GALICIAN HERITAGE

As we receive the German students from the Wilsttater Gymnasium in Nuremberg once again, we have prepared an exhibition of our most important monumental and natural heritage, so that they can see how beautiful our country is. This exhibition is the preview of this year's cultural week. Here in the blog we show the photos, too.

TOWER OF HERCULES. (Roman Lighthouse)

The TORRE DE HÉRCULES (the Hercules Tower) is a Roman tower and lighthouse located in the peninsula of the city of A CORUÑA. It has the priviledge of being the only lighthouse of Roman origin still in use in the world.

It's a World Heritage site since 2009.

LUGO ROMAN WALLS. ( Roman Fortification)

The Muralla Romana de Lugo (the Roman Walls of Lugo) is a fortification from the Roman Empire time located around the city of Lugo (Lucus Augusti) and it's one of the finest examples which is still preserved in the world.

The wall's eliptical perimeter of about 2 kilometres long and a height between 8 and 12 metres, was one of the largest fortifications of its time. There's a walkway over the wall. It was built to defend the city, an important business and communication centre in the North of the penisnula, from local tribesmen and Germanic invaders.

It's World Heritage since the year 2000.

SAINT JAMES OF COMPOSTELA CATHEDRAL.

The CATEDRAL DE SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA (Santiago de Compostela Cathedral) is a Catholic temple located in the city of Santiago de Compostela (A Coruña). It's the Apostle's Saint James' burialplace, what made it become one of the most important pilgrimage sites in Europe since the Middle Ages on to present days.

It's a World Heritage site since 1985.

ST. JAMES' WAY. (Pilgrimage Routes)

O CAMIÑO DE SANTIAGO (Saint James' Way) is the group of access routes for pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela, since the discovery of the remains of the Apostle Saint James. The Way has different alternatives of varied use depending on the times. Its great heyday was in the Middle Ages.

The French Way entering from France through Roncesvalles, following the plateau up to the entrance to Galicia by O Cebreiro. The Aragonian Way entering from France through Somport. The North Way along the Cantabric coastline entering Galicia by Ribadeo. The Portuguese Way from Portugal in the South. The Silver Way for those who come from the South of the peninsula. The English Way from Ferrol and Coruña, where the ships from the British Isles arrived. And the Fisterra-Muxía Way from the pilgrims who continued from Santiago to land's end.

Whenever Saint James' day (25^th July) falls on Sunday it's Holy Year.

It's World Heritage since 1993 and the first European Cultural Route by the European Council since 1987.

CAAVEIRO MONASTERY &

AS FRAGAS DO EUME. (Natural Park)

The Fragas do Eume (the Eume Forest) is located in the province of A Coruña alongside the banks of the river Eume which stretches through the municipalities of As Pontes, A Capela, Monfero, Cabanas and Pontedeume. Fraga is the Galician word for natural woodland and it's the best example of the Atlantic temperate rainforest in Europe and Natural Park since 1997.

Within the limits of this park is the Monastery of Saint John of Caaveiro, founded in the 10th century.

SAINT ANDREW OF TEIXIDO SANCTUARY.

The sanctuary of San Andrés de Teixido (Saint Andrew of Teixido) is located on the cliffs of the Capelada Serra by the ocean in the municipality of Cedeira (A Coruña).

It's a pilgrimage site since the Iron Age, during the Castro culture. It's popularly said that “vai de morto quen non foi de vivo” (“who didn't go alive, goes when dead”).

BAROÑA CASTRO. (Archeological Site)

The Baroña Castro is located in the parish of Baroña, municipality of Porto do Son (A Coruña).

The archeological settlement, placed on a peninsula, was inhabited between the I century before Christ to the I century after Christ. It consists of 20 circular or oval stone houses within a double defensive wall. It's an example of Galician Castro culture.

THE BEACH OF THE CATHEDRALS (RIBADEO).

The Praia de Augas Santas (Beach of the Holy Waters), touristically known as a Praia das Catedrais (the Cathedrals Beach) is located in the parish of Devesa in the municipality of Ribadeo (Lugo).

It's 1500mts long on the Cantabric coast. Its name comes from the formation of its cliffs, caves and natural arches.

SERRA DO XURÉS (Natural Park)

The Serra do Xures Natural Park extends over six Galician and five Portuguese councils. Situated in the South of the province of Ourense on the Portuguese border. It's a granite mountain area and within its limits there are the lowest elevation glacier cirques in the Iberian peninsula. 1993 UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.

THE CIES ISLANDS. (Natural Park)

The Cíes Islands are an archipelago off the coast of Pontevedra in Galicia (Spain), in the mouth of the Ría de Vigo. They were declared a Nature Reserve in 1980 and are included in the Atlantic Islands of Galicia National Park (Parque Nacional Marítimo-Terrestre das Illas Atlánticas de Galicia) created in 2002.

In February 2007 the British newspaper The Guardian chose the beach of Rodas, Spain on the island of Monteagudo, as "the best beach in the world."

O PIORNEDO. (Traditional mountain cottages)

Piornedo is a small village in the Ancares mountains in Spain. It is part of the municipality of Cervantes, in the area of Os Ancares, in the province of Lugo, Galicia. The village is located at a height of approximately 1,300 metres.

Piornedo is famous for its museum, a preserved palloza or traditional house, that shows how people lived in this remote region until comparatively recently.

CARNOTA HORREO. (Typical Galician granary)

An hórreo is a typical granary from the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula (mainly Galicia and Asturias), built in wood or stone, raised from the ground by pillars (esteos in Galician) ending in flat staddle stones (vira-ratos in Galician) to avoid the access of rodents. Ventilation is allowed by the slits in its walls. The longest hórreo in Galicia is located in Carnota, A Coruña and is 35 m long.