Monastery of San Julián de Samos

In the middle of a leafy valley is the Benedictine Abbey of Samos, which is still a monastery today, the Royal Monastery of San Julián or San Xián. This temple, today Benedictine, is one of the three monasteries that are still inhabited by monks in Galicia. The abbey was founded by San Martiño de Dumio in the 6th century, at the height of the Visigoth period. Its history is related to the refuge of Alfonso II the Chaste before being crowned king of Galicia in the year 759, who dominated the monastery with the land. This temple, linked to the great monastic centers of Toledo, has a grandiose Baroque façade reminiscent of the staircase on the façade of the Obradoiro in Santiago de Compostela.

The Benedictine Monastery of San Xulián de Samos was founded in the 6th century and is an important waypoint on the Camino Francés. Since its founding, it has undergone various changes of ownership and has been destroyed several times by fire. Finally, it had to be rebuilt in 1951.

The detour to the shorter route via San Xil, the northern variant, was worthwhile. And unlike expected, the way was nice, only the first three kilometers on the little busy road along.