Santa María la Real de Irache is a former Benedictine monastery located in the town of Ayegui, Navarre, Spain. It dates from the eighth century, although the surviving buildings are later.
Adjacent to the monastery is a winery called Bodegas Irache, which continues a tradition of viticulture which dates from monastic times.
The monastery is first attested on a 958 document, and also cited in a donation done by King Sancho I Garces (10th century). The monastery became a landmark as a hospital for pilgrims en route to Santiago in the Way of Saint James. In 1813, the monastery provided medical cares for the anti-Napoleonic parties, like the one led by Francisco Espoz y Mina. Likewise, during the Third Carlist War (1872-1876), the Carlists defeated in the Battle of Montejurra retreated to Irache in order to get care for their injured soldiers.
Irache bore also witness to a decisive conspirational meeting on 15 June 1936 between the Carlist leader Manuel Fal Conde and right-wing General Mola appointed to Pamplona in 1936. The initially unlikely alliance took hold and provided the springboard for the successful military rebellion against the Spanish Republic that shook Navarre and Spain altogether.
In the sixteenth century the monastery set up a college which became Navarre's first university, the Universidad Real de Hyrache. It became a pontifical university in 1615, and closed in 1824.
References:The Walls of Constantinople are a series of defensive stone walls that have surrounded and protected the city of Constantinople (today Istanbul) since its founding as the new capital of the Roman Empire by Constantine the Great. With numerous additions and modifications during their history, they were the last great fortification system of antiquity, and one of the most complex and elaborate systems ever built. They were also the largest and strongest fortification in both the ancient and medieval world.
Initially built by Constantine the Great, the walls surrounded the new city on all sides, protecting it against attack from both sea and land. As the city grew, the famous double line of the Theodosian Walls was built in the 5th century. Although the other sections of the walls were less elaborate, they were, when well-manned, almost impregnable for any medieval besieger.