IGLESIA LA MERCED

The church of La Merced, north of the central square, was built in 1762 before being destroyed and rebuilt a few years later. Blending neoclassical, baroque and colonial styles, it presents one of the best examples of religious ornamentation in the eighteenth century in León.

The church houses the image of the Virgin de La Merced furnished in Barcelona and is now the symbol of the city. On September 24 th, this image was flown on the streets of the city during the processions in his honour. Tradition reports that at the beginning of the th century, a black slave saved the icon of the flames at the risk of his life (after which, he would have been granted his freedom).