San Salvador de Palat del Rey, also known as San Salvador del Palaz del Rey, is considered to be the oldest known Christian church in the city of León. It belonged to a monastery founded by King Ramiro II of León, built between 931-951 next to his palace and destined for his daughter Elvira Ramírez, who entered it as an abbess nun.

Next to the building there was a cemetery, considered to be the first royal pantheon in León. With the incursion of Almanzor into the area in 988, the complex suffered considerable devastation. Later, restoration work began on the church, which became a parish church, although it reached the early years of the 20th century in such a state of abandonment that it was on the verge of being destroyed. It was saved thanks to the architectural study by the archaeologist Juan Crisóstomo Torbado and the historical study by Manuel Gómez-Moreno; both demonstrated the importance of conserving a building of great value in the history of the kingdom of León and therefore in the history of Spain.

The last restoration and enhancement of this ancient church took place in 2006. It was declared an Asset of Cultural Interest in 1931.

Between 931 and 935 a monastery with its small church was built next to the royal palace of Ramiro II. This king was the founder of the monastery, which he placed under the patronage of San Salvador so that his daughter Elvira could form and direct a community of nuns there, women belonging to the royalty. All the information on this subject is duly narrated in the Chronicle of Sampiro, around the year 982.

The original building was of Mozarabic architecture, with a Greek cross plan, with access to the apse by a triumphal arch on columns. It had two horseshoe-shaped apses, facing each other, with the transept arms being quadrangular; the transept was covered by a groin vault in the Lombard tradition made up of twelve groins - the edges of which start from the diagonals - which has been preserved.5 This groin vault is built with tufa stone and ashlar. This original floor plan was discovered in 1910 during restoration and study work and was marked on the floor as a reminder of the first church.

Its main altarpiece is certainly unique, as it has small dimensions adapted to the size of the church: 5.19 metres wide by 8.30 metres high. The support is made of polychrome wood and is composed of sculpture and painting on panels. Its authors are Guillén Doncel and Juan de Angés, Renaissance artists from the school of Juan de Juni.

It is dedicated to the Saviour, whose sculpture occupies the whole of the centre and also the attic box, on either side of which, in medallions, are reliefs of two prophets, Isaiah and Jeremiah. On the bench are sculptures of the two saints John the Evangelist and John the Baptist, plus other figures representing St. James, St. Andrew and St. Sebastian.

The two side streets are occupied by four panel paintings depicting the life of Christ. The attic is crowned with a triangular pediment in which God the Father appears.

The altarpiece was restored in 2006 with the financial support of the Bishopric of León and the Castilla y León Historical Heritage Foundation. Fungus, damp and xylophagous insects were eliminated, applying both curative and preventive disinfestation. Layers of wax, grease and dust that had accumulated over the centuries were removed and a major brush job was carried out.