La Ermita de la Virgen de las Nieves - Respomuso

 

Ermita de la Virgen de las Nieves (2130m)  - Respomuso (2220m)
photograph by Larissa Kierscht June 4, 2024

Hiking up 5 miles to 7,000 feet, you will find a small chapel (ermita in Spanish), called Ermita de la Virgen de las Nieves…Chapel of the Virgin of the Snows, situaded alongside the Respomuso Dam. In the 1950’s several hydroelectric dams were built in the Pyrenees. Some were built so high in the mountains that the workers were not able to leave for long periods of time. This resulted in the creation of a small village made up of the workers. Every village in Spain needs a church, so the ermita was built for the over 500 workers that built the Respomuso Dam. Today, the dam and the ermita are the only structures that remain. 

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