Puente la Reina · Navarra / Camino de Santiago · Spain

Church of Saint Mary of Eunate

chapelRomanesqueCamino de Santiagogoogle verified

easy

9/10

best: morning, spring, autumn

mysterious, spiritual, serene

A local would say...

Nobody knows why this perfect 12th-century chapel was built alone in the middle of a field — and nobody knows why the dead were buried around it either.

Surrounded by cornfields and brushed by wildflowers, the near-perfect octagonal Romanesque chapel of Santa María de Eunate is one of the most picturesque chapels along the entire Camino de Santiago. Dating from around the 12th century, its origins — and the reason why it sits alone in the middle of nowhere — remain a mystery. Built by the Knights Templar, it has the same 12-sided plan as Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre.