Lugo (, ) is a city in northwestern

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

in the

autonomous community The autonomous communities () are the first-level administrative divisions of Spain, created in accordance with the Spanish Constitution of 1978, with the aim of guaranteeing limited autonomy to the nationalities and regions that make up Sp ...

of Galicia. It is the capital of the

province of Lugo Lugo is a province (Spain), province of northwestern Spain, in the northeastern part of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia. It is bordered by the provinces of Ourense Province, Ourense, Ponteved ...

. The municipality had a population of 100,060 in 2024, making it the fourth most populous city in Galicia. Lugo is the only city in the world to be surrounded by completely intact

Roman walls Defensive walls are a feature of ancient Roman architecture. The Romans generally fortified cities, rather than building stand-alone fortresses, but there are some fortified camps, such as the Saxon Shore#The forts, Saxon Shore forts like Portu ...

, which reach a height of along a circuit ringed with 71 towers. The walk along the top is continuous around the circuit and features ten gates. The 3rd century Roman walls, the only one of its kind in the world, are protected by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

as a

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

. The city's historic bridge over the Miño is also essentially of Roman date. The city of Lugo is along the

Camino Primitivo The Primitive Way (also called Original Way, ) is one of the paths of the Camino de Santiago. It begins in the old Asturian capital of Oviedo and runs west to Lugo and then south to Santiago de Compostela joining the more popular French Way in ...

path of the

Camino de Santiago The Camino de Santiago (, ; ), or the Way of St. James in English, is a network of pilgrims' ways or pilgrimages leading to the shrine of the apostle James in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain, where tra ...

Population

The population of the city in 2018 was 98,026 inhabitants, which has been growing constantly since the first census in 1842, despite the fact that the rest of the province is losing population dramatically. The population of the city in 2014 was 98,560 inhabitants (45,948 men and 52,612 women). From INE (Instituto Nacional de Estadística). By April 2020, the population had grown to 99,638. Reaching 100,000 inhabitants is one of the goals of the city Mayor, Lara Méndez. In 2010 there were 5,373 foreigners living in the city, representing 5.5% of the total population. The main nationalities are

Colombians Colombians () are people identified with the country of Colombia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Colombians, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their bein ...

(18%),

Moroccans Moroccans () are the Moroccan nationality law, citizens and nationals of the Morocco, Kingdom of Morocco. The country's population is predominantly composed of Arabs and Berbers (Amazigh). The term also applies more broadly to any people who ...

(12%) and

Brazilians Brazilians (, ) are the citizens of Brazil. A Brazilian can also be a person born abroad to a Brazilian parent or legal guardian as well as a person who acquired Brazilian nationality law, Brazilian citizenship. Brazil is a multiethnic society, ...

(11%). By language, according to 2008 data, 47.37% of the population speaks always or mainly in Galician, 52.63% speaks always or mainly in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

Geography

The town lies on a hill surrounded by the rivers Miño, Rato and Chanca. The difference in altitude between the city centre and the river banks is considerable: the former being at an altitude of 465 meters above sea level, whilst the Miño River Walk is at an altitude of only . The municipality of Lugo is the second largest in Galicia, with and 59 parishes. The outline of the city was declared a

Biosphere Reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

on 7 November 2002, this being the most important recognition at international level regarding the conservation of landscapes and habitats of this Atlantic European region. The area has been divided into more than 54 villages: Adai, Bacurín, Bascuas, Bazar, Benade, Bocamaos, Bóveda, O Burgo, Calde, Camoira, Carballido, Coeo, Coeses, Cuíña, Esperante, Gondar, Labio, Lamas, Lugo, Mazoi, Meilán, Monte de Meda, Muxa, Ombreiro, Orbazai, O Outeiro das Camoiras, Pedreda, Pías, Piúgos, Poutomillos, Prógalo, Recimil, Ribas de Miño, Romeán, Rubiás, Saa, San Mamede dos Anxos, San Martiño de Piñeiro, San Pedro de Mera, San Román, San Salvador de Muxa, San Xoán de Pena, San Xoán do Alto, San Xoán do Campo, Santa Comba, Santa María de Alta, Santa Marta de Fixós, Santalla de Bóveda de Mera, Santo André de Castro, Soñar, Teixeiro, Tirimol, Torible, O Veral, Vilachá de Mera.

Climate

Lugo has a humid

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

with drier summers, ''Cfb'' in the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

although it could also be classified as a mild

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

(''Csb'') depending on favoured summer precipitation threshold. Due to its remoteness from the Atlantic, its annual precipitation of can be considered low compared with areas of the Rias Baixas and

Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela, simply Santiago, or Compostela, in the province of Province of A Coruña, A Coruña, is the capital of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city ...

. The highest temperature recorded in history, , occurred in August 1961 and the lowest temperature was in February 1983. The city has an average of six days of snow per year, which is a contrast to coastal cities of Galicia which have not received snow in modern times.

History

Later conquered by

Paullus Fabius Maximus Paullus Fabius Maximus (died AD 14) was a Roman senator, active toward the end of the first century BC. He was consul in 11 BC as the colleague of Quintus Aelius Tubero, and a confidant of emperor Augustus. Background The patrician Fabii were ...

and called Lucus Augusti in 13 BC on the positioning of a Roman military camp,The

cardo A ''cardo'' (: ''cardines'') was a north–south street in Ancient Rome, ancient Roman cities and military castra, camps as an integral component of Urban planning, city planning. The ''cardo maximus'', or most often the ''cardo'', was the main ...

and

decumanus In Roman urban planning, a ''decumanus'' was an east–west-oriented road in a Ancient Rome, Roman city or ''Castra, castrum'' (military camp). The main ''decumanus'' of a particular city was the ''decumanus maximus'', or most often simply "the ...

of the ancient plan can still be recognized in the modern street plan. while the Roman Empire completed the conquest, in the North, of the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...

. Situated in what was the

Roman province The Roman provinces (, pl. ) were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was ruled by a Roman appointed as Roman g ...

Hispania Tarraconensis Hispania Tarraconensis was one of three Roman provinces in Hispania. It encompassed much of the northern, eastern and central territories of modern Spain along with modern North Region, Portugal, northern Portugal. Southern Spain, the region now ...

, it was the chief town of the tribe of the

Capori The Capori were an ancient Gallaecian Celtic tribe, living in the west of modern Galicia, in the Padrón's county. See also *Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula This is a list of the pre- Roman people of the Iberian Peninsula (the ...

. Though small it was the most important Roman town in what became

Gallaecia Gallaecia, also known as Hispania Gallaecia, was the name of a Roman province in the north-west of Hispania, approximately present-day Galicia, northern Portugal, Asturias and Leon and the later Kingdom of Gallaecia. The Roman cities inclu ...

during the Roman period, the seat of a ''

conventus In Ancient Rome territorial organization, a ''conventus iuridicus'' was the capital city of a subdivision of some provinces (Dalmatia, Hispania, Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It c ...

'', one of three in Gallaecia, and later became one of the two capitals of Gallaecia, and gave its name to the ''Callaïci Lucenses''. It was centrally situated in a large gold mining region, which during the Roman period was very active. The Conventus Lucensis, according to Pliny, began at the river Navilubio, and contained 16 peoples; besides the

Celtici ] The Celtici (in Portuguese language, Portuguese, Spanish, and Galician languages, ) were a Celtic tribe or group of tribes of the Iberian Peninsula, inhabiting three definite areas: in what today are the regions of Alentejo and the Algarve in ...

and Lebuni. Though these tribes were not powerful, and their names "barbarous" to Roman ears, there were among them 166,000 freemen. The city stood on one of the upper branches of the Minius (modern Miño), on the road from Bracara to Asturica, and had some famous baths, near the bridge across the Miño. Lucus was the seat of a

bishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

by the later 5th century at the latest and remained an administrative center under the

Suebi file:1st century Germani.png, 300px, The approximate positions of some Germanic peoples reported by Graeco-Roman authors in the 1st century. Suebian peoples in red, and other Irminones in purple. The Suebi (also spelled Suavi, Suevi or Suebians ...

and

Visigoths The Visigoths (; ) were a Germanic people united under the rule of a king and living within the Roman Empire during late antiquity. The Visigoths first appeared in the Balkans, as a Roman-allied Barbarian kingdoms, barbarian military group unite ...

, before going into such a decline that the site was found to be deserted in the middle of the 8th century by Bishop Odoario, who set about reviving it. 10th-century attempts at rebuilding its ''casas destructas'' (abandoned tenements) suggest that it remained a town only on paper: the seat of a bishopric, administered by a count, from which royal charters were issued. "Its commercial and industrial role was insignificant", Richard Fletcher wrote of 11th century Lugo. During the Middle Ages Lugo, like

, was a center of pilgrimage, because the cathedral had the special privilege, which it still retains today, of exposing to the public the consecrated host twenty-four hours a day. However, Santiago De Compostela was a larger site of Pilgrimages. Most people who went on Pilgrimages would take a stop in Lugo and continue on. The walls were a small center for pilgrims to enamor at. In the 18th century Lugo was granted the privilege of organizing the fairs of St. Froilán. During the Modern Age, Lugo had a certain supremacy, although other nearby towns such as

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 ...

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 t ...

disputed it. It was not until the division of the state into provinces in 1833 and the creation of provincial governments that Lugo has become the most important town in the province of Lugo, because of its capital status. This rise has been bolstered by the arrival of the first railroad to the city in 1875. During the 20th century the city continued to grow as the administration and services center of the province. In 1936, when the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

broke out, the city came quickly under the Nationalists' control. In the 1970s the city undertook important reforms, like the development of the Ceao Industrial Area (1979) and the complete restoration of the

. Infanta Elena, the elder daughter of

King Juan Carlos King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a constitutional monarch if his power is restrained by f ...

and

Queen Sofía of Spain Sofía (Sophia Margaret Victoria Frederica; Μαργαρίτα Βικτώρια Φρειδερίκη, romanized: ''Sofía Margaríta Bictória Freideríki''; born 2 November 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who was Queen of Spai ...

and fourth in the

line of succession An order, line or right of succession is the line of individuals necessitated to hold a high office when it becomes vacated, such as head of state or an honour such as a title of nobility. In 2000, the recognition of the

on UNESCO's

was an important event in the city.

Economy

Lugo is a city of services. The main activities are commercial, the administration (offices of the autonomous and central Governments) and educational and health services (the recently opened ''Hospital Universitario Lucus Augusti'' is the largest in Galicia). The steady increase of population of the city has coincided with the development of the major economic sectors of the municipality. Industry is scarce and almost exclusively dedicated to the processing of agricultural products (dairy, meat, timber ...). The

University of Santiago de Compostela The University of Santiago de Compostela - USC (, ) is a public university located in the city of Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain. A second campus is located in Lugo, Galicia. It is one of the world's oldest universities in continuous o ...

has several faculties at its Lugo Campus, one of the most important being the Faculty of

Veterinary Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in non-human animals. The scope of veterinary medicine is wide, covering all animal species, both ...

sciences, one of the leading in its field in Spain. The daily newspaper , is published in the city. It's the most read newspaper in the

. There is a private

aerodrome An aerodrome, airfield, or airstrip is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes inc ...

in the nearby town of Rozas, owned by the Spanish

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

and administered by Real Aero Club de Lugo. In 2011, the Ministry of Defence transferred the installations to

INTA Inta (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in the Komi Republic, Russia. Population: History Inta was founded around 1940 as a settlement to support a geological expedition to explore coal deposits and projecting of mines. The ...

, Spain's

space agency Space is a three-dimensional In geometry, a three-dimensional space (3D space, 3-space or, rarely, tri-dimensional space) is a mathematical space in which three values (''coordinates'') are required to determine the position (geometry), ...

, in order to convert it into a center of aeronautical research,

Main sights

Lugo is the only city in the world to be surrounded by completely intact

, which reach a height of 10 to 15 metres along a 2117 m circuit ringed with 71 towers. The walk along the top is continuous round the circuit, and features ten gates. These 3rd century walls are protected by

as a

. The bridge over the Miño is essentially of Roman date, though many repairs over the centuries have effaced its Roman character. Other sources suggest that the name ''Lucus Augusti'' comes from the Latin word ''Lucus'', which means "sacred grove", or "sacred forest", as the city was founded on the place of a small grove. Besides the walls, sights include: * the

Cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

, dedicated to St. Mary, built about 1129, though the actual main façade and towers date only from 1769. Its elegant stalls were carved by Francisco Mouro in 1624. This cathedral enjoys the privilege of having the Blessed Sacrament perpetually exposed, a fact commemorated in the armorial bearings of the town. * Convent and church of St. Francis, in Gothic style, with remains of the sober cloister. It currently houses the Museo Provincial, which shows a display of Galician art and other building of the 18th century * Church of St. Dominic * City Hall (''Casa do Concello'' in Galician), a large Baroque structure with a mid-18th century façade. Annexed is a clock tower, originally from the 16th century, but rebuilt later. * Palace of the arts (Círculo das Artes) * The

Roman Bridge The ancient Romans were the first civilization to build large, permanent bridges. Early Roman bridges used techniques introduced by Etruscan immigrants, but the Romans improved those skills, developing and enhancing methods such as arches and k ...

over river Miño. * Rosalía de Castro Park, a 23 ha park in the city center. It has a small pond in the middle and contains many species of trees, like three sequoias. * Museo Interactivo de Historia de Lugo (MIHL), an interactive museum about the history of the city, made by

Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos is an architecture firm, founded in 1984 by Fuensanta Nieto and Enrique Sobejano with offices in Madrid and, since 2007, in Berlin. Partners Fuensanta Nieto (Madrid, Spain, 1957) has worked as an architect since gradu ...

. Two important festivals take place in Lugo: * Saint Froilan festivity, which lasts from 4–12 October, dedicated to the city's patron saint. It's a Fiesta of National Tourist Interest and it's very popular to eat polbo á feira in one of the many stands near Rosalía de Castro park. *

Arde Lucus Arde Lucus (also written as ''Arde Lvcvs''; ) is a festival celebrated in Lugo, Spain in the last weeks of June which revives the Roman Empire, Roman and Castro culture, castro past of the city, and which emerged to commemorate the declaration of ...

, festival celebrated in the last weeks of June which revives the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

and castro past of the city, and which emerged to commemorate the declaration of the city's Roman wall as a

in 2000. In its latest editions it has reached nearly half a million visitors.

Sports

The most popular and known professional team of the city is the basketball team

CB Breogán Club Baloncesto Breogán, S.A.D., also known as Río Breogán for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball club based in Lugo, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB. The club was founded in 1966 by the Varela-Portas brothers. The team pla ...

, currently playing in

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administered by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, w ...

, the first division in

, the team has played many seasons in

the top Spanish basketball league. The team occupies the 9th position in the historical ranking of that league.

Futsal Futsal is a variant of association football played between two teams of five players each on a court smaller than a football pitch. Its rules are based on the Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of the Game of association football, and i ...

is also popular in Lugo, represented by Azkar Lugo, which plays in Second División de Futsal, the Spanish second division. The football team of Lugo is

CD Lugo Club Deportivo Lugo is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Lugo, in the autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia. Founded on 8 July 1953, it plays in Primera Federación, holding home games at ''Estadio Anxo ...

, currently playing in Spanish

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

. The fifth stage of the

2016 Vuelta a España The 2016 Vuelta a España was a three-week Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tour cycling stage race that took place in Spain between 20 August and 11 September 2016. The race was the 71st edition of the Vuelta a España and the final Grand Tour of the ...

cycling race finished in Lugo.

International relations

Twin towns – sister cities

Lugo is twinned with: *

Dinan Dinan (; ) is a walled Brittany, Breton town and a commune in France, commune in the Côtes-d'Armor Departments of France, department in northwestern France. On 1 January 2018, the former commune of Léhon was merged into Dinan. Geography Inst ...

, France * Ferrol, Galicia, Spain *

Qinhuangdao Qinhuangdao (; zh, s=秦皇岛, link=no) is a port city on the coast of China in northern Hebei. It is administratively a prefecture-level city, about east of Beijing, on the Bohai Sea, the innermost gulf of the Yellow Sea. Its population d ...

, China *

Viana do Castelo Viana do Castelo () is a concelho, municipality and seat of the district of Viana do Castelo District, Viana do Castelo in the Norte Region, Portugal, Norte Region of Portugal. The population in 2021 was 85,778, in an area of . The urbanized are ...

, Portugal

Notable people

* María López Sández (born 1973), philologist and essayist

Notes

References

External links

* {{Authority control Municipalities in the Province of Lugo 13 BC establishments