Qué ver

Points of interest in Mondoñedo

11 puntos de interés para descubrir

Mapa de lugares

Cargando mapa...

Descripción de cada lugar

Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption

The current construction, begun in the 12th century, is a temple with a Latin cross floor plan, it includes various architectural styles (Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque) and has an interior cloister that gives access to the Episcopal Palace. A building with an amalgam of styles and forms shaped by the passing of the centuries. The cathedral of Mondoñedo is built on an old church and monastery of Santa Maria pre-existing in the place that today occupies this building. Its construction dates from the 13th century, although the Episcopal See was established in Mondoñedo in 1112, but for various reasons, and for the brief transfer of the same to Ribadeo between 1185 and 1219, the works were not carried out until later. It was Bishop Don Martín who brought the work to a successful conclusion, as it is said that he was the one who built it, finishing and consecrating it. The consecration probably took place on October 19 or 20, 1242, since the following year this bishop asked Rome for his retirement, presumably after finishing his work in the construction of the temple. However, Rome did not grant his retirement until years later. This initial construction is made thanks to the episcopal, popular and royal contributions in the figures of the monarchs of León Alfonso IX and Fernando III. It will be a low building, with a central nave higher than the sides and two round towers, one on each side of the main facade. This is the original physiognomy but it will change little by little over the centuries until it becomes what it is today. The great exterior emblem of this temple is its large circular rose window, a work dating from the thirteenth century that allows light to enter the temple, illuminating, today, its large interior stained glass window presided over by a central Pantocrator. The difference in heights between the central nave and the lateral ones is solved in the 14th century with the elevation of the walls to make them equal and thus give it a more uniform exterior appearance. It was not until the 16th century that new work was done on the exterior of the temple and it was the initiative of Bishop Diego de Soto. They will consist of a recess in front of the main facade of the temple that will be closed, giving place to a small square that will separate the entrance of the cathedral with the rest of the square and that will be maintained until well into the twentieth century. The front closing of this one, will be of stonework and the lateral ones of iron. It will have access doors in the lateral closings. In 1503 there is already a clock in the cathedral mindoniense that will be changed in 1585. In the 18th century the greatest change in the cathedral façade will take place, as two new towers will be built to replace the previous round and low towers. These new towers will be square and with a height of 35 meters. In 1718 the first one (on the left) was inaugurated and in 1720 the second one (on the right). The last exterior renovation took place in the 20th century (1968) and affected the entrance to the cathedral and the square that opens in front of its façade. In these works the closing that had been in front of the façade since the 16th century will be eliminated, the square will be lowered to equalize the height with it and the cantons that were in front will be moved back, leaving only the arcades under the houses that close the square. Inside, today, there is a large central nave open from the entrance to the main altar and two smaller aisles that allow a tour of the entire temple and that are joined behind the main altar in a ambulatory. The arms of the transept, smaller than the main nave, are intended to house part of the wooden choir and the current organ (left arm) and as a place for the faithful and access to the cloister (right arm). This is the aspect that we find when we enter the Mindonian cathedral, but it is a view that was built slowly since the thirteenth century. The temple was already growing since the beginning of the current construction of the Chapel of the Holy Sacrament.

POI

Old Fountain

In the mid-sixteenth century, the city's fountain was not adequate to supply the existing population. This was a fountain made as a raft. The new construction was assumed by the bishop Diego de Soto and was finished in 1548 as indicated in the foundation inscription. This stone building was built lower than the previous one and originally had four spouts. The construction preserves its original state, with the fountain under a flared arch with a small space around it that was accessed by a staircase built in steps. In the highest part of the construction, crowning it, we find the Imperial coat of arms of Carlos I and, on both sides in the lower part, two of the bishop who ordered the works.

