[3] This fact was considered a miracle, and the Queen Catherine of Lancaster ordered the building of a sanctuary there and a village around it, to the worship of that Virgin's image,[3][4] called Soterraña, an old Spanish word that means 'subterranean'.

[5] She did it against the opinions of the priest of Nieva, who wanted to bring the image to his village, and nobility of Segovia who preferred moving it to the town.

[4] However, the Queen acquired two papal bulls from Clement VII, in February 1393, to release the sanctuary from the Nieva priest's jurisdiction,[4] and getting indulgences for the visitors on certain days.

On February 2, 1399, at Toledo, the Queen gave the custody of the image and the temple to the Dominican Order, that officially accepted it on September 7.

Queen Catherine of Lancaster sponsored these works until her death in 1418, and her son King John II of Castile continued the task.

[9] The next popes, Clement VII, Benedict XIII of Avignon, and Martin V, also contributed, giving indulgences to those who donated money for the building.

[9] On April 1, 1441, Queen Blanche I of Navarre was passing by the village on her way to a meeting with Prince Henry, his father King John II of Castile, and King John II of Aragon, when the Queen died, being buried at Nuetra Señora de la Soterraña church's main chapel.

[12][13] On October 28, 1473, King Henry IV called a meeting of the Courts of Castile at Our Lady of Soterraña monastery.

[14] After Ecclesiastical Confiscations of Mendizábal, monks left the monastery and its property was divided between the Segovia bishopric and the Santa María la Real de Nieva's Town Hall.

The most notable of the church's elements is the facade in the northern wall, opening just under the transept, that is designated as bien de interés cultural itself.

In the upper part, there is a tympanum with an entrenched Christ image, in between two currently beheaded figures, probably the King and Queen that sponsored the building, and two angels.

There was a fire in the southern wing of old monastery on December 6, 1899, that destroyed some of the old rooms – another smaller cloister, the library, stables and barns,[15] that were not reconstructed, and later that piece of land was sold.

The main themes used in their decoration are scenes of the Middle Age monks and people's way of life, nature, monsters, and coats of arms.