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Church of La Merced

A late Gothic church of the 15th and 16th centuries on Calle de la Merced, beside the left bank of the Arlanzón and near the Arco de Santa María. The Mercedarians settled here in 1419 and work on the present building began around 1498, under the patronage of the merchants Francisco del Castillo and Leonor de Pesquera. After the confiscation of church property in 1836 the friars left and much of the furnishings was lost; the Jesuits reopened it for worship in 1891 and still run it. In 2001 a fire destroyed the neo-Gothic high altarpiece and damaged the organ and vaults; it reopened in 2003. The doorway, facing the river, has a depressed pointed arch and archivolts with plant motifs, framed by an ogee arch with the patrons' coats of arms held by griffins. Inside there are three aisles, a heptagonal apse, the Isabelline Gothic choir by Diego de Siloé, a Cavaillé-Coll organ of 1905 and, in the chancel, the Renaissance effigies of the patrons. The reliefs from the original altarpiece by Felipe Vigarny and Gregorio Pardo are kept in the Museo de Burgos.

Things to do at Church of La Merced: 3 missions

• Find the effigies of the patronsIn the chancel, look for the tombs with the Renaissance effigies of the patrons, Francisco del Castillo and Leonor de Pesquera.
• See Diego de Siloé's choir at the west endGo in during service hours and look towards the west end of the nave: there is the Isabelline Gothic choir with its carved balustrade and scalloped basket arch.
• Look for the griffins and coats of arms on the doorwayIn front of the doorway that faces the river, find the ogee arch with the coats of arms of the Castillo and Pesquera families held by griffins.

Near Church of La Merced

Source: Web oficial - Turismo Castilla y León