Iglesia del convento de Franciscanos Descalzos, El Puente del Arzobispo

In the heart of the Spanish town of El Puente del Arzobispo, a solitary building stands abandoned and crumbling. It is the Iglesia del convento de Franciscanos Descalzos, the only survivor of a former convent. The church was constructed in the 17th century, funded by Juan de Villarroel. However, its history remains mysterious and controversial. Some say it was built on the site of a miraculous appearance of the Virgin Mary, while others claim that it was never fully completed.

The convent was destroyed in the 19th century, and the church was later used as a straw storage and farm equipment shed. In the 1990s, all structures associated with the convent were demolished, leaving the church as the only survivor. It has been in a state of deterioration ever since, worsened by neglect and a leaking roof. The church, not the convent, was declared a Cultural Asset of Interest in 2017, but its future remains uncertain. It was added to the Hispania Nostra association’s 'Lista Roja' in 2024 due to its poor state of conservation, which threatens its total loss.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons