Church of Our Lady of Mercy

Church of Our Lady of Mercy Review

The brick red, prefabricated iron Church of Our Lady of Mercy (Iglesia de las Mercedes) was one of two buildings in the country made from steel frames imported from Belgium in the 1890s (the other is the metal schoolhouse next to San José's Parque Morazán), when some prominent Costa Ricans decided that metal structures would better withstand the periodic earthquakes that had taken their toll on so much of the country's architecture. The frames were shipped from Antwerp to Limón, then transported by train to Alajuela—from which the walls of the church were carried by oxcarts. Although the park fronting the church is a Wi-Fi hotspot, we advise against pulling out your laptop in such a public setting (though your Wi-Fi-equipped smartphone should be okay to use here.)