Exterior view

The Spanish orders of knights were closely connected with the pilgrimage to Santiago. The Templars had arrived in 1188, and like the other orders of knights (e.g. the Hospitaliers) they were strongly influenced by France and French culture. They not only integrated elements from France into their architecture, but also attempted to imitate sites in the Holy Land. A truly international style was the result. A number of very characteristic buildings by these orders sprang up on the Iberian Peninsula during the twelfth and the early thirteenth century.

The Vera Cruz church (Church of the True Cross) was built by the Templars. It was consecrated in 1208. There is a central chapel surrounded by a circular barrel-vaulted ambulatory. It has a chancel with three apses at the east end and a heavily recessed entrance in the west.

Like the church in Tomar, Vera Cruz is modeled on the church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.

View the ground plan of Vera Cruz, Segovia.