Galicia (Iberian peninsula)
Encyclopedia
Galicia is an autonomous community
in northwest Spain
, with the official status of a nationality of Spain.
Its component provinces
are A Coruña
, Lugo
, Ourense
and Pontevedra
. It is bordered by Portugal
to the south, the Spanish autonomous communities of Castile and León
and Asturias
to the east, the Atlantic Ocean
to the west, and the Bay of Biscay
to the north. Besides its continental territory, Galicia includes Arousa Island, and the archipelagos of Cíes
, Ons
, Sálvora
Island, Cortegada Island
, Malveiras Islands, Sisargas Islands, and other minor isles and islets.
Galicia has roughly 2.79 million inhabitants as of 2011, with the largest concentration in two coastal areas, from Ferrol to A Coruña
in the north-west, and from Vilagarcía
to Vigo
in the south-west. The capital is Santiago de Compostela
, in the province of A Coruña. Vigo, in the province of Pontevedra, is the most populous municipality with 297,332 inhabitants and the second most populous city with 206,411 habitants; while A Coruña
is the most populous city with 220,581 habitants and the second most populous municipality with 246,056 habitants in its municipality (INE
2009). Both cities are the cores of the two major metropolitan areas of Galicia.
Two languages are official and widely used in Galicia, Galician
, a Romance language which, along with Portuguese
, descends from medieval Galician-Portuguese
, and Castilian
.
, related to the name of an ancient Celtic tribe that resided north of the Douro
river, the Gallaeci or Callaeci in Latin
, or Kallaikói (καλλαικoι) in Greek
. According to Ptolemy
, these Callaeci were the first tribe in the area to battle the invading Romans.
The historical denomination Galiza is still used with some frequency, among others by the Galician reintegrationists
. It was the most usual Galician spelling of the name of the country during the Low Middle Ages, becoming popular again, in written uses, during the first three quarters of the 20th century; nevertheless, this alternative is now seldom used by the Xunta de Galicia
, the local autonomous government. Besides, the Royal Galician Academy, institution responsible for regulating the Galician language, whilst recognizing it as a legitimate denomination had informed that the only official name of the country is Galicia.
province of Zamora) its westernmost at 9º 18' W, reached in two places: the La Nave Cape in Fisterra
(also known as Finisterre), and Cape Touriñán, both in the province of A Coruña.
.
, a remarkable feature of Galicia is the presence of many firth
-like inlets along the coast, estuaries that were drowned with rising sea levels after the ice age
. These are called rías
and are divided into the smaller Rías Altas
("High Rías"), and the larger Rías Baixas
("Low Rías"). The Rías Altas include Ribadeo, Foz, Viveiro, Barqueiro, Ortigueira, Cedeira, Ferrol, Betanzos, A Coruña, Corme e Laxe and Camariñas. The Rías Baixas, found south of Fisterra, include Corcubión, Muros e Noia, Arousa, Pontevedra and Vigo. The Rías Altas can sometimes refer only to those east of Estaca de Bares, with the others being called Rías Medias ("Intermediate Rías").
Erosion by the Atlantic Ocean
has contributed to the great number of capes
. Besides the aforementioned Estaca de Bares in the far north, separating the Atlantic Ocean from the Cantabrian Sea, other notable capes are Cape Ortegal, Cape Prior, Punta Santo Adrao, Cape Vilán, Cape Touriñán (westernmost point in Galicia), Cape Finisterre
or Fisterra, considered by the Romans
, along with Finistère
in Brittany
and Land's End
in Cornwall
, to be the end of the known world.
All along the Galician coast are various archipelago
s near the mouths of the rías. These archipelagos provide protected deepwater harbors and also provide habitat for seagoing birds. A 2007 inventory estimates that the Galician coast has 316 archipelagos, islets, and freestanding rocks. Among the most important of these are the archipelagos of Cíes
, Ons
, and Sálvora
. Together with Cortegada Island
, these make up the Atlantic Islands of Galicia National Park
. Other significant islands are Islas Malveiras, Islas Sisargas, and, the largest and holding the largest population, Arousa Island
.
The coast of this 'green corner' of the Iberian Peninsula
, some 1500 km (932.1 mi) in length, attracts great numbers of tourists, although real state development in the 2000-2010 decade have degraded it partially.
Galicia is quite mountainous, a fact which has contributed to isolate the rural areas, hampering communications, most notably in the inland. The main mountain range is the Macizo Galaico (Serra do Eixe, Serra da Lastra, Serra do Courel), also known as Macizo Galaico-Leonés, located in the eastern parts, bordering with Castile and León
. Noteworthy mountain ranges are O Xistral (northern Lugo), the Serra dos Ancares
(on the border with León and Asturias
), O Courel (on the border with León), O Eixe (the border between Ourense and Zamora), Serra de Queixa (in the center of Ourense province), O Faro (the border between Lugo and Pontevedra), Cova da Serpe (border of Lugo and A Coruña), Montemaior (A Coruña), Montes do Testeiro, Serra do Suído, and Faro de Avión (between Pontevedra and Ourense); and, to the south, A Peneda, O Xurés and O Larouco, all on the border of Ourense and Portugal.
The highest point in Galicia is Trevinca
or Pena Trevinca (2124 m (6,968.5 ft)), located in the Serra do Eixe, at the border between Ourense and León and Zamora provinces. Other tall peaks are Pena Survia (2112 m (6,929.1 ft)) in the Serra do Eixe, O Mustallar (1935 m (6,348.4 ft)) in Os Ancares
, and Cabeza de Manzaneda (1782 m (5,846.5 ft)) in Serra de Queixa, where there is a ski resort.
, known as O Pai Miño (Father Minho), 307.5 kilometre long and discharging 419 m³ (548 cu yd) per second, with its affluent the Sil, which has created a spectacular canyon. Most of the rivers in the inland are tributaries of this fluvial system, which drains some 17027 sqkm. Other rivers run directly into the Atlantic Ocean
or the Cantabrian Sea, most of them having short courses. Only the Navia
, Ulla
, Tambre
, and Limia
have courses longer than 100 kilometre.
Galicia's many hydroelectric
dams take advantage of the steep, deep, narrow rivers and their canyons. Few of Galicia's rivers are navigable, other than the lower portion of the Miño and the portions of various rivers that have been dammed into reservoirs. Some rivers are navigable by small boats in their lower reaches: this is taken great advantage of in a number of semi-aquatic festivals and pilgrimages.
tree, an invasive species imported from Australia
, actively promoted and researched by the paper industry since the mid-twentieth century. All of this factors are steadily degrading the soils in the coastal, milder areas, and transforming habitats and landscape. Furthermore, excessive hydroelectic development in most rivers have been a serious concern for local conservationist during the last decades.
Fauna, most notably the European Wolf
, have suffered because of the actions of livestock owners and farmers, and because of the loss of habitats, whilst the native deer species have declined because of hunting and development.
Recently, oil spills have become a major issue, especially with the Mar Egeo disaster in A Coruña
and the Prestige
oil spill
in 2002, a crude oil spill larger than the Exxon Valdez
disaster in Alaska
.
Galicia is one of the more wooded areas of Spain, and the majority of Galicia's plantations lack any formal management.
A few oak forests (known locally as fragas) remain, particularly in the north-central part of the province of Lugo and the north of the province of A Coruña (Fragas do Eume). Wood and wood products (particularly softwood pulp
) figure significantly in Galicia's economy. There is also some farming, both crops for direct use and pasture for livestock.
Apart from tree plantations, Galicia is also notable for the extensive surface occupied by meadows used for animal husbandry (especially cattle
), an important activity.
s, including 12 species of freshwater fish, 15 amphibian
s, 24 reptile
s, 152 birds and 59 mammals.
The animals most often thought of as being "typical" of Galicia are the livestock raised there. The Galician Pony
is native to the region, as is the Galician Blond
cow and the domestic fowl
known as the galiña de Mos. The latter is an endangered species
, although it is showing signs of a comeback since 2001.
Galicia's woodlands and mountains are home to rabbit
s, hares, wild boars and roe deer
, all of which are popular with hunters.
Several important bird migration routes pass through Galicia, and some of the community's relatively few environmentally protected areas are Special Protection Area
s (such as on the Ría de Ribadeo) for these birds.
From a domestic point of view, Galicia has been credited for author Manuel Rivas
as the "land of one million cows". Galician Blond
and Holstein cattle coexist on meadows and farms.
: a south-east area (roughly, the province of Ourense) with tendencies to have some summer drought, classified as a warm-summer Mediterranean climate
(Csb), similar to the climate of the coastal regions of Oregon
and Washington, with mild temperatures and rainfall usual throughout the year; and the western and northern coastal regions, the provinces of Lugo, A Coruña, and Pontevedra, which are characterized by their Oceanic climate
(Csf), with a more uniform precipitation distribution along the year, and milder summers.
As an example, Santiago de Compostela
, the capital city, has an average of 129 rainy days and 1362 millimetres (53.6 in) per year (with just 17 rainy days in the three summer months) and 2,101 sunlight hours per year, with just 6 days with frosts per year. But the colder city of Lugo
, to the east, has an average of 1,759 sunlight hours per year, 117 days with precipitations (> 1 mm) totalling 901.54 millimetres (35.5 in), and 40 days with frosts per year. The more mountainous parts of the provinces of Ourense and Lugo receive significant snowfall during the winter months.
Climate data for some locations in Galicia (average 2006-2010):
in the municipality of Triacastela
(province of Lugo) has preserved animal remains and Neanderthal
stone objects from the Middle Paleolithic
, thanks to its alkaline soils. There are other remnants of the Middle Paleolithic along the lower Miño and in the Ourense depression.
The earliest culture to have left significant architectural traces is the Megalithic culture which expanded along the western European coasts during the Neolithic
and Calcolithic eras. Thousands of Megalithic tumuli
are distributed all along the country. Within each tumulus is a stone burial chamber known locally as anta (dolmen
), many of them preceded by a corridor; the sizes of these chambers vary.
Rich mineral deposits led to the development of Bronze Age
metallurgy
. Utensils and gold and bronze jewelry from Galicia have been found as far away as the far side of the Pyrenees
, while Atlantic Bronze Age
commerce created an extensive network which expanded a common elite culture all along the Atlantic fringe of Europe.
At this time, climate change seems to have driven migration into the region from the vast plateau of Iberia's Meseta Central, increasing the population and causing conflict between communities. Before the Roman
invasion, a series of tribes lived in the region (Gallaeci, Celtici
), and according to Pomponius Mela
, Strabo
, Pliny
, Herodotus
and others, they shared similar Celt
ic customs.
('Culture of the Castles') flourished in the second half of the first millennium BCE, being usually considered a local evolution of the Atlantic Bronze Age culture, with later developments and influences, and overlapping into the Roman era. Geographically, it corresponds to the people Roman called Gallaeci. They were capable fighters; Strabo
described them as the most difficult foes the Romans encountered in conquering Lusitania
, while Appian
mentions their warlike spirit, noting that the women bore their weapons side by side with their mens, frequently preferring death to captivity.
The castros date from this era. These were usually annular forts, with one or more concentric earthen or stony walls, with a trench in front of each one. They were located at hills, or in seashore cliffs and peninsulas. Some visitable castros can be found, in the seashore, at Fazouro, Santa Tegra, Baroña and O Neixón, and inland at San Cibrao de Lás, Borneiro, Castromao, and Viladonga.
Some other distinct features, such as temples, baths, reservoirs, warrior statues and decorative carvings, have been found associated to this culture. In some of the walls and at other places, human and animal remains have been found, probably as part of a founding, protective ritual.
Dating from the end of the Megalithic era, and up to the Bronze Age
, there are numerous stone carvings (petroglyph
s) in open air, being their significance unknown. The best known of these are at Campo Lameiro
.
in 137–136 BC, but the country was only incorporated into the Roman Empire
by the time of Augustus
. The Romans were interested in Galicia mainly for its mineral resources, most notably gold. Under Roman rule, most castros were abandoned, and Galicians served frequently in the Roman army.
The Romans brought new technologies, new travel routes, new forms of organizing property, and a new language, building roads and monuments as the lighthouse known as Torre de Hércules
, in A Coruña
, but the remoteness and lesser interest of the country since the 2nd century of our era, led to a lower degree of Romanization
when compared to other areas, hindering and delaying the introduction of Christianity
.
In the 3rd century it was made a province, under the name Gallaecia
, which included also northern Portugal
, Asturias
, and a large section of what today is known as Castilla y León.
During the Migration Period
, in the 5th century, Galicia was taken by the Suevi in 409, forming the first medieval kingdom to be created in Europe, in 411, even before the fall of the Roman Empire, being also the first Germanic kingdom to mint coinage in Roman lands. During this period a Briton
colony and bishopric (see Mailoc
) was established in Northern Galicia (Britonia
), probably as foederati
and allies of the Suevi. In 585, the Visigoth
ic King Leovigild invaded the Suebic kingdom of Galicia and defeated it, bringing it under Visigoth control.
Later the Muslims
invaded Spain (711), but the Arabs and Moors
never managed to have any real control over Galicia, which was later incorporated into the expanding Christian Kingdom of Asturias
, usually known as Gallaecia or Galicia (Yillīqiya and Galīsiya) by Muslim Chroniclers, as well as by many European contemporaries. This era consolidated Galicia as a Christian society which spoke a Romance language
. During the next century Galician noblemen took northern Portugal, conquering Coimbra
in 871, thus freeing what were considered the southernmost city of ancient Galicia.
In the 9th century, the rise of the cult of the Apostle James in Santiago de Compostela
gave Galicia a particular symbolic importance among Christians, an importance it would hold throughout the Reconquista
. As the Middle Ages went on, Santiago became a major pilgrim destination and the Way of Saint James a major pilgrim road, a route for the propagation of Romanesque art
and the words and music of the troubadors. During the 10th and 11th centuries, a period during which Galician nobility become related to the royal family, Galicia was at times headed by its own privative kings, whilst Vikings (locally known as Leodemanes or Lordomanes) occasionally raided the coasts. The Towers of Catoira
(Pontevedra) were built as a system of fortifications to prevent and stop the Viking raids on Santiago de Compostela
.
In 1063, Ferdinand I of Castile divided his realm among his sons, and the Kingdom of Galicia was granted to Garcia II of Galicia. In 1072, it was forcibly annexed by Garcia's brother Alfonso VI of León; from that time Galicia was united with the Kingdom of León
under the same monarchs. In the 13th century Alfonso X of Castile
standardized the Castilian language and made it the language of court and government. Nevertheless, in his Kingdom of Galicia the Galician language
was the only language spoken, and the most used in government and legal uses, as well as in literature
.
In the dynastic conflict between Isabella I of Castile
and Joanna La Beltraneja, who was believed to be the illegitimate daughter of Beltrán and the former queen, most of the Galician aristocracy supported Joanna. After Isabella's victory, she initiated the "Doma y Castración del Reino de Galicia", that is, the "Taming and Castration of the Kingdom of Galicia" (Court Historian, Zurita), a process of centralisation.
In the face of this development, the Galician language began a slow decline that would culminate in the Séculos Escuros ("Obscure Centuries"), roughly the 16th through mid-18th centuries, when written Galician practically disappeared, and the language survived only orally, marginalizing Galician-speakers.
During the Peninsular War
, Galicia was one of the most affected areas. However, organisation between local people and the British Army
led to a very short six-month period of French control.
The 1833 territorial division of Spain
put a formal end to the Kingdom of Galicia, unifying Spain into a single centralized monarchy. Instead of seven provinces and a regional administration, Galicia was reorganized into the current four provinces. Although it was recognized as a "historical region", that status was strictly honorific. In reaction, nationalist
and federalist
movements arose.
The liberal
General Miguel Solís Cuetos led a separatist coup attempt
in 1846 against the authoritarian
regime of Ramón María Narváez. Solís and his forces were defeated at the Battle of Cacheiras, 23 April 1846, and the survivors, including Solís himself, were shot. They have taken their place in Galician memory as the Martyrs of Carral or simply the Martyrs of Liberty.
Defeated on the military front, Galicians turned to culture. The Rexurdimento
focused on recovery of the Galician language as a vehicle of social and cultural expression. Among the writers associated with this movement are Rosalía de Castro
, Manuel Murguía
, Manuel Leiras Pulpeiro, and Eduardo Pondal
.
In the early 20th century came another turn toward nationalist politics with Solidaridad Gallega (1907–1912) modeled on Solidaritat Catalana in Catalonia
. Solidaridad Gallega failed, but in 1916 Irmandades da Fala
(Brotherhood of the Language) developed first as a cultural association but soon as a full-blown nationalist movement. Vicente Risco
and Ramón Otero Pedrayo were outstanding cultural figures of this movement, and the magazine Nós ('Us'), founded 1920, its most notable cultural institution; Lois Peña Novo the outstanding political figure.
The Second Spanish Republic
was declared in 1931. During the republic, the Partido Galeguista
(PG) was the most important of a shifting collection of Galician nationalist parties. Following a referendum on a Galician Statute of Autonomy
, Galicia was granted the status of an autonomous region, starting the path for the constitution of a Galician state into a Spanish federal republic. However, because of the Spanish Civil War
, this was never put into practice.
Galicia was spared the worst of the fighting in that war. It was one of the areas where the initial coup attempt at the outset of the war was successful, and it remained in Nationalist (Franco's army) hands throughout the war. While there were no pitched battles, there was repression and even death: all political parties were abolished, as were all labor unions and Galician nationalist organizations. Galicia's statute of autonomy was annulled (as were those of Catalonia
and the Basque
provinces once those were conquered). According to Carlos Fernández Santander, at least 4,200 people were killed either extrajudicially or after summary trials. Victims included the civil governors of all four Galician provinces; Juana Capdevielle, the wife of the governor of La Coruña; mayors such as Ángel Casal of Santiago de Compostela; prominent socialists such as Jaime Quintanilla in Ferrol and Emilio Martínez Garrido in Vigo
; Popular Front
deputies Antonio Bilbatúa, José Miñones, Díaz Villamil, Ignacio Seoane, and former deputy Heraclio Botana); soldiers who had not joined the rebellion, such as Generals Rogelio Caridad Pita and Enrique Salcedo Molinuevo and Admiral Antonio Azarola; and the founders of the PG, Alexandre Bóveda
and Víctor Casas. Many others managed to escape into exile.
General Francisco Franco
— himself a Galician from Ferrol — ruled as dictator from the civil war until his death in 1975. Franco's centralizing regime suppressed any official promotion of the Galician language, although its everyday use was never proscribed. Among the attempts at resistance were small leftist guerrilla groups such as those led by José Castro Veiga ("El Piloto") and Benigno Andrade ("Foucellas"), both of whom were ultimately captured and executed. In the 1960s, ministers such as Manuel Fraga Iribarne
introduced some reforms allowing technocrats affiliated with Opus Dei
to modernize administration in a way that facilitated capitalist
economic development. However, for decades Galicia was largely confined to the role of a supplier of raw materials and energy to the rest of Spain, causing environmental havoc and leading to a wave of migration to Venezuela
and to various parts of Europe. Fenosa
, the monopolistic supplier of electricity, built hydroelectric dams, flooding many Galician river valleys.
The Galician economy finally began to modernize with a Citroën
factory in Vigo, the modernization of the canning industry and the fishing fleet, and eventually a modernization of small peasant farming practices, especially in the production of cows' milk. In the province of Ourense, businessman and politician Eulogio Gómez Franqueira gave impetus to the raising of livestock and poultry by establishing the Cooperativa Orensana S.A. (Coren).
During the last decade of Franco's rule, there was a renewal of nationalist feeling in Galicia. The early 1970s were a time of unrest among university students, workers, and farmers. In 1972, general strikes in Vigo and Ferrol cost the lives of Amador Rey and Daniel Niebla. That same year, the bishop of Mondoñedo
-Ferrol, Miguel Anxo Araúxo Iglesias, wrote a pastoral letter that was not well received by the Franco regime, about a demonstration in Bazán
(Ferrol) where two workers died.
As part of the transition to democracy
upon the death of Franco in 1975, Galicia regained its status as an autonomous region within Spain with the Statute of Autonomy of 1981, which begins, "Galicia, historical nationality, is constituted as an Autonomous Community to access to its self-government, in agreement with the Spanish Constitution and with the present Statute (...)". Varying degrees of nationalist or independentist sentiment are evident at the political level. The only nationalist party of any electoral significance, the Bloque Nacionalista Galego
or BNG, is a conglomerate of left-wing parties and individuals that claims Galician political status as a nation.
From 1990 to 2005, Manuel Fraga, former minister and ambassador in the Franco dictature, presided over the Galician autonomous government, the Xunta de Galicia
. Fraga was associated with the Partido Popular
('People's Party', Spain's main national conservative party) since its founding. In 2002, when the oil tanker Prestige
sank and covered the Galician coast in oil, Fraga was accused by the grassroots movement Nunca Mais
("Never again") of having been unwilling to react. In the 2005 Galician elections, the 'People's Party' lost its absolute majority, though remaining (barely) the largest party in the parliament, with 43% of the total votes. As a result, power passed to a coalition] of the Partido dos Socialistas de Galicia (PSdeG) ('Galician Socialists' Party'), a federal sister-party of Spain's main social-democratic party, the Partido Socialista Obrero Español (PSOE, 'Spanish Socialist Workers Party') and the nationalist Bloque Nacionalista Galego
(BNG). As the senior partner in the new coalition, the PSdeG nominated its leader, Emilio Perez Touriño
, to serve as Galicia's new president, with Anxo Quintana
, the leader of BNG, as its vice-president.
In 2009 the PSdG-BNG coalition lost the elections and the government went back to the People's Party (conservative), which will govern until 2013. Alberto Núñez Feijóo
(PP) is now Galicia's president. It must be said that the PSdG-BNG coalition actually obtained the most of votes.
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Galicia has two official languages: Galician
(Galician: galego) and Spanish
(known in Spain as castellano, "Castilian"), both of them Romance languages
, the former originated locally, the latter born in Castile. Galician is recognized in the Statute of Autonomy of Galicia as the lingua propia ("own language") of Galicia.
Galician is closely related to Portuguese
. Both share a common medieval phase known as Galician-Portuguese
. The independence of Portugal since the late Middle Ages has favored the divergence of the Galician and Portuguese languages.
The official Galician language has been standardized by the Real Academia Galega
on the basis of literary tradition. Although there are local dialects, Galician media conform to this standard form, which is also used in primary, secondary, and university education. There are more than three million Galician speakers in the world, placing Galician just barely among the 150 most widely spoken languages on earth.
Spanish was nonetheless the only official language in Galicia for more than four centuries. Over the many centuries of Castilian domination, Galician faded from day-to-day use in urban areas. The period since the re-establishment of democracy in Spain—in particular since the Ley de Normalización Lingüística ("Law of Linguistic Normalization", Ley 3/1983, 15 June 1983)—represents the first time since the introduction of mass education that a generation has attended school in Galician (Spanish is also still taught in Galician schools).
Nowadays, Galician is resurgent, though in the cities it remains a "second language" for most. According to a 2001 census, 99.16 percent of the populace of Galicia understand the language, 91.04 percent speak it, 68.65 percent read it and 57.64 percent write it. The first two numbers (understanding and speaking) remain roughly the same as a decade earlier; the latter two (reading and writing) both show enormous gains: a decade earlier, only 49.3 percent of the population could read Galician, and only 34.85 percent could write it. This fact can be easily explained because of the impossibility of teaching Galician during the Francisco Franco
era, so older people speak the language but have no written competence. Galician is the highest-percentage spoken language in its region among the regional language
s of Spain.
The earliest known document in Galician-Portuguese dates from 1228. The Foro do bo burgo do Castro Caldelas was granted by Alfonso IX of Castile to the Ourensian town of Allariz
. A distinct Galician Literature
emerged after the Middle Ages. In the 13th century, important contributions were made to the romance canon in Galician-Portuguese. The most notable were by the troubadour
Martín Codax
, by King Denis of Portugal and by King Alfonso X of Castile
, Alfonso O Sabio ("Alfonso the Wise"), the same monarch who began the process of establishing the hegemony of Castilian. During this period, Galician-Portuguese was considered the language of love poetry in the Iberian Romance
linguistic culture. The names and memories of Codax and other popular cultural figures are well preserved in modern Galicia and, despite the long period of Castilian linguistic domination, these names are again household words.
: the executive branch, the Xunta de Galicia
, consisting of the President and the other independently elected councillors; the legislative branch consisting of the Galician Parliament
; and the judicial branch consisting of the High Court of Galicia
and lower courts.
is a collective entity with executive and administrative power. It consists of the President
, a vice president, and twelve councillors. Administrative power is largely delegated to dependent bodies. The Xunta also coordinates the activities of the provincial councils .
The President of the Xunta directs and coordinates the actions of the Xunta. He or she is simultaneously the representative of the autonomous community and of the Spanish state in Galicia. He or she is a member of the parliament and is elected by its deputies and then formally named by the monarch of Spain.
consists of 75 deputies elected by universal adult suffrage
under a system of proportional representation
. The franchise includes even Galicians who reside abroad. Elections occur every four years.
The last election of 2 May 2009 resulted in the following distribution of seats:
known as a .
There is a further subdivision of local government known as an ; each has its own council and mayor . There are nine of these in Galicia: Arcos da Condesa, Bembrive, Camposancos, Chenlo, Morgadans, Pazos de Reis, Queimadelos, Vilasobroso
and Beran.
- of these, 16 are elected and 3 are appointed by the Galician parliament.
Galicia was divided into seven administrative provinces
:
From 1833, the seven original provinces of the 15th century were consolidated into four:
Galicia is further divided into 53 comarcas
, 315 municipalities
and 3,778 parishes. Municipalities are divided into parishes, which may be further divided into aldeas ("hamