was constructed and consecrated to Olav the Holy on 18 September 2011 in this little village. For several years now the area of Covarrubias has become a pilgrimage of sorts for visitors from Norway to visit the final resting place of a Norwegian daughter.
This is the statue of Christina made by artist Brit Sørensen and placed outside the collegiate church, a copy was later erected in Tønsberg, Norway. I took the last four pictures on a recent one day trip to Covarrubias last April.
Click here to view thumbnails for all participants in this extra theme day and happy Constitution Day for all Norwegian all over the world!
