041 - Pontevedra - Galicia/Spain
On this blog, we’ve presented Rias Baixas region, so far, in 14 articles. This coastal region, divided into four estuarine inlets (as legend says: shaped by the Hand of God), is home to the capital city of the whole region, named Pontevedra. Let's discover!
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041.1 As an European, saying Pontevedra, implies saying Ponte which means bridge. Vedra… that I always thought it means green from verde… but actually it means: old. Thus the name Pontevedra translates: “old bridge”. Initially I planed to do just the old bridge in 3D and then after finishing it I decided to do 3 or 4 more. After starting the third one I realised that 4 won’t really fit in the hexagon shape, plus one and a half week of nighttime working meant that I would have to push back again this article by a lot.
041.2 Ponte do Burgo is the oldest bridge in Pontevedra, and it was built on top of an ancient roman bridge and reworked quite a few times since. This old bridge is exactly the one giving the name to the city -> Ponte (bridge) vedra (old).
041.3 Tirantes Bridge is a cantilever spar cable-stayed bridge, a style that was pioneered in Sevilla (Spain). This bridge was finished in 1995, almost 900 years after the original Burgo. I wonder how this bridge will age. This is the second bridge I walked on and is the most striking so I had to make it also in 3D for this article. We walked on this one just so that we walk back on it. Most of the sightseeing is in the old town.
041.4 To finish with the topic of bridges, in Pontevedra, here is Corrientes Bridge. We went from pure stone & cement to cement & steel, and now steel & glass. This is the youngest bridge of the three, finished in 2012, and while not that easy to see in this image, but the pedestrian way is partially covered with glass so you are a bit protected when raining and also protected from side wind. There are two more bridges, Ponte de Barca which used to be so beautiful, while the new one is… just boring and not in tone with these three shown here. As you probably see in this image there are boats docked, meaning in that direction is the estuary and then the ocean.
041.5 Parador de Pontevedra. It is normal in Spain to book a night (or more) in a palace. In fact as I reach Asturias with the articles, I will present such a place, as a guest. This palace, Casa del Baron is from the 16th century, and it is found in the old town area of Pontevedra, and as it can be seen, is free for booking on your favourite app or website :) If you can afford it or better: if you “hunt” for price reductions, and see a parador with super affordable price, then you should really book at least two nights. I love museums and palaces/castles and being able to be in one for the nights and dinner and breakfast… yeah I am all for it!
041.6 This is Pontevedra city Hall, a building from 1880, and which contains some elements from the old 16th century town hall, such as the two inscribed plates of the Greek mythical archer and founder of this city, Teucer. More can be read at the bottom of the article, in the legend section.
041.7 San Domingos Ruins, oldest ruins in Pontevedra (late 13th century). It is in ruins mostly because some wanted to destroy it completely, while other prominent figures in Pontevedra, wanted to preserve this old monument. Lucky me, I love ruins so I was happy to see these, so much so that this was the first reason for my first trip. (My first 6 to 7 months in Spain I made photos that are lost due to hard disk failure … so thee photos are from other times I came back)
041.8 This staircase is from inside a vila (Villa Pilar) that belonged to a Spanish Colonist who lived in Cuba. His workers, built this house in over 6 years and it is in the Art Nouveau style. I took the picture because I saw from the street just how beautiful the staircase is, however reading about it on Wikipedia, it is even more interesting now. Is weird that the story of this vila is more interesting than that of the big palace that I will feature in the next article…
041.9 This is a sideview of Saint Rich Chapel. Its history goes back to Medieval Ages however it was moved several times, until it got to this exact location, where there were held bull fights (see next image).
041.10 Praza de Touros de Pontevedra. I would have liked to say that this building is old, but it’s not the case… bullfighting used to take place in a Square Plaza - and they would close the entry roads (from streets, to the square). Locals would then go in buildings and from those windows watch the show. So in 1892 they build a wooden arena and soon after, re-made it in stone - this exact one from my picture. I did not even know that this sort of arena (which is quite common in Spain) is actually the only one in Galicia. When I did the research for the website I knew I wanted to do some bridges in 3D for the article art piece. I finished the work in about 3 weeks, and I was super proud of the time it took me. Just so that I arrive at this moment in my article and find out that Praza de Touros is the only bullfighting arena in the whole Galicia… so yeah I had to modify quite a bit so I can fit this unique monument. And I added two more nights of work.
041.11 Church of Santa María la Mayor - it is the main church of Pontevedra and unlike the bridges, this one is really old - 16th century. In fact it is built on top of an existing chapel from roman era, that was demolished in the 15th century.
041.12 Plaza de Teucer (square) - Another square - however this time maybe the name sounds familiar; Teucer is the founder of the city, and more about it in the legend at the end of the article. 
041.13 One of the oldest streets in Pontevedra who still keep it’s original name from the 13th century (calle de los Arcos de San Bartolomé). There is a restaurant on the left side and on the right side there is (was) a bakery, one of the oldest in town since 1880. Sadly upon reading about it… it too got closed and I can’t say that I was blown away. If somebody does visit the region, and somehow do read all I write: know that the best bread and pastry I ate were at El Trigal in Vigo. They sell bread to others, and for example not far from them, on the other side of the stadium, they have fresh bacon. They cut it live when making sandwiches and wow does it taste good and if not for the price, it is the best sandwich.
041.14 Medieval clothing seen in a window
041.15 Museum of Pontevedra, main building. It combines medieval stone work with modern glass. Not that pretty if you ask me. The museum is actually spread across multiple old buildings in Pontevedra old town.
041.16 Palacete (hotel) de Bernardo López Abadín, built in the 19th century is quite easy to be impressed by its windows and chimney. Upon reading about it, I found out that it is built in the French eclectic style and royalty slept here. I loved the white with golden ornate doors, a style that is common in the Atlantic Galicia. Now I think there is a bank there.
041.17 Plaza de la Lena - yet another medieval square, much smaller than the other ones, yet this one was more alive. This place is quite old, since 15th century, and served as a market place where people used to sell wood for kitchen use (wood and pinecones). In fact the purpose of the square, is in it’s name.
041.18 Pazo Castro Monteagudo - This building is from 17th century and became in the early 19s the HQ of the Pontevedra Museum. Now what makes it interesting for me is the terrace, and the beautiful curve it has.
041.19 Church of the Pilgrim Virgin - now this is one of the most interesting churches of Galicia (in my opinion) and the only one I remember wanting so badly to take a great picture of. It has a very cylindrical facade and is not that wide or long, making it look more like a tower than a church. In fact it is shaped like a scallop and it is fitting because we are very, very close to the Santiago de Compostela. Most tourists come here for photos, day or night and it a very important pilgrimage stop, on the Portuguese Camino/Saint James Way.
041.20 Sidrería Montañes - right across from Church of Pilgrim Virgin there is this restaurant, again a more vibrant area of medieval Pontevedra.
041.21 Saint Clare's Convent. Me and my wife made dozens of photos trying to capture the vivid pink roses with the contrasting green all on a stone background. At times we waited for kids to get out of the frame or just regular people going in or out of frame, yet still, in the end, I chose this photograph that I converted into black and white. We came to Pontevedra old town three times and last time I wanted to make a picture of Church of the Pilgrim Virgin but instead we stood again in the park next to Saint Clare.
041.22 Casa Grande de Trives
Pontevedra is a medieval and quiet town. Even in peak season, streets will not be filled with tourists, nothing like A Coruna, Santiago de Compostela or even Baiona.
Walking in the city reminds me of Tui, also a medieval town, filled with buildings made of “golden” stone, sometimes with colourful windows, or traditional white. Narrow streets, moss growing over the stone, churches of all sizes. Pontevedra does have a bull arena (unique in Galicia) and like we also saw, it has beautiful ruins. If one must choose between Tui and Pontevedra, definitely the later is the best adventure/experience.
Pontevedra is a mandatory stop on route to Santiago de Compostela. At 66km away from destination, it is not a starting point, since the certification can be given for minimum 100km (so starting from Vigo or even Baiona, is what most people do). So before we present Santiago de Compostela, please allow us to present in one more article, Pontevedra, and why, in my opinion, it has to be visited.
Thank you for reading this article, and see you in Pontevedra part 2.
MiDe.