POI

Royal Conciliar Seminary of Santa Catalina

The Mindonian Seminary is an institution that was born after the dictates of the Council of Trent, possibly thanks to Bishop Fray Pedro Maldonado who participated in it as a theologian before being proposed by King Philip II for the Mindonian See. On this point both the City Council, the Chapter and the Bishop agreed and so the decision was made to start it up in 1565 following the dictates of Trent. Thus, in 1573 the Seminary was up and running. It was at numbers 1 and 2 of the old street "do Colexio", then Padilla Street, Generalísimo Franco Street and today Aflonso VII Street. This first building, with the passage of time it is seen that it does not meet the conditions suitable to the intended purpose neither in its structure nor in the teachings that are taught so it is considered necessary to move the seminary to a new location. The bishop Francisco Losada y Quiroga will be the architect of the new building because, after asking permission to the king for the work and obtaining the authorization, he will face the construction in an orchard called "O Torrillón" of episcopal property behind the Cathedral. The first phase of the current building, the work of the master Ignacio Estévez, was built between 1770 and 1775. It consisted of a single cloister with first floor and second floor. This new construction was intended to be an adequate place for the formation of the seminarians. For this reason, besides pretending that the new Seminary would be modern, it was intended to teach not only grammar but also Philosophy and Theology, two branches of knowledge that were not taught in the previous building due to lack of space. In this attempt to make the Seminary a cultural center, the public library was moved to this new building in 1775, after a request to the King. This library in 1778 already had 245 works. During the following century (XIX) this place suffered multiple vicissitudes from the beginning. Thus in 1809, in the middle of the War of Independence against the French, the Seminary was used by General Francisco Fournier as barracks for his troops during the three months that the French occupied Mondoñedo. A little later, in 1836, during the Carlist Wars, this place will also be reused for military use. It became a defensive fortress and the classrooms had to be moved to the monastery of San Pedro de la Alcántara. After all this, towards the end of the century, there was a change in the trend and an extension of the building was built on a second floor between 1888 and 1889 at the request of Bishop Cos y Macho. The plans were signed by the provincial architect Nemesio Cobreros and the master builder was José Rivas, from Lugo. The twentieth century was the greatest splendor of the Seminary because in the middle of the century it doubled its capacity. Now, first of all, a new pavilion was built for stewardship, kitchen, pantry, reflectorium and, later, between 1947 and 1953, new works were carried out in order to double the capacity of the Seminary, so a new cloister and a large chapel were built. Currently the building has two cloisters and a pavilion with two and three aisles, inside it houses several chapels and a library that holds works of great interest among which stands out some incunabula.

POI

Sanctuary of the Virgin of Los Remedios

The original chapel of Nuestra Señora de los Remedios de la Pena de Outeiro was endowed by Bishop Fray Francisco de Santa María Benavides in 1558 and, in a short time, became a center of Marian devotion. After a first attempt of reform in the XVII century, a total reconstruction was carried out in the XVIII century. The present building, built by order of Bishop Sarmiento between 1733 and 1738, was constructed after demolishing the previous one. This work was directed by the architect Fray Lorenzo de Santa Teresa, master builder of the convent of San Pedro de Alcántara, although the basic lines were drawn by the bishop himself. The resulting building will be a church with a Latin cross plan and a sacristy behind the High Altar. Likewise, the naves, transept arms and the Main Chapel were covered with barrel vaults and the layout of the transept, which is the place where both arms of the Latin cross that forms the floor plan cross, is octagonal in shape. The main façade presents a wide doorway framed by two columns and crowned by an ovoid cartouche with an inscription that reads "A expensas del Ilustrísimo Señor Obispo Sarmiento se reedificó y amplió eta capilla. Year of 1738". Above it a window opens as a small rose window and to finish off this central section, we find the arms of Bishop Sarmiento de Sotomayo. On both sides there are two towers with pilasters and two bell towers. Today we can only find bells in the right tower. In the left one a reoj was installed. In the two towers there is an inscription that says "This chapel was begun in the month of June of 1733 and was finished in June of 1738 being Bishop and Lord of Mondoñedo Don Fray Antonio Alexandro Sarmiento Sotomayor" (right tower). In spite of everything, the facade will not be finished until years later and it is made with charge to 2000 ducats that the bishop leaves destined for this end. The work was carried out in 1755 when the bishop had already died. Of the original construction a lintel is conserved above the lateral door of the right facade that possesses the shield of the bishop founder of the same one, D.Francisco de Santa Maria Benavides (XVI century). In the interior, the High Altar has an altarpiece of baroque style that was finished in 1744, because it is when the Cabildo decided to transfer the Virgin of the Remedies to her chapel and to celebrate the sung mass, but it will not be until the end of 1745 when the gilding of this one that today we can contemplate here is contracted. In it is the patron saint of the chapel: the Virgen de los Remedios, but we can find other images such as the Assumption of the Virgin, San Ildefonso, San Anselmo, San Bernardo or San Ruperto, all of them carvings of the eighteenth century. The original disposition of the transept in octagonal form, allows to lodge four altarpieces. Those of the front part, facing the High Altar, of Baroque style and those of the back part of Rococo style. All of them from the XVIII century. In them we can find images of Saint Scholastica (front right), Saint Benedict Abbot (front left), the Virgin of the Rosary - picture - (back right) and the saints San Domingo de Guzman and San Vicente Ferrer (back left). This church is the parish church of Los Remedios, constituted as an independent parish in the reform carried out in 1895.

