Lugo (Lugo) (0)

Did you know that... Lugo

It is situated in the northwest of the peninsula, on a hill, in the lands included in the Biosphere Reserve "Tierras del Miño". With a landscape of rounded mountains and not very high, is surrounded by the river Miño, the Rato and the Chanca in addition to the two that cross it, the Fervedoira and the Mera. Although it is known that several areas where the city is located today were inhabited since ancient times, flint pieces, tumuli, dolmens ... as they accredit, the origin of Lugo is in a castro on which then the Romans built the city of Lucus Augusti, founded in 25 BC by Paulo Fabio Maximo, being the oldest in Galicia. In the 3rd century, the city was surrounded by a wall built with slate slabs and reinforced with granite ashlars. Years later, the city grew, as the inhabitants of the nearby castros settled there.

A little more history

In the successive centuries, Lugo sees how stages of splendour are marred by others of decadence, dancing to the sound of historical events. Suevi, Visigoths, Muslims, the Reconquest, the struggles between the kingdoms... Between the 11th and 13th centuries, Lugo was the protagonist of popular revolts against the power of the feudal lords. In the sixteenth century was named by Charles I capital of the kingdom of Galicia, but the city was losing protagonism in favor of Santiago de Compostela until the eighteenth century became the great agrarian capital of Galicia thanks to the granting of royal privilege in favor of the fairs of San Froilán, by Ferdinand VI in the year 1754. The 19th and 20th centuries, with the War of Independence, the Carlists, the Galician Revolution of 1846, the Republics and the Civil War, did not go unnoticed by Lugo either, as each and every one of these events left their physical imprint on buildings and monuments, as well as on the economic, social and cultural activity of its people.

What to see in Lugo?

Lugo lends itself to walking through it with a paused calm, strolling through its streets and discovering beautiful corners. First, as a watchman, you walk the two kilometres around its impressive wall, the only one in the world that preserves its entire perimeter and was declared a World Heritage Site in year 2000, with its ten doors, the so-called False in the Square of Ferrol, the Porta de San Pedro, through which pilgrims enter the city, the Miña gate through which the Jacobean route leaves, also known as the Carmen gate because of the old sanctuary in front of it, or the Porta de Santiago, another of the exits taken by pilgrims, was the old Porta del Postigo or Pexigo. Lugo also conserves Roman thermal baths and a Roman bridge. When the visitor enters the historic centre, between the Square of Soedade and the Square of the Campo, it is situated where the primitive Roman camp was. In the square do Campo there is a baroque fountain crowned with a statue of San Vicente Ferrer.

To discover

The Romanesque-Gothic cathedral of Santa María, very close to the door of Santiago, began to be built in the 12th century in the place where there was a pre-Romanesque basilica before, it keeps in its interior one of the most visited chapels, that of Nuestra Señora de los Ojos Grandes, "A Nosa Señora dos Ollos Grandes". Outside, in the Santa María square, the Episcopal Palace, although mostly Baroque, has a medieval origin. The church of San Pedro, Gothic, which formerly formed part of the convent of San Francisco. The beautiful church of San Froilán, patron saint of Lugo, and you arrive at the monumental set of Santo Domingo's square that exhibits church, convent of century XIV and an imperial column dedicated to Augustus, from there the stroll approaches to the Major square in which the facade of the town hall of a baroque-galician style stands out. Museums, such as the Provincial Museum, river walks around the city to the south or the Rosalía de Castro Park with its two sequoias over twenty-five metres long, can complete the visit to the millenary city of Lugo, from which tourists cannot leave without enjoying its rich gastronomy irrigated with tasty local wines. To do so, it is necessary to visit the taverns and bars of the streets Rúa Nova, known as Rúa dos Viños, and Praza do Campo.

Festivities

Lugo celebrates its patron saint festivities in honour of San Froilán on 5 October, the first weekend of September is La Milagrosa, on 16 July the Virgen del Carmen and on 15 August the festival is for San Roque, without forgetting the great festivity of Santiago Apóstol on 25 July.

Traditions

Within the days of festivities in honour of San Froilán Lugo lives a great day, the traditional Domingo das Mozas. In the parade that takes place between the Major square and the park of Rosalía de Castro, to render an offering depositing flowers to the feet of the bust of so famous Galician writer, the regional costumes and the Galician folklore are the protagonists..

Curiosities

The path enters Lugo through the district of A Chanta, passing through the medieval bridge that was rebuilt in the 16th century. In this neighbourhood and over the valley of the river Chanca, the bridge-viaduct is built, the construction of which took three years for the A Coruña-Palencia railway line to pass through. It is a curious work of engineering that meant for Lugo a resurgence and important economic expansion. The first train that arrived in Lugo came from La Coruña and was on 5 October 1875, although the bridge was not inaugurated until 1880 when the works of the station were finished. With its almost 300 metres long, today it is one of the recognisable symbols of Lugo.

The Legend

It is said that the name of Lugo is related to the god Lug, Celtic divinity that possessed all the powers and developed all the functions of the other gods. And it is said that one day he wanted to go to the room where the deities met and these did not allow entry, as they were already inside each and every one of the gods with his particular gift, and that he was only "a god of light. Then Lug, whose symbol was a crow and was known as "the long hand" because he had a sacred weapon of accurate tino, showed that he was the only one who brought together all functions and could perform them in unison, which was allowed entry to the enclosure.