{"id":42767,"date":"2012-06-29T05:02:47","date_gmt":"2012-06-29T11:02:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wend.ca\/?p=42767"},"modified":"2020-06-20T20:46:02","modified_gmt":"2020-06-21T00:46:02","slug":"la-cartuja","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wend.ca\/?p=42767","title":{"rendered":"La Cartuja"},"content":{"rendered":"

On our way to Arcos de la Frontera, we missed the turn-off and found ourselves outside Jerez de la Frontera<\/a> and at the gates of La Cartuja<\/em>, a 15th Century Monastery (1453) now known as the El Monasterio de Nuestra Se\u00f1ora de la Defension<\/em>. The monastery and church are both still active and closed to the public; however, the exterior and gardens are open during certain times during the day for those who want to peruse the Gothic architecture.<\/p>\n

The monastery and its beautiful exterior isn’t the only thing it’s known for — and I accidentally discovered it’s other fame by slipping through a gate that was temporarily open and getting a quick glimpse of some very beautiful horses before being shooed away. <\/p>\n

The monastery is linked to the early beginnings of the Andalusian and Cartujano<\/a> breeds of horse that Spain is famous for; in folklore, these horses are said to be the descendants of unicorns. This is not surprising given that many are pure white and elegant but strong. One famous Andalusian is the horse that played Shadowfax<\/a> in Lord of the Wings.<\/p>\n

The breeding line of the horse is still strong, and the Cartujano Stud Farm (beside the monastery) is still the purest Cartujano line in the world. <\/p>\n