POI

Old Consistory

The city, since ancient times, has an important urban development and has its own public figures, such as the Alderman and Mayors, but for a long time the lay power was closely linked to the ecclesiastical. And so, it was not until the 16th century when the Town Council meetings were held outside the Cathedral. Until this century, the meetings were held in the Hall of the Knights of the cathedral, but now it is necessary to have a place of its own for the meetings of the City Council and with a room to collect the bread. We are in the year 1563. To fulfill this purpose, it was decided to acquire two houses that had been burned in the past and that were located on one of the sides of the Cathedral Square. Along with the purchase of the same, the works of conditioning that will finish in 1569 are begun. After this date, the Imperial Coat of Arms was installed, which is still preserved today on the façade overlooking the square in 1575 and in 1582 when the building was finished off with five pipes to evacuate the water from the roof. From that time on, municipal meetings would be held here and, according to the legend above the door of the hall, they would be for the public good. The inscription read: "Here inside there is no place for Passion, fear or interest Only the public good is the one to be looked after 1584" The last reform on the façade took place in the 18th century. It is the construction of the wrought iron balcony overlooking the Cathedral Square. Today the building preserves the pipes, coat of arms and balcony and also has a small niche on its eastern façade where we can find a polychrome wooden image of San Roque from the 18th century. At the moment, these dependences are headquarters of the Municipal Public Library and the Municipal Office of Tourism.

POI

Convent of the Conception

The foundation of the same dates from the XVII century being its founder Doña María Pardo de Andrade. Her will dated October 26, 1639 led to a long lawsuit for its location, as she wanted the foundation in the Campo de los Remedios, which was opposed by the Dean and the Cabildo, so that finally the Conceptionist nuns were installed in the first instance in the "Couto de Outeiro" in the year 1656. In 1707 by order of the bishop due to the state of ruin in which the first building was, the congregation is transferred to the Episcopal Palace and there it will remain until a new one is made. In the first instance they request to build a new headquarters in the Campo de Nuestra Señora de los Remedios, but the chapter opposes again in 1708. In 1712 a new request was made to found a new residence within the city, in the property of María Pardo Lanzós Aguiar y Montoro, in a house and orchard that she owned in the street "Batitales", today Concepcionistas street. Thus, in 1713, with the approval of the Bishop and the Cabildo, a firm decision was made to build a new building, which will be the one they occupy until today. The rehabilitation of the house and the construction of the church were almost ready in 1716, the year in which the transfer took place. The master builders were Antonio Blanco, Salvador Fernández and José Lapine (the first two from Mondoñedo and the last one from Santa Eulalia de Bóveda). At present the complex presents a convent with a single central cloister, surrounded by an orchard, and a church with choir and choir loft. The cloister is square with three floors and a small central garden. The church is cobra of José Ferrón or Terrón de Pontedeume, has a single nave with two sections of groin vault and dome below on pendentives and lantern. The presbytery is covered by groin vault. The cover presents two pilasters supporting a cornice in which a popular image of the Immaculate Virgin (in stone) and a circular pediment is placed. It also has two coats of arms of the Franciscan order. In the interior, it has altarpieces and imagery of the XVIII century. The High Altar is the work of Dionisio del Monte.

POI

Convent of Alcántara - C.I. North Santiago Way

The Convent of Alcántara consists of three buildings: the Convent of Alcántara, the Church of San Pedro de Alcántara and the Chapel of the Venerable Third Order. Of these, there remains part of the building used as a hostel for pilgrims on their way to Santiago, the Church of San Pedro which houses the Cultural Center of Alcántara on Mindonienses writers and musicians as well as the Interpretation Center of the North Road to Santiago and the Chapel of the Venerable Third Order of San Francisco where the images that procession during Holy Week are kept. At present this complex, except for the VOT Chapel, is a disentailed building, that is, it ceased to be the property of the church in the 19th century, during the disentailment process. This meant that its life was very short, barely a century, since the friars settled in the convent in 1730 and were exclaustrated in 1835. Bishop Muñoz y Salcedo wished to create a monastery of the Barefoot Alcantarine Fathers and so he made it known to the Chapter, which agreed with him on the spiritual needs of Mondoñedo and the suitability of carrying out the foundation. Once in agreement, they raised the request to the corresponding ecclesiastical dignities and in 1727 the first friars were already in the city to look for a location and finalize the agreements for the foundation. The land considered suitable, located at the end of what is now the small square of San Xoán, belonged to the Cabildo and, after compensation, the works were authorized, but were slowed down by a dispute arising from the opposition of the religious of the Convent of Los Picos. In 1729, following an agreement, the request was submitted to Rome and the work continued. The approval of Rome arrived in 1731 and with it the religious of the Alcantara were authorized to begin community life. Together with the construction of the convent, the Church of San Pedro de Alcántara was built with an architecture similar to that of the convent. This is a construction of a single nave with three sections. It has vaults and a vaulted dome. The chapel of the VOT, built in 1731, is a contiguous building to the Church of San Pedro, it presents a plant with three differentiated spaces: Nave, Presbytery and Sacristy. The Main Altarpiece is by Andrés de Barriera (1743) of Regional Baroque style with three bodies. The person in charge of the works will be Fray Lorenzo de Santa Rosa (master builder of the Convent of Vallamañán). The Alcanarinos fathers were exclaustrated in the confiscations of the 19th century, so the convent and the church ceased to function as such. Even so, the church had a religious recovery in charge of the Passionist Fathers during part of the 20th century. Today it houses the museum content already indicated.

