Monastery of the Holy Spirit - Jerez de la Frontera - Andalusia

The Monastery of the Holy Spirit is a monastery belonging to the Jerez El Salvador District.

After the Christian rule of the city by Alfonso X the Wise, several religious orders were founded in the city. The first nuns to come to the city settled in the Convent of the Holy Spirit, making it the oldest convent in Jerez and the first women's convent in the city.

The monastery occupies a large plot of land on the edge of the former Islamic medina, on steep terrain near the Curtidores stream, which was never very popular with the local population.

The founding of the monastery dates back to 1324 , although the monastery itself was not built until 1430 and the current church was completed in 1577.

Tradition places the production of the sweet Tocino de Cielo in this monastery.

Much of the cloister was incorporated into its cellars during the expansion of the Domecq wine company , and the cloister is currently closed, having been stripped of the artwork it contained . Since it is not a cultural asset, the municipality can sell its contents.
The monastery has a church which, according to the church inscription, was completed in 1577. The church is the work of Bartolomé Sánchez, one of the three masters involved in the construction of the Cabildo Viejo, and is considered a true jewel of Renaissance architecture.

Willem Vandenameele