Church of Mercy of Beja

A great story - the building was originally planned as a butcher's shop, but because it was so beautiful, it was converted into a church.

The Church of Misericórdia in Beja is a National Monument. Built in the 16th century by order of Prince D. Luís, it is a unique building in the panorama of Portuguese architecture. When, shortly after 1530, Prince D. Luís, Duke of Beja, ordered the construction of the current Church of Misericórdia, the idea was to build a butcher's shop at the top of the city's main square. The building followed the Italian loggia style, deeply influenced by the Italian Renaissance. The building was so magnificent that D. Luís himself considered it unsuitable for its original purpose, and offered it to the brotherhood of the Santa Casa da Misericórdia to house their church, which was adapted for this purpose. In the 1940s, the building recovered part of its original appearance.

nice place too