The old restored church on the beach of Cabo de Gata, Spain.

by Marjolein Zijlstra

The Church of Las Salinas de Cabo de Gata is an early 20th-century Catholic Christian temple , located in Las Salinas, between the districts of La Almadraba de Monteleva and Cabo de Gata , in the city of Almería , Andalusia , Spain . The salt mines of Las Salinas de Cabo de Gata , existing since Roman times , were sold by the state in 1872.
In 1882, they were taken over by a French company. Later, Isabel Oliver and de Cueto would buy them and then pass them on to their heirs, the Acosta family under the name Salineras de Acosta.
The new management of Isabel Oliver and the Acosta's, who founded the Salinas de Almería company in 1904, brought significant benefits that resulted in rental housing for the salt workers, leading to the construction of the church in 1907.
For years, the building was in danger of falling into disrepair. The last time Mass was celebrated in the church was on 25 December 2004. Since 2007, the authorities promised its restoration. Finally, restoration was started and ended on 23 September 2012, resuming liturgical activity, and currently the church of Las Salinas is in good condition, can be visited and on the premises we find a tourist information point about the temple and the park.
Ultimately, the site is and remains an earthy place where the salty sea breeze is the reason for the tortured sandstone columns that still adorn the portal of the historic building in an iconic spot.