POI

Hospital de San Pablo y San Lázaro

The Mindonian hospital tradition goes back to ancient times and in addition to a hospital for lepers, in 1275 the first news about a "alberguería" (Hospital de San Pablo), a hospital for pilgrims and a residence for the elderly and sick located in the Plaza de la Catedral, is documented. Located towards the street "da Rigueira" and the river Sixto. Today this construction has disappeared. In the eighteenth century, Bishop Sarmiento de Sotomayor intended to build a new hospital that would meet the appropriate conditions to perform its function. He managed to merge the old hospitals into a new building that would bear the names of San Pablo and San Lázaro, as he managed to get the aldermen of Mondoñedo to cede the patronage and administration of both in 1750. The hospital was built between 1750 and 1775 in the upper part of the city, in the Alameda de los Remedios, next to the jail that had been built earlier and that today is no longer standing, as the P.A.C. was built in its place. This building has a square floor plan with a baroque façade and a central patriotic façade. On the main façade it has the coat of arms of Bishop Sarmiento and Mondoñedo, forming a singular ensemble. In the interior it has a chapel that houses a baroque altarpiece of two bodies of the XVIII century with a Christ of epoch.

POI

Mondoñedo City Council

The current town hall, located in the Plaza "do Concello" is an old Palace of the eighteenth century (1747) where the headquarters of the Provincial Regiment of Mondoñedo was located. The building has a quadrangular floor plan with three granite stone facades where we can find two coats of arms: a Royal coat of arms and the coat of arms of the City. On the left wall of the building was supported by the wall that surrounded the city and in the openwork area was the Chapel of the Anguishes that gave its name to the arch that was located in this place. This building, which houses the municipal offices from 1932, had its last reform in the 90s of the twentieth century. It currently houses the Mayor's Office, Secretary's Office, Administrative Offices, Treasury, Technical Services, Social Services, Archives and Local Police.

POI

Os Muíños Handicrafts

The mindoniense neighborhood known as "Os Muíños" (The Mills) is located in the outskirts of the urban area, at the foot of one of the traditional entrances to the city. In this area were concentrated since ancient times, an important number of craftsmen that with the exercise of their trade, supplied the city and the surroundings: mills, forges, ceramists, stamp makers, etc. and this could be, thanks to two water channels that cross the neighborhood and provide the necessary strength to move the machines of these small industries. The water moved the mill to make flour, moved the hammers of the forges and even moved dynamos that allowed these workshops to have electric light autonomously. Today, following the artisan tradition of the area, some workshops are preserved in the place that keep alive the first reason for the existence of the neighborhood. Thus, we find a stonemason, a puppeteer, a pottery, an art workshop and a little further away the silkscreen printers. Stone is part of our lives, of our history. It is in our houses, in our monuments and in our literature. The work of the stonemason is the conversion of stone into art through the characteristic sound of this craft, the continuous hammering. Here is the passage from Stone to Art, here we can see that almost magical transformation of the inert into something eternal. All of us, at some point in our childhood, discovered the magical world of puppets. Nowadays, surely more than one of us would be watching one of these representations made by puppets without being able to look away from them, because of the energy they give off despite being so small. In Mondoñedo there is a workshop where you can observe these little dream makers and you can also see how all the necessary elements are made to make them work. This is a great little theater within reach of those who know how to enjoy it. The conjugation of the clays and the action of the hands can lead to unsuspected forms. Pots, bowls, jugs, basins or simple flowerpots are the forms of the earth that are created on the various lathes that the pottery has. And the art itself with its workshop. Where iron is forged, twisted, molded and not only this but also the stone combined with it or alone. Art in its purest form. The technique of passing ink through a fabric stretched on a frame to make a print, is something very old and much more complex than it may seem to us laymen in the field. Screen printing is represented here in a workshop where designs and motifs based on Galician nature and culture are made. Everything is done by hand, with great delicacy. The molds are prepared, the fabrics are printed with natural colors and everything is made with environmentally friendly products. An art workshop with works of art to wear and show off at any time and place.

POI

Cova do Rei Cintolo

The Cueva del Rei Cintolo, with 6,500 meters of galleries, is the largest cave in Galicia. This Cambrian geological treasure stands out for its spectacular speleothems such as stalactites and lakes. It is an important archaeological site with remains from the Paleolithic and the Middle Ages. Its legend tells the story of the sinking of the kingdom of Bría, where the princess Xila is still waiting to be rescued.

← Volver a Mondoñedo