Ruins of the Convent of San Agustín

The Convent of San Agustín was founded in 1556 by Don Antonio de Guevara y Tapia to serve as a male convent of the Order of Saint Augustine in Segovia. The Augustinians Agustín Castello and Alfonso de Madrid, who had come from the convent in Madrid, assisted in its foundation. The Dominicans from the neighbouring Convent of Santa Cruz la Real brought a lawsuit against the new foundation. Juana of Austria, then Governor of Castile, referred the matter to the Chancellery of Valladolid, where the decision was ultimately in favour of the Augustinians. The construction of the final convent lasted from 1570 to 1600, with various architects involved, notably Pedro de Brizuela. The convent church was consecrated on 16 November 1597.

In 1835, following Mendizábal’s confiscation of church property, the Augustinian community was dissolved and the convent fell into a state of neglect.

The church of the former convent was used as a military warehouse in 1853. In 1893, the roof of its nave collapsed, and its weather vane was moved to the church of Torreiglesias, where it is preserved today.

Finally, the naves of the church were demolished in 1915. This demolition was the subject of criticism, including from the artist Daniel Zuloaga.

In 1942, following the Spanish Civil War, the provincial hospital named ‘18 de Julio’ was built on the site previously occupied by the church’s naves. The chancel of the church was dedicated as a monument to the Nationalist fighters who died in the conflict.