Foz () is a town and municipality in the
A Mariña Central
A Mariña Central is a comarca in the Galician Province of Lugo. The overall population of this local region is 28,955 (2019). This region is a political-administrative division of A Mariña de Lugo macro-region. To the north and northeast the reg ...
comarca in the Galician province of
Lugo
Lugo (, ) is a city in northwestern Spain in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia. It is the capital of the Lugo (province), province of Lugo. The municipality had a population of 100,060 in 2024, ...
. It has been historically linked to the Ancient Province of Mondoñedo and also linked to the arrival of Briton immigrants during the Dark Ages (5th and 6th centuries) fleeing by sea from the British Isles (see
Bishop Maeloc,
Britonia
Britonia (which became Bretoña in Galician and Spanish) is the name of a Romano-British settlement on the northern coast of the Iberian peninsula at the time of the Anglo-Saxon invasion of Britain. The area is roughly that of the northern pa ...
and
San Martiño de Mondoñedo). It has 9800 inhabitants. It borders the coastal municipalities of
Burela
Burela is a municipality in the Galician province of Lugo. It is in the comarca of A Mariña Central. Burela is a coastal town on the shores of the Cantabrian Sea. An extension area of 8.2 square kilometers was created in 1994, following the s ...
and
Barreiros, and the inland municipalities of
Lourenzá
Lourenzá () is a municipality in the province of Lugo, in the autonomous community of Galicia in northwestern Spain.
It is the site of the monastery of San Salvador. The façade of its church is said to have been a prototype for that of Santia ...
,
Mondoñedo
Mondoñedo () is a small town and municipality in the Galician province of Lugo, Spain. , the town has a population of 4,508. Mondoñedo occupies a sheltered valley among the northern outliers of the Cantabrian Mountains. Despite being the core ...
,
O Valadouro
O Valadouro is a municipality in the province of Lugo, in the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain. It belongs to the comarca
A ''comarca'' (, , , ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain, and som ...
,
Alfoz
Alfoz () is a municipality in the province of Lugo, in the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain. It is in the comarca of A Mariña Central. It borders the municipalities of Foz, Mondoñedo, Abadín and O Valadouro.
The population in 200 ...
, and
Cervo.
Foz is a coastal town on the shores of the Cantabrian Sea at the mouth of the river Masma, which forms the Foz estuary, with an approximate area of 100 km².
Although Foz was previously a fishing village, most of its economic resources now come from tourism.
Etymology
The name Foz comes from the Latin word ''faux'' which graphically describes the river mouth of the Masma river; Foz is the Galician term for
base level
In geology and geomorphology a base level is the lower limit for the vertical position of an erosion, erosion process. The modern term was introduced by John Wesley Powell in 1875. The term was subsequently appropriated by William Morris Davis wh ...
.
History
The foundation of Foz dates back to pre-Roman times, as attested by the existing forts Fazouro and Pena do Altar. Its foundation may originate in the time of the Ártabros or, according to the historian Amor Meilán, a factory may have been established by the
Tartessos
Tartessos () is, as defined by archaeological discoveries, a historical civilization settled in the southern Iberian Peninsula characterized by its mixture of local Prehistoric Iberia, Paleohispanic and Phoenician traits. It had a writing syste ...
.
During the ninth century the town had flourished since the establishment of the episcopal headquarters in San Martiño de Mondoñedo.
At the time of Ferdinand and Isabella, Foz kept certain privileges and exemptions as a result of its commercial importance.
During the sixteenth and seventeenth Foz had a major port and one of the three most important shipyards in Galicia. Shipowners and fishermen engaged mainly in whaling. This important fishery has declined over time, but today there is still an important seafaring tradition.
The main monuments of Foz are the
Basilica de San Martiño and the Manor of the
Counts of Fontao
Port of Foz
* ''Fishing port''
* ''Sport port''
International relations
Twin towns – sister cities
Foz is
twinned with:
*
Trégastel
Trégastel (; ) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department of the region of Brittany in northwestern France.
Trégastel is situated between Perros-Guirec and Pleumeur-Bodou. Lannion is away.
Population
Inhabitants of Trégastel are c ...
, Brittany, France (2003)
References
{{Authority control
Municipalities in the Province of Lugo
Port cities and towns on the Spanish Atlantic coast