The Sanctuary of Meritxell in the small town of Canillo is not just the only monastery in Andorra, it is an iconic site, famous throughout the world for its small statue of Our Lady with the baby Jesus in her arms. The miraculous story of this statue has long gone beyond the borders of the European principality. It annually attracts thousands of tourists from all corners of the world to this land.

According to the legend, the statue of Our Lady was first discovered under a bush by villagers in the 12th century. They took it to the town temple, but the next morning the statue was under the same bush again. Then it was transferred to the town of Encamp, but from there the statue mysteriously moved back to its original place in the briar bushes. This time, the locals did not take it to other shrines, but took this miracle as a sign from above and decided to build their chapel on the site of the sacred bush. The small wooden chapel was named after the settlement of Meritxell, where the statue was found. Moreover, Our Lady of Meritxell is considered the patron saint of Andorra.

The old chapel burned down almost completely in 1972 as a result of a massive fire that engulfed vast areas. Along with the chapel, the sacred statue also suffered. Only the church bell and the wrought iron lattice, dating back to the 17th century, were preserved.

In 1978, restoration works were carried out and a new chapel was built with a copy of the famous wooden statue that was destroyed by fire. In addition to the statue of Our Lady, there are sculptures of seven other saints who are considered the patrons of the seven communities – the parroquias. The author of the project of the entire monastery is the famous Spanish architect, Ricardo Bofill, who followed the historical traditions of Romanesque architecture but at the same time created a completely new modern architectural concept with many aerial arches.