12th-Century Church Apse Collapses in Spain’s Valladolid Province

Part of the apse of a 12th-century Romanesque Mudejar church collapsed on Monday in the village of Muriel de Zapadiel in the Spanish province of Valladolid, prompting the closure of the building and a renewed review of the status of historic religious sites in rural Spain.

According to Spanish newspapers, the collapse affected the apse of the Church of Our Lady of the Castle (also known as the Church of the Assumption), a protected Bien de Interés cultural (asset of cultural interest) dating from the late 12th and early 13th centuries. national newspaper and catholic exports Information Vatican.

After the collapse around 8 a.m., the local government sealed off the church and ordered a general closure to ensure safety. No injuries were reported.

Heritage experts pointed to long-standing structural problems such as humidity, visible cracks and erosion of the brickwork as contributing factors, while criticizing what they said had been insufficient maintenance of the area’s historic buildings over the years.

The Archbishop of Valladolid, which owns the church, said inspections last summer found no signs of imminent danger and warned the collapse could have been caused by a number of factors.

Regional Culture Minister Gonzalo Santonja visited the site and said further analysis was needed to assess the extent of the damage and determine next steps for stabilization and recovery.

The incident is another in a series of recent structural failures affecting protected heritage sites in the Castile and Leon region, which has more than 1,300 designated cultural assets, many of them in sparsely populated rural areas.