Logbook · 8 places

What to see and do in Xunqueira de Espadañedo

What to see and do in Xunqueira de Espadañedo (Allariz - Maceda, Ourense): 8 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 1 Monuments · 2 Nature · 1 Activities · 1 Curiosities · 1 Historical milestones · 1 Food and drink

How far each place is from the centre of Xunqueira de Espadañedo

Towns near Xunqueira de Espadañedo

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Spain › Galicia › Ourense › Allariz - Maceda › Xunqueira de Espadañedo

What to see and do in Xunqueira de Espadañedo

Xunqueira de Espadañedo
Village
Xunqueira de Espadañedo is a concello in the comarca of Allariz-Maceda, in the province of Ourense, with about 700 inhabitants, organised into four parishes at the foot of the Serra de Meda. Its heritage centres on the 12th-century Cistercian monastery of Santa María, with its old “casas da neve” on Mount Meda; of the medieval complex only the church survives, an example of the late 13th-century Romanesque that characterises much of the Cistercian art of the province. In its parish of Niñodaguia a traditional pottery with a distinctive glaze survives, the only one still active today in the province of Ourense, which can be seen at the Museo-Taller da Olería de Niñodaguia.
Monastery of Santa María de Xunqueira de Espadanedo
Monument
The Mosteiro de Santa María de Xunqueira de Espadanedo, situated above 650 metres on the edge of the Ribeira Sacra, joined the Cistercian order in the late 12th century under the protection of the neighbouring monastery of Montederramo. Its church, with three naves and Romanesque apses, built in the late 12th century and completed in the early decades of the 13th, follows the local tradition of a basilical plan and ranks among the finest examples of transitional Romanesque in the Ourense area. It lost its independence when it became a priory of Montederramo and regained it in the mid-16th century on joining the Order of Castile; it ceased religious use with the Disentailment of 1836. It was declared a monument in December 1980; the cloister and other rooms already date from the modern era.
Niñodaguia pottery
Curiosity
Niñodaguia is one of the four historic pottery centres of Galicia, with documentary references going back more than four centuries; its hallmark is the yellow clay of Monte Veigachá and two workshops are still in operation.
Rodicio Heights
Nature
A saddle at around 950 metres above sea level, some six kilometres from the village of Xunqueira, from which the Arnoia valley is commanded; wind farms spread over its summits, already on the edge of the Ribeira Sacra.
Viewpoint of o Val do Medo
Nature
A balcony at almost 990 metres on the way up to Cabeza de Meda, one of the two viewpoints fitted out by the municipality in 2021; the last stretch is done on foot from a clearing, to look out over the Medo valley.
Niñodaguia traditional kiln firing
Activity
Every summer a wood-fired kiln is lit at Niñodaguia to fire pieces in the old way, next to the workshop museum that keeps the wheels and tools of the cacharreiros; the event is rounded off with a fiadeiro of music and crafts.
Arrival of the Cistercians at Xunqueira de Espadañedo
Historical milestone
The old monastery of the upper Arnoia valley joins the Cistercian order in the late 12th century within Oseira's orbit, a change that explains the church's plan and the austerity of its sculptural decoration.
Chestnut of Galicia
Food and drink
A fruit covered by a protected geographical indication, gathered in the chestnut groves of the Ourense interior. It is eaten roasted at the magosto, boiled in broth or turned into flour and marron glacé.