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Ayto Vélez-Málaga | Concejalía de Turismo

Virgen de los Remedios Hermitage

Cerro de San Cristóbal, Vélez-Málaga

It was erected in the middle of the XVII century at the top of San Cristobal Mountain but has since gone through many alterations. In this century, Velez’s population took a keen interest in the devotion of the Virgen de los Remedios (Our Lady of Remedies) in particular Father Vedmar who founded the Virgen de los Remedios brotherhood and beneficiary of Señor San Juan Bautista Parish Church in Velez. The Virgen de los Remedios later became the patron saint of the city.

In 1592 the ancient statue of Virgen de los Remedios was brought from Granada to the city of Velez-Malaga by María Calderón and was later placed in the private oratory of her brother’s house, officer Francisco de Toledo. However, due to the numerous miracles attributed to this statue, it had to be exposed to the general public.
Its interior has a Latin cross shaped floor with a tribune-choir at the end; the main nave and that of the transept are covered by a half barnull vault. Wall portraits of Felipe V and María Luisa de Saboya should be noted, as well as coats of arms of the City of Velez and the Borbón Monarch, which can be seen in the oval medallions of the pendentives.
Special mention should be given to the vestuary which has a square shaped floor where the sacred statue of the Virgin by Martín de Aldhuela is kept.

At the end of last century the Velez painter, Evaristo Guerra, decorated the Hermitage inner walls by using the fresco technique of painting with its characteristic style of different countryside and buildings that has come to be called the “transparent Hermitage”, since its walls show the landscape and urban context of Velez-Malaga.


Location: Cerro de San Cristobal (San Cristobal Mountain)
Opening hours: Tuesday to Friday (8:30 to 13:00 & 17:00 to 21:00)
Telephone inquiries: 952506166
Source: E.M.C. Historical and Artistic Heritage Department. Culture and Heritage Council.