Village
Mondariz is a municipality in Pontevedra of about 4,450 inhabitants, in the comarca of Condado, situated at the foot of the sierra del Suído in the valley of the río Tea, whose tributaries Lougariños and Xabriña water a territory divided into twelve parishes. In the mid-19th century it had 5,508 inhabitants, according to Madoz's Diccionario; today the population is spread out, with the capital town and Villasobroso as the most concentrated centres. Sobroso Castle, built in the 12th century, watches over the comarca from its hilltop, and the Romanesque ponte de Cernadela carries traffic across the río Tea, a historic route to the fairs of Condado.
Monument
The castelo de Sobroso is a medieval castle, restored in the 20th century, set on a crag of Monte Landín, with views over the Condado valley as far as the border with Portugal, in the parish of San Martiño de Vilasobroso (Mondariz). There was previously a pre-Roman hillfort on the site; the first documented reference to the castle dates from the year 983, when King Bermudo II took refuge there during the battle of Portela Arenaria against the troops of Ramiro III of León, and in the time of Alfonso V it was conquered and sacked by Almanzor. Queen Urraca and her son Alfonso VII, who was crowned king in this castle, passed through its chambers. The Catholic Monarchs ordered its demolition in 1481 and 1486, though the order was never carried out. Today it houses the Condado's historical and ethnographic museum.
Monument
A five-arched bridge of granite masonry, some seventy metres long, over the river Tea, at the place of do Ceo, parish of Riofrío (Mondariz). Of Roman origin, linked to Route XVIII between Bracara Augusta and Asturica Augusta — pottery remains and a stela found in 1958 date from that period — the present structure dates from the 15th century, with 17th- and 18th-century alterations that erased its Roman features. The central arch, the largest, is pointed; the other four are semicircular, and it retains its original slab paving and granite parapets. It served as a route to the fairs of the area and, like the other pontes of the Tea, carries legends such as that of the early baptism. Nearby stands the three-hell mill, the Muíño do Cubo, and, upstream, a river beach within the Natura 2000 network.
Monument
Hundreds of rock carvings more than four thousand years old scattered across the tops of the Gargamala hills, declared a Bien de Interés Cultural in 2013; they form one of the largest bodies of rock art in southern Pontevedra.
Nature
An oak 35.80 metres tall and 3.75 in diameter growing at the place of Portela, in the parish of Sabaxáns; it has been listed in the Catálogo de Árbores Senlleiras de Galicia since 2011.
Nature
At 881 metres it is the highest point in the municipality and is climbed from the hamlet of Sabaxáns; its summit commands the valley of the River Tea, hemmed in between the heights that close off the comarca of O Condado to the south-west.
Nature
A protected area of 357 hectares declared a special area of conservation in 2014, safeguarding the course of the Tea as it flows through six municipalities; notable features include its Alnion glutinoso-incanae alder woods and its remarkable fish diversity. It covers almost the entire river, from Covelo to its mouth on the Miño next to the island of Fillaboa, in Salvaterra, where it links up with the Baixo Miño special area of conservation, and it includes stretches of its tributaries the Alén, the Xabriña and the rego de Borbén. It passes through the towns of Mondariz Balneario, Mondariz and Ponteareas, and alongside riverside woods of birch and ash and carballeiras of oak and cerquiño, it is home to the Atlantic salmon, along with a further 23 species listed as of special conservation interest.
Nature
A river beach on the Tea upstream of the Cernadela bridge, in the parish of Riofrío; for centuries the spot was a crossing point for the fairs that took the river by the old five-arched bridge.
Monument
The parish church of the capital of Mondariz, head of a concello of twelve parishes spread across the valley of the Tea, between the castle of Sobroso and the summits of the Coto de Eira.
Nature
A steep valley that the río Tea cuts as it passes through Mondariz, fed by the tributaries Caraño, Alén, Lougariños and Xabriña; its wooded banks are one of the best preserved stretches of the channel.
Historical milestone
During the second irmandiña revolt (1467-1469) the peasants and townsmen pulled down the fortress that dominated the Tea valley; shortly afterwards Pedro Madruga rebuilt it and made it one of his bases in southern Galicia.
Food and drink
A fresh cow's milk curd made by hand in the hamlets of the valley of the Tea, eaten with hill honey; it has its own fair in Mondariz and is one of the oldest flavours of the comarca.