Mondoñedo

Mondoñedo is a 3,639 inhabitants town located in the inner part of the area called Mariña Lucense, the seaside in Lugo province, in northeastern part of Galicia, Spain. Mondoñedo was designed conjunto histórico in 1985. It's part of the Northern Way of St. James and it's also the birthplace of Álvaro Cunqueiro, one of the most important writers in Galician that also wrote in Spanish. 

How do I arrive to Mondoñedo?

  Mondoñedo isn't quite well connected to other points of Galicia but it can still be reached easily from the nearest cities in Lugo province. 

• Train: narrow-gauge railway FEVE connects Ribadeo four times everyday with Ferrol (aprox. 3 hours) and twice with Oviedo (aprox. 2 hours).
  
• Bus: there are daily buses that reach Mondoñedo from Viveiro (aprox. 1 hour), Lugo (aprox. 1.5 hours), from A Coruña (aprox. 1 hour 45 minutes) and from Santiago de Compostela (aprox. 2 hours 20 minutes). There are also eight daily buses from Ribadeo to Viveiro (aprox. 1 hour), daily buses to A Coruña, Lugo and Santiago de Compostela. It has also four daily buses to Ribadeo from Luarca and Oviedo, in Asturias. 
• Car: going by car Mondoñedo is 30 minutes from Ribadeo, 55 minutes journey from Viveiro, 1 hour from Lugo and 1 hour 10 minutes from Ferrol. It's can also be reached from places of Asturias like Oviedo (aprox. 1 hour 40 minutes).

History

There are archaelogical remains that say that the valley where Mondoñedo is located was inhabited since Neolithic period. This area is very linked to Great Britain because Britons arrived here around the 5th century, like bishop Mailoc. The first time when Mondoñedo was mentioned was when the queen Urraca changed the episcopal see from San Martiño de Mondoñedo to Vilibria, current town of Modoñedo. King Alfonso VII gave Mondoñedo the title of city but the episcopal see was changed to Ribadeo to promote the growth of this town (1182-1230). One of the most important facts that took place here is the beheading of marshal Pardo de Cela (who obtained Isabella I of Castile's pardon but whose opposers managed to stop the messengers with the sacred pardon). Mondoñedo was capital city of a province till 1833.

What can I visit in Mondoñedo?

Mondoñedo is quite small but has a nice Old Town around the cathedral, rúa do Progresso and praza do Concello. It has a beautiful Renaissance fountain, Fonte Vella.

These are Mondoñedo's main attractions:

• Mondoñedo Cathedral (10-14:30 and 15:30-19 Mon-Thu; 10-19 Fri-Sat; 14-19 Sun; 4.50€/ 4€/ 3€  adults/ retiree/ students): 13th century Romanesque style cathedral with pinnacles added in the 18th century. Inside it has a Barroque altarpiece in the Romanesque choir, Barroque chapels and a beautiful 18th century organ. It's most impressing piece of art is the Gothic fresco Degollación de los inocentes and it's also curious it has an English Virgin Mary that dates back to the 16th century.
• Mondoñedo Diocesan and Sacred Art Museum (10:15-13:50 and 16:15-18:30 Tue-Sat; 10:15-11.45 and 16:30-19:50 Sun; 2€ with guided tour): interesting museum with the finest goldsmithing of the cathedral's treasure as well as paitings and sculptures. Maybe the most interesting piece is a Madonna and Child from the 13th century.
• Mago Merlín Museum: library-museum founded by Manolo Montero that is consagrated to Álvaro Cunqueiro and Galician magic.
• St. Catalina Royal Seminary: 16th century seminary which is said to be one of the best in the whole Way of St. James. It's one of the first of its kind built in Spain.
• Nuestra Señora dos Remedios Sanctuary (open during mass): 18th century church with a beautiful Baroque altarpiece.
• 8 km far from Mondoñedo there's St. Salvador Church (only available with guided tour), church with an impressing façade done by Casas y Novoa (Santiago de Compostela cathedral's façade architect). Inside there's a great Baroque style altarpiece.

Mondoñedo Cathedral

Nuestra Señora dos Remedios Sanctuary

Praia das Catedrais

Going 35 km north it can be found Ribadeo (9,972 inhabitants), a seaside resort located by the Cantabric Sea and on the border between Galicia and Austurias that owns an interesting harbour and a nice Old Town. The route between Ribadeo and Viveiro by the coast is very beautiful, with a combination of cliffs and sand beaches. Just 10 km west from the town there's the famous and awesome beach Praia das Catedrais (from Jul to Sep it's needed a authorization; free), a 1.5 km stunning beach with Gothic-looking rock towers, archers and chamber carved by the sea (it's consideredd one of the 5 most impressing Spanish beaches). It's recommended not visiting it when it's under water (1-2 hours either side of high tide). Continuing in direction Viveiro there's the resort town of Foz, small town with a beautiful beach and specially popular in summer. On the outskirts of this town it can be found St. Martiño de Mondoñedo Church (11-14 and 16-20), an 12th century church which is probably the first one founded by Britons who escaped from England around the 5th or 6th centuries. According to the legend, bishop Gonzalo made the Vikings (who were planning to attack the area) run way from here. Keeping our way 14 km from Foz there's town of Burela, main Galician harbour in tuna fishing and tuna canned. Four km from here there's the pottery factory Sargadelos (10:30-14 and 16:30-20 from Jun to Sep; 10:30-14 and 15:30-18 from Oct to May; free), an interesting exposition about this pottery with geometrical decoration that is very linked to Galician 20th century art

Where can I eat in Mondoñedo?

Mondoñedo has a very typical dessert called tarta de Mondoñedo, a cake with almond and spaghetti squash jam. It's sold, among others, in La Alianza (rúa do Progresso 22) or O Rei das Tartas (praza da Catedral 15). Mondoñedo is a small town so there isn't a large number of places to eat.
Ribadeo has an important culinary offer, with some nice restaurant with low-medium prize like La Botellería (rúa San Francisco 24) and taberna Antón (rúa San Francisco 38). For higher budgets other choices are the restaurant O Cabazo (rúa Río do Amalló 1) and the seafood restaurant San Miguel (porto deportivo).

Posted in: Europe,Galicia,Spain