Las Dueñas convent
The “out of walls” community

The convent of Nuestra Señora de las Dueñas was located out of the city walls until it was moved here in 1769. It was, in fact, known until then as “the convent out of walls”. The church portal comes from that previous convent. It is not known exactly when it was founded, but the oldest reference in documents is a Papal bull from Innocent IV and a letter from Prince Sancho, both from the 13^th century. We also know that, from the beginning, it was in the favour of noblemen and kings, such as Fernando IV, Alfonso XI, Enrique II or Juan I.

The convent had moments of great splendour between the 15^th and 17^th centuries, when it accumulated many possessions. Some relevant ladies became nuns in this convent, like Doña Mayor and Doña María Ovalle, sisters of Saint Teresa’s brother in law, or her niece, Beatriz de Ovalle y Ahumada, who was schooled here. The events that took place in the 19^th century - the Independence War, the act on the sale of Church property - very nearly wiped away the convent community. Nowadays, the nuns make many things, notably their baked goods and sweets. And above all, the caramel-coated almonds.