Former Monastery of San Agustín - La Laguna

The monastery was founded around 1515 by the Augustinian monks, during the campaign to conquer the Canary Islands. The building was built between 1527 and 1560.

During its existence it has had many and very different functions , such as ecclesiastical, Monastery, center for secondary education, first weather station, first provincial library , prison of the Spanish Falange during the Civil War and later converted into a soup kitchen . Of all these functions, the most important is that of teaching. In the 18th century it supported the First University of the Canary Islands , called “La Agustina”, and as early as 1846 it was the only secondary education center in the Canary Islands for more than a century. Due to its great academic presence, it gradually lost its monastic function and it is worth mentioning that it was one of the keys to the creation of the University of La Laguna.

Today it retains many elements of the original construction , with a rectangular plan and three naves separated by semicircular arches, despite the architectural changes added over time ( in 1735 it had to be demolished and the current building was built on the plots built).

It has two floors where stone and wooden materials are combined and on the ground floor the patio has seven red stone columns on each side , of Tuscan order, and with wooden foundations. In the tower we distinguish the emblem of the Augustinians and a marble plaque with the text “Instituto de Canarias”, placed in 1896. On the sides there are two balconies with wooden grilles from the Mudejar tradition . On the upper floor we find a wide variety of columns with smooth shafts and varied capitals, some of which are inspired by Greek and Roman orders.

Today you can still see some remains, such as the Italian-inspired murals that decorate the walls; but these spaces were reused for other purposes after the church seizure.

Six chapels were built around the monastery, which today is one of the best and most important Renaissance monasteries in the Canary Islands .

The most emblematic churches were built taking into account the solar calendar and the city in general is oriented according to the solar movements. Therefore, the builders had to make calculations and observations to draw the plans of these buildings, which are not oriented in any way.

Willem Vandenameele