Church of Nercón facts for kids
| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
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Church of Nercón facade
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| Location | Nercón, Castro, Chiloé Island, Chiloé Province, Los Lagos Region, Chile |
| Part of | Churches of Chiloé |
| Criteria | Cultural: (ii), (iii) |
| Inscription | 2000 (24th Session) |
| Area | 0.64 ha (1.6 acres) |
The Church of Nercón —Spanish: Iglesia de Señora de Gracia de Nercón— is a very special church located on Chiloé Island in Chile. It is found in the town of Nercón, which is about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) from the city of Castro. This church is famous for its unique wooden design and is recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
A Look Inside the Church of Nercón
The Church of Nercón was built around 1890. It is made mostly from strong cypress and larch wood. The church is quite large, measuring 40 meters (131 feet) long and 15 meters (49 feet) wide. It also has a tall tower that reaches 25 meters (82 feet) into the sky.
Inside the church, you can see a beautiful sculpture of Saint Michael. This amazing artwork shows Saint Michael with a demon at his feet and was carved from a single piece of wood. The interior walls of the church are painted in a way that makes them look like fancy marble.
Important Days and Recognition
The Church of Nercón celebrates special days for its patron saints. These include Our Lady of Grace on September 8 and Saint Michael the Archangel on September 29.
The Chilean government declared the Church of Nercón a National Monument on July 27, 1984. Later, on November 30, 2000, it became one of 16 Churches of Chiloé to be named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This means it is considered very important to the world's history and culture.
Restoring a Historic Church
In January 2012, a big project began to restore the Church of Nercón. The architect in charge of this work was Katerine Araya, and the main carpenter was Simón Cárcamo.
The church you see today is not the very first one built on this spot. The original church was rebuilt in 1879, and the current building was finished in 1895. It is a great example of the traditional building style found on Chiloé Island.
During the restoration work, when the team looked at the church's foundation, they found some old bone fragments and skulls. They told the Council of National Monuments about these findings. The architect, Katerine Araya, said that these discoveries would be handled carefully, following special laws for archaeological finds.
Restoring an old wooden church in a rainy place like Chiloé can be tricky. Some of the original cypress and larch wood is no longer available. This means that some rotting wood has to be replaced with other types of wood. However, the team tries to reuse as much of the original wood as possible to keep the church's historic feel.
