Colegiata de San Cosme y San Damián

The Collegiate Church of San Cosme and San Damián is the main parish church of Covarrubias (Burgos), traditionally known as collegiate church by the former ecclesiastical dignity that had the temple. It is a religious monument of great patrimonial relevance in the town, declared of Cultural Interest in 1931. The present building is, for the most part, 15th century Gothic, although the sources indicate that construction probably began in the 14th century and was completed around 1476. On the same site there were earlier temples, first a 12th century Romanesque church and, according to tradition, an older Visigothic church. Among its most outstanding elements are the 16th century cloister, added later to the main temple, and the museum of sacred art installed in the complex. It also preserves remains of earlier construction phases, which allows us to read in the building the historical evolution of the place since medieval times. Its historical value is linked to the religious and stately development of Covarrubias, one of the most important enclaves of Burgos Arlanza. The collegiate church summarizes in a single monument the continuity of worship, the Castilian Gothic architecture and later Renaissance extensions.