Our Lady of the River

Mother of the Almanzora · Huércalo-Overa (Almería)

In Huércalo-Overa, next to the Almanzora channel, we venerate Our Lady of the River, also called of the Unprotected, Mother of the people in the face of the rivals and calamities of their land.

Origin and history

The tradition places the origin in the 18th century: a miller, surprised by the rise of the Almanzora, was entrusted to the Virgin and, saved, raised a temple with a Marian image by the river. A later raid destroyed that first temple, and devotion continued with the image of Our Lady of the Unprotected, known as Virgin of the River.

The existence of a sanctuary is documented in the area of "La Santa," in the confluence of the ramp with the Almanzora, destroyed by the great riad of 19 October 1973. The devotion was then reorganized in the urban centre, in the current Júcar Street hermitage. The Diputación de Almería recognized the continued devotion since the 17th century with the Golden Shield of the province. The procession of Palm Sunday is one of the most significant acts of the municipality.