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Viking Pilgrimage of Catoira

Catoira, Caldas, Pontevedra

1 Villages · 1 Monuments · 3 Nature · 1 Activities · 2 Curiosities · 1 Historical milestones

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Viking Pilgrimage of Catoira

Activity · Catoira, Caldas, Pontevedra

First held in 1961 with a mass for the defenders of the fortress, it re-enacts the Norman assault on the first Sunday of August with a landing of drakkars on the Ulla; it has been a Fiesta de Interés Turístico Internacional (Spain's official designation for festivals of special international tourist interest) since 2002. The festival takes place beside the Torres de Oeste, the former castellum honesti, and recalls Catoira's role in the defence of Galicia against Norman attacks that, about a thousand years ago, sought the treasure of the cathedral of Santiago. Locals dress as Viking warriors and Galician peasants; there is popular music, a medieval fair with mussels and wine from the Ulla, and the landing of the Normans from a replica of an eleventh-century Viking ship. It ends with a popular lunch of sardiñada, octopus and empanada, and a verbena.

Photo: Reservas de Coches (CC BY 2.0)

What to see and do in Catoira