Hermitage of the Holy Christ

Erected at the upper end of the town, on the Cerro de la Mota, which gives its name to the neighborhood in which it is located, Barrio de la Mota, the Ermita del Santo Cristo is the most primitive temple of origin and the oldest original nucleus of Labastida . Located in the highest part of the town, it constitutes the most characteristic and singular element of its physiognomy.

Its location on a hill, together with the paleness of the sandstone with which it was built, and which contrasts even more with the dark green of the slopes of Toloño, must have been an outstanding point of spirituality and devotion in the High Middle Ages, since It is visible for many kilometers around, from the Montes Obarenes to the Sonsierra lands.

The Gothic and the Romanesque are mixed in this hermitage with the appearance of a military fortress, which was originally the town's parish church. Its origins date back to the 12th century. It is one of the most important Romanesque constructions in the region, highlighting its Romanesque portal with a very flared semicircular arch. Inside, we are struck by the realism and beauty of the Gothic Christ of the altarpiece of the main altar, made of polychrome wood and almost life-size. A very characteristic note of this Christ is that his right arm is detached from the cross.

Of the church, the Romanesque style façade stands out and inside we can clearly differentiate two styles: Romanesque in the west, and Gothic in the east. Also noteworthy are the beautiful entrance keys; let's say they are not the typical ones that get lost and you don't see them.

From generation to generation, various legends and miracles attributed to the image of the Holy Christ have been transmitted. Thus, it is said that, during a war, to prevent the image from being damaged or outraged by enemies, it was buried in an estate and left there forgotten. Over the years, a shepherd, who was with his flock, noticed that his sheep jumped when grazing in a small space where the grass grew taller and stronger, so he decided to dig in the place and there he found the figure of the Holy Christ .

Also, in the church there are still some canvases that relate miraculous events attributed to the intervention of Christ, such as healings and other inexplicable events.

The Temple was built around the 12th century on the remains of a pre-Romanesque hermitage, the base of which can be seen inside the church. Apparently, it was enlarged in the fifteenth century to rebuild the part of the temple destroyed by past wars; it was enlarged and reinforced again until it acquired the impressive appearance it has today. It served as the Parish of the Villa until the cult was moved to the Church of the Assumption in 1602.

According to archaeological investigations carried out recently on the foundations and architectural structure of this church, the first temple that was established in this place was pre-Romanesque, which confirms the existence of Labastida in the early Middle Ages, with defensive functions. Later, a larger Romanesque church was built, of which the great façade on the southern side and a series of reused corbels have remained. In the 14th century, according to the aforementioned study directed by Agustín Azcarate, the walls of the Romanesque temple were increased and fortified with battlements until a fire at the end of the 15th or 16th century forced a reconstruction at the beginning of the 16th century, blinding the battlements and building a new one. Late Gothic head with a complex ribbed vault with starry ribs.

Externally, the most noticeable are some Gothic elements, such as the small rose window on the western façade and the windows at the head, decorated with drying stems that form species of chains. But much more important is its late Romanesque doorway. It has a typical very late Romanesque structure from the end of the 12th or beginning of the 13th century, with numerous semicircular archivolts that form a deep horn. The archivolts are convex and the twelve columns show very deteriorated capitals but where some scenes can be guessed with characters that unfortunately have been almost "dissolved" by the passing and the aggressions of the centuries. The corbels embedded in the southern wall, a few meters from the aforementioned door, are better preserved. One of them shows a human head, another, an ithyphallic man and finally,

Finally, during some restoration work in the hermitage, some tombs excavated in the rock on the ground were discovered. As a solution, they put some glass on top and today it is possible to walk on top of them.

Currently the hermitage is closed to the public, it can be visited through the tours organized by the Labastida Tourist Office, or on days of religious celebration, among others on Good Friday, Calvary, the day of Carmen, the day of San Roque accompanied by traditional dance, and in November in the patron saint festivities of Thanksgiving of the Harvest, they are in honor of the Holy Christ.