On the banks of the river Gaià, we find the monastery of Santes Creus, which was the centre of one of the most extensive and influential monastic domains in the Kingdom of Aragon. With an architecture that is solid, serious and austere, the abbey reflects the canonical model of Cistercian monasteries (along with Vallbona de les Monges and Poblet). To visit Santes Creus is to relive a time when purity and distance from the world of was made specific in a place well-grounded on the earth.

Founded in 1160, the highpoint for Santes Creus was between the 13th and 14th centuries, due to its close relationship with the nobility and the royal family. The kings, Pere el Gran and Jaume II el Just and his wife, Blanca of Anjou, were patrons of the monastery and chose to be buried here, in two Gothic mausoleums at the side of the high altar. The study and restoration of the Royal Tombs, in 2010, allowed the remains of Pere el Gran and Blanca of Anjou to be uncovered, the only remains of the Kings and Queens of the Crown of Aragon, to have survived intact.

The ground plan of the monastery organised the spaces according to the needs of the community. The church, which opened for worship in 1225, is an example of the transition from Romanesque to Gothic. Despite providing a sensation of lightness and grandeur, it is a solid and austere temple. It contrasts with the splendour of the cloister, dating from the 14th century, the first of the Gothic style of the Crown of Aragon.