Mondoñedo, historical and cultural heritage

About Mondoñedo, located in the Camino del Norte to Santiago, said D. Álvaro Cunqueiro, the most illustrious literate in the city, was rich in bread, water and Latin. And of course I was right, because this is a town hall with a great historical and cultural heritage, with a great natural richness and where gastronomy also plays an important role.

Thus, Mondoñedo holds the title of city from 1156 for a regional concession by Alfonso VII of León and has been the province capital until the liberal reforms of 1833 in which it is integrated within the province of Lugo.

For all this, and as the head of the diocese since 1112, he has been gathering an important historical and monumental heritage to this day. With what currently has an impressive Casco Histórico, declared as such in 1985, it is included within the network of The Most Beautiful Peoples of Spain (2017), and of all of it, the most outstanding monument is its Basilica Cathedral of La Asunción which has been a UNESCO Heritage Site since 2015, declared as well as the declaration of the Camino Norte to Santiago.

From the Cathedral, it should also be pointed out that it is the only one that the pilgrim will find on the Camino del Norte in Galicia until his arrival in Santiago and not only that, but it is the only one between Santander and Santiago de Compostela, with which he deserves a visit.

Now, already in Mondoñedo, we must mention, next to it, buildings of great historical and monumental interest such as the Episcopal Palace (whose current facades are of its last reform in the s. XVIII), the Royal Conciliar Seminary of Santa Catalina (s. XVIII), the Old Source (s. XVI), the Old Consistory (s. XVI), the current city building (s. XVIII), the Hospital of St. Paul and St. Lazarus (s. XVIII), the Shrine of Os Remedios (s. XVIII) or the Monastery of Concepción (s. XVIII). And, with them, obligatory mention also, to their museums such as the Casa Museo Álvaro Cunqueiro, the Museum of Printing and the Interpretation Center of the Camino de Santiago.

Now that we see heritage, we go to another cultural aspect, the festival. The most important, in mid-October, the oldest fairs in Galicia and the oldest ones in Spain (over 860 years old) and are held here since 1156, are As San Lucas that have the distinction of Festival of Galician Tourist Interest (in processing the one of National Tourist Interest). But they are not the only ones because both the celebrations of Easter and the Medieval Market (mid August) have this distinction of Galician Tourist Interest.

It naturally has landscapes and wealth worth mentioning. Protected areas such as A Fraga Vella (Red Natura 2000 and LIC), important waterways among which the river Masma stands out – where fishing can be practised – and with an area of limestone rocks that make here the largest caves of Galicia with more than 7km interior route, the Cova do Rei Cintolo.

And in the gastronomic field the local orchard or the meats raised in the area have a superior quality, but the star product is the famous Mondoñedo Cake. An amazing dessert based on puff pastry, drunken cake, angel hair and almonds and that has been and is present in tables as illustrious as the kings of Spain or those of the Vatican.

Culture, history, nature, crafts, gastronomy and literature concentrated in a dream place to enjoy life. Mondoñedo. A must stop place in the periplo Jacobeo del Norte.