Hermitage of La Misericordia

The hermitage of the Virgen de la Misericordia in Cretas is a religious building of great historical and architectural importance. It was built in the mid-16th century, in 1553 according to an inscription on the doorway, and features an interesting combination of Levantine Gothic elements and some Renaissance details, especially in the decoration.

This hermitage may have been built reusing materials from an earlier temple that had existed since the 13th century in the upper part of Cretas and was replaced by the new building in the 16th century.

On the exterior of the hermitage, the robust buttresses stand out, one of which contains a spiral staircase leading to the choir. The main doorway combines classicist elements in a creative way, giving it a lighter, more decorative feel compared to the sober character of the hermitage.

Set apart from the urban centre, 200 metres away, at the roadside connecting Cretas and Calaceite, and surrounded by cypress trees, stands the hermitage of Nuestra Señora de la Misericordia, listed as a Bien Catalogado in 2005.

Within the precinct there was a cemetery where the victims of the various plagues that affected the population were buried, especially in the 17th century.

To reach the Misericordia there is a "vía sacra" that connected the village to the hermitage, of which the old cypress trees and the chapels marking the stations are still witness.

Adjoining the hermitage, the remains of a wall belonging to the hermit's house survive, although the care of this temple was entrusted to a chaplain residing in the village.