Santa Eulalia Church

After the Reconquest of 1229, Mérida was the place chosen for the construction of a church dedicated to Santa Eulalia, Patron Saint of the town, persecuted and martyred in times of Diocletian.

The primitive basilica should be built in the V century A.C. During the Islamic rule, this building should be abandoned.

In the XIII Century, after the conquest of the town by Alfonso IX, the temple will be rebuilt, with several changes.

It has a Basilical floor with three naves and a tripartite presbytery with semicircular apses, where the main nave is approximately 500 meters. The pointed arches follow the Classic tradition. There are examples of Paleochristian, Visigothic, Byzantine and Romanesque art. Outside, it conserves the famous “hornito”, a chapel built in honour of the martyr Santa Elulalia, with remains of a former temple dedicated to the Mars, and that has become a real popular Christian veneration place.