The Abbey of San Salvador de Leyre nestles in the foothills of the Pyrenees, from the south (above), and (below) from the west. The only old parts of the Abbey still there are the Crypt and Church dating from the 1000s and 1100s with a somewhat later vaulted roof which replaced the wooden original. The monastery buildings to the south of the church date from the late 1500s. There was already a thriving abbey (including a well-stocked library) on this dramatic site in the mid 800s. In the 900s, 1000s and 1100s the monastery became progressively more powerful and wealthy as it was adopted by the Basque / Navarra Kings as their main church and also became their pantheon. Despite the fact tha...