Mondoñedo () is a small town and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in the Galician

province of Lugo Lugo is a province of northwestern Spain, in the northeastern part of the autonomous community of Galicia. It is bordered by the provinces of Ourense, Pontevedra, and A Coruña, the principality of Asturias, the State of León, and in th ...

, Spain. , the town has a population of 4,508. Mondoñedo occupies a sheltered valley among the northern outliers of the

Cantabrian Mountains , etymology=Named after the Cantabri , photo=Cordillera Cantábrica vista desde el Castro Valnera.jpg , photo_caption=Cantabrian Mountains parallel to the Cantabrian Sea seen from Castro Valnera in an east-west direction. In the background, ...

. Despite being the core of the region of A Mariña, it is the city with the fifth biggest population after

Viveiro Viveiro () is a town and municipality in the province of Lugo, in the northwestern Galician autonomous community of Spain. It borders on the Cantabric Sea, to the west of Xove and to the east of O Vicedo. It has a residential population of o ...

Ribadeo Ribadeo is a municipality in the Spanish province of Lugo in Galicia. It has a population of 10,023 ( INE, 2011) and an area of . It is the capital of the A Mariña Oriental comarca. Geography The municipality of Ribadeo has approximately the ...

Foz Foz () is a town and municipality in the A Mariña Central comarca in the Galician province of Lugo. It has been historically linked to the Ancient Province of Mondoñedo and also linked to the arrival of Briton immigrants during the Dark Age ...

and Burela. The municipality of Mondoñedo is in the northern half of the province of Lugo and is bordered on the north by the municipalities of Foz and Alfoz, to the south by Pastoriza and Riotorto, to the east by Lorenzana and to west with Abadín. The population of Mondoñedo is distributed throughout the 15 parishes that make up the council.

History

After having been for nearly a century and a half in the hands of the

Moors The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct or ...

, Mondoñedo was recaptured by Ordoño I of Asturias in 858; and the Christian possession was made permanent by

Alfonso III of León Alfonso III (20 December 910), called the Great ( es, el Magno), was the king of León, Galicia and Asturias from 866 until his death. He was the son and successor of Ordoño I. In later sources he is the earliest to be called "Emperor of Spai ...

in 870. It was taken by surprise by the French in 1809 during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

. The Galician

Province of Mondoñedo Province of Mondoñedo One of the seven provinces which existed in Galicia from the 15th Century till 1833; from that date onwards the number of provinces were reduced to four, and the entire Province of Mondoñedo was first divided into two halves ...

disappeared in 1833 when all the seven provinces of Galicia were reduced to four, and the entire Province of Mondoñedo was first divided into two halves and later absorbed and assimilated into the existing provinces of Lugo and

A Coruña A Coruña (; es, La Coruña ; historical English: Corunna or The Groyne) is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. A Coruña is the most populated city in Galicia and the second most populated municipality in the autonomous community and s ...

Main sights

The town was declared a national cultural-historical site in 1985. Its main attraction is the

Cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

, begun in Romanesque style around 1230. It reflects an unusual mixture of styles:

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

in the nave and the aisles, and Baroque in its 18th-century towers. The

polychrome Polychrome is the "practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." The term is used to refer to certain styles of architecture, pottery or sculpture in multiple colors. Ancient Egypt Colossal statu ...

statue in the high

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

, called ''Nuestra Señora la Inglesa'' (the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Madonna) was rescued from St Paul's Cathedral in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

during the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and ...

Henry VIII of England Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

. The Sanctuary of Remedios and the Hospital of San Pablo are both from the 16th century. The Caves of King "Cintolo" ("Covas do Rei Cintolo") are also located in the outskirts of the town.

Demography

Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.7) id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1) id:barra value:rgb(0.6,0.7,0.9) ImageSize = width:580 height:300 PlotArea = left: 60 bottom: 30 top: 20 right: 20 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:12000 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = late ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:2000 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:1000 start:0 BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo BarData= bar: 1877 text: 1877 bar: 1887 text: 1887 bar: 1900 text: 1900 bar: 1910 text: 1910 bar: 1920 text: 1920 bar: 1930 text: 1930 bar: 1940 text: 1940 bar: 1950 text: 1950 bar: 1960 text: 1960 bar: 1970 text: 1970 bar: 1980 text: 1980 bar: 1990 text: 1990 bar: 2000 text: 2000 bar: 2010 text: 2010 PlotData= color:barra width:20 align:center bar: 1877 from:10169 till: 0 bar: 1887 from:10352 till: 0 bar: 1900 from:10619 till: 0 bar: 1910 from:9881 till: 0 bar: 1920 from:10370 till: 0 bar: 1930 from:9107 till: 0 bar: 1940 from:9285 till: 0 bar: 1950 from:8827 till: 0 bar: 1960 from:7787 till: 0 bar: 1970 from:7173 till: 0 bar: 1980 from:6946 till: 0 bar: 1990 from:5843 till: 0 bar: 2000 from:5007 till: 0 bar: 2010 from:4194 till: 0 PlotData= bar: 1877 at: 10169 fontsize:S text: 10.169 shift:(0,5) bar: 1887 at: 10352 fontsize:S text: 10.352 shift:(0,5) bar: 1900 at: 10619 fontsize:S text: 10.619 shift:(0,5) bar: 1910 at: 9881 fontsize:S text: 9.881 shift:(0,5) bar: 1920 at: 10370 fontsize:S text: 10.370 shift:(0,5) bar: 1930 at: 9107 fontsize:S text: 9.107 shift:(0,5) bar: 1940 at: 9285 fontsize:S text:9.285 shift:(0,5) bar: 1950 at: 8827 fontsize:S text:8.827 shift:(0,5) bar: 1960 at: 7787 fontsize:S text: 7.787 shift:(0,5) bar: 1970 at: 7173 fontsize:S text: 7.173 shift:(0,5) bar: 1980 at: 6946 fontsize:S text: 6.946 shift:(0,5) bar: 1990 at: 5843 fontsize:S text: 5.843 shift:(0,5) bar: 2000 at: 5007 fontsize:S text: 5.007 shift:(0,5) bar: 2010 at: 4194 fontsize:S text: 4.194 shift:(0,5) Fro
INE Archiv
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Festivals

* As San Lucas. This celebration is of uncertain origin but was probably first celebrated in the year 1156 when Alfonso VII was granted the title to the city of Mondoñedo. This is when the celebrations began in honor of San Lucas. * As Quendas. The first news about this holiday goes back to the sixteenth century. These festivals are held in the first days of May. * Os Remedios. This festival is celebrated the first Sunday after September 8. * Mercado Medieval. One of the most anticipated holiday by the people of Mondoñedo. It is held the second weekend of August.

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Mondoñedo is twinned with * Ferrol, Spain, since 2004 *

Tréguier Tréguier (; br, Landreger) is a port town in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France. It is the capital of the province of Trégor. Geography Tréguier is located 36 m. N.W. of Saint-Brieuc by road. The port is situ ...

, France, since 2000

References

External links

History of Mondoñedo

Mondoñedo's Website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mondonedo Municipalities in the Province of Lugo