A section of the apse of a 12th-century Romanesque-Mudejar church in the village of Muriel de Zapardiel, in Spain’s Valladolid province, collapsed on Monday, prompting the closure of the building and renewed scrutiny of the condition of historic religious sites in rural Spain.
The collapse affected the semicircular apse of the Church of Our Lady of the Castle—also known as the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption—a protected Bien de Interés Cultural (Asset of Cultural Interest) dating to the late 12th- and early 13th- centuries, according to Spanish newspaper El País and Catholic outlet Infovaticana.
Local authorities cordoned off the church shortly after the collapse, which occurred around 8 a.m., and ordered its full closure as a safety precaution. No injuries were reported.
Heritage experts cited long-standing structural issues including humidity, visible cracks, and erosion of brickwork as contributing factors, while criticizing what they described as years of insufficient maintenance of historic buildings in the region.
The Archbishopric of Valladolid, which owns the church, said it had not detected signs of imminent risk during inspections carried out last summer and cautioned that the collapse was likely caused by multiple factors.
Regional culture minister Gonzalo Santonja visited the site and said further analysis would be needed to assess the extent of the damage and determine next steps for stabilization and restoration.
The incident adds to a series of recent structural failures affecting protected heritage sites in Castilla y León, a region with more than 1,300 designated cultural assets, many located in sparsely populated rural areas.
