The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Contrueces is a Catholic church located in the autonomous community of Asturias (Spain), in the southern part of the urban area of Gijón, within the neighborhood of Contrueces. It stands as a significant landmark in Gijón’s history, as the Virgin venerated in this temple was regarded by many residents of Gijón as the city’s patroness for numerous years.
The earliest documents attesting to the existence of this church date back to the early 10th century and are found in the Book of Testaments, which includes a document signed on August 28, 905, in Cortuloces—a suburb of Gijón—for the benefit of the church of Ourense. This document records the confirmation by King Alfonso III and his wife Jimena. Further references to this church appear in the Diploma of Ourense from the 10th century (or possibly the 11th), as well as in documents related to the Monastery of San Vicente, the writings of Sampiro, and other sources.
From the 12th to the 16th centuries, a period of obscurity ensues, with no surviving records. In 1636, the local residents highlighted the need to establish a fair in Contrueces, arguing that it would both encourage devotion to the Virgin and yield significant economic benefits by boosting transactions involving the buying and selling of horses, cattle, and mules. These activities took place around the sanctuary, capitalizing on the large influx of the faithful. The sanctuary’s distance from the city center led many devotees to visit the chapel of the Virgin of Begoña, which eventually became regarded as the patroness of the Fuente Vieja neighborhood in central Gijón, later renamed the “Begoña neighborhood.” Nevertheless, many Gijón residents continue to visit the Sanctuary of the Virgin of Contrueces on the Sunday following the feast of the Virgin of Begoña.
Opposite the sanctuary, approximately 50 meters away, stands a palace that has served variously as an asylum, seminary, and children’s school. During times when it stood vacant, it was frequented by the writer and politician of the Enlightenment era, Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos, who found it an ideal setting for writing, meditating, and praying. Today, it functions as a primary school managed by the Claretians.
Location
The sanctuary is situated in the southeastern part of Gijón, in the Contrueces neighborhood, along a road known as the “Bishop’s Highway,” the former royal road from Gijón to Oviedo. According to Luis Miguel Piñera, the road’s name derives from the bishops of Oviedo, who maintained an occasional residence at the sanctuary’s palace when visiting Gijón.
Built atop a highly visible hill, the sanctuary was described by Jovellanos as offering a view of nearly the entire city. It belongs to the Archdiocese of Oviedo and is located on land owned since 1947 by the Claretian missionaries. This sanctuary holds profound significance as a place of worship in the history of Gijón and its surrounding areas.
History
The diploma of Ourense: foundation
The present church appears to be a successor to an earlier one built in the Asturian pre-Romanesque style, with documentary evidence preserved in a parchment written in cursive Visigothic script in Latin between the 10th and 11th centuries. This document is housed in the Regional Archive of Galicia in A Coruña. Scholars Barrau-Dihigo and Antonio Floriano Cumbreño affirm its authenticity, noting its inclusion in the Book of Testaments of Oviedo. Signed on August 28, 905, in Cortuloces, a suburb of Gijón, it benefits the church of Ourense and records the confirmation by King Alfonso III and his wife Jimena of donations made by their predecessors to the church of Oviedo, along with additional contributions, including the church of “Saint Mary of Contrueces”:
According to this, the king had donated to the church of Oviedo “the entire city of Gijón with its churches and possessions,” including the church of Saint Peter, which remained the sole parish of the town until the 19th century, as well as three churches outside the city walls: those of Saint Julian, Saint Thomas of Bahones with its estate, and Saint Mary of Contrueces to the west.
The document, featuring expressions typical of that era yet affirming the faith of King Alfonso III and his wife Jimena, begins as follows:
Debate over the diploma’s authenticity
Nonetheless, the diploma is not free from doubts regarding its authenticity. At least four researchers have examined it, reaching varied conclusions: Spanish historian and critic Rubén García Álvarez deems it “a forgery from the late 11th century or early 12th century.” French Hispanist Barrau-Dihigo believes it has been altered but is fundamentally authentic and dates to around 900. Spanish historian Claudio Sánchez-Albornoz, an adopted son of Oviedo and recipient of the Prince of Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities, initially defended its authenticity but later expressed reservations. Asturian paleographer Antonio Floriano Cumbreño conducted an analysis, concluding: “For us, the so-called pseudo-original from A Coruña is an imitative copy of an authentic original, with no alterations beyond some changes in the order of subscriptions.” He added: “... the original we studied, dating back to the 10th century and in genuine Visigothic script, would predate by more than a hundred years the skills learned from French monks by our codex makers, diplomatically post-1100.”
A delicate and challenging issue is the evolution of the place name from “Cortuloces” to “Coltroces” and later to “Contrueces,” a linguistic shift implying a lengthy timespan. The original Latin text reads:
Diploma of the Monastery of San Vicente
The Monastery of San Vicente could be dubbed “the Sahagún of Asturias,” for just as the Sahagún Monastery exerted influence and held possessions across the Kingdom of León, San Vicente did likewise over much of the Kingdom of Asturias. Within the monastery’s diplomatic collection is a document dated June 8, 1056, concerning a donation of rural and urban estates in the Gijón area, which states:
This text provides sufficient details to identify and locate places and estates in the Gijón valley. It is particularly valuable for clarifying the etymology and location of “Contrueces,” as it mentions the village of “Coltroces” among the boundaries of these properties. Thus, by 1046, the site was already known by that name and precisely situated south of Gijón. Through linguistic evolution, “Cortuloces” transitioned to “Coltroces.” This term also appears in writings by Bishop Pelayo II from the mid-12th century. Subsequently, “Coltroces” evolved into “Cultrocis” and eventually the current “Contrueces,” though alternative etymological theories exist: Menéndez Valdés suggests it derives from “Contra-Ceares,” Somoza proposes “Col de Roces,” and Floriano Cumbreño offers “Controcio.”
Diploma of the Cathedral of Oviedo
In the first half of the 12th century, the “Oviedo scriptorium” displayed considerable activity, serving the bishopric by producing deeds of sale, wills, and donations, while relegating the writing of historical accounts and chronicles to a secondary role. Bishop Pelayo II himself authored many of these chronicles. A significant number have survived, notably the lavish Book of Testaments, considered the bishopric’s “Cartulary.” Like many others, this bishopric was influenced by foreign innovations: first, the script reform initiated at the Cluny Abbey, transitioning from Visigothic script to Carolingian minuscule; second, an unfortunate practice of forgery, which was easier with Carolingian script than with Visigothic.
The Book of Testaments records numerous donations from the “Great King” to the Cathedral of Oviedo. Pertinent to this topic—Gijón’s donations—only the Church of San Pedro existed within the town, serving as the sole parish church until the 19th century. Outside the walls were the churches of Saint Thomas of Bahones in Granda, Saint Julian in Roces, and Saint Mary of Contrueces. Beyond this church, the king donated extensive lands and estates in its vicinity, and in defining their boundaries and roads, the Latin text reads: “... ecclesiam Sancte Marie de Coltroces.” As other sources cited earlier indicate the king “resided” in Contrueces, it is highly probable a church existed nearby.
However, doubts persist, and sometimes certainty of forgery casts this document as apocryphal. Scholars opine as follows: Sánchez Albornoz calls it “monstrous,” Barrau-Dihigo deems it a reworked document, and Floriano Cumbreño and Emilio Sáez concur with these assessments.
The chronicle of Sampiro
Documentation of this church in Contrueces also appears in the Chronicle of Sampiro, named after its author Sampiro, a native of Zamora, a cleric, intellectual, and politician of the Kingdom of León, notary of that court, and later bishop of Astorga. This chronicle continues the Chronicle of Albelda, spanning from 866, when Alfonso III’s reign began, to 982, recounting the death of King Ramiro III. The Chronicle of Sampiro survives in two versions: one by Bishop Pelayo and another by a monk from the Abbey of Santo Domingo de Silos. The latter rewrites the original text without changes, while critics consider Sampiro’s version an original text with numerous inserted phrases. However, the term “Contrueces” appears only in Pelayo’s version, cited below.
Additional documents related to Contrueces include one described by Jovellanos in his “collection,” dated 1263, stored in the Cathedral of Oviedo archives, which states:
Another document, preserved in the same cathedral archive and dated 1344, attests to:
If an Alfonsine church existed in Contrueces, its architectural style might be inferred from surviving examples cited by Pelayo in the Chronicle of Sampiro (noted above), following his mention of the reconstruction of the Church of Santiago:
Gijón donations by Urraca and King Ferdinand II
Urraca, Queen of Castile and León, wife of Alfonso the Battler, through a brief document drafted by her chancellor, the Compostelan canon Martín, donated several estates in 1112, including the “entire portion of Gijón.” Though the document, preserved in the Book of Testaments of the Cathedral of Oviedo, does not explicitly mention the Contrueces estate, experts believe it was included in the donation.
Another donation to the Oviedo see by King Ferdinand II of León, son of Alfonso VII, in September 1178, explicitly mentions the Contrueces estate, stating:
A subsequent donation adds:
The original document, still preserved, was drafted by Bernardo, the king’s notary, under the direction of Chancellor Pedro de Lauro, a Compostelan, and dated in Salamanca. Notably, the earlier “Coltroces” had become “Controces,” later evolving into “Contrueces” over the 14th century.
Other diplomas
Three additional diplomas from the 13th century also reference Contrueces: The first, held in the Monastery of San Vicente in Oviedo, among the Siero Council papers, drawer 11, records King Alfonso IX exchanging with the Monastery of San Vicente “... granting half of Contrueces in Siero (now Gijón) for the tithes of Bogies, La Felguera, San Juan de Miliayo, and San Saturnino,” attributed to the Valdediós Monastery. It is dated 1216. The second, from the “Libro Becerro de Valdediós,” was copied by Jovellanos for his Colección de Asturias. In it, the king donates the Contrueces estate to his former notary and chancellor Gonzalo Fernández. Dated July 11, 1217, it was signed in Calabanzos. The third, unpublished but mentioned by Canal Sánchez-Pagín, is preserved in the San Vicente archive, documenting a free and fraternal donation by the Valdediós monks to those of San Vicente of the Contrueces estate. Dated October 1235 in Valdediós.