Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes
Grecia, Costa Rica
This Costa Rican chapel is the most metal church in the world.
Most Grecia residents would consider the church the city's most remarkable structure. However, the Iglesia de la Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes church in Grecia is unique and composed of sheet metal.
The outstanding red house of Worship was constructed in the late 1800s from imported Belgian steel plates. The individual plates have been riveted together, and the entire structure has been painted crimson. Given the church's unusual architecture, several legends about the motives for its creation have emerged throughout the years. One outlandish story is that the church was imported from Europe and intended for Greece but was delivered to the similarly named town of Grecia. According to another level, the structure was designed for Chile but ended up in Grecia owing to bureaucratic snags. The truth behind the design, however, appears to be the one solution no one wants to believe: the local government and a group of businessmen purchased the church.
More specifically, the decision to purchase the chapel entirely made of prefabricated metal appears to have been the brainchild of a wealthy coffee exporter, albeit his motivations remain unknown. Most churches attract worshippers, but the Iglesia de la Nuestra Seora de las Mercedes might want to avoid magnets entirely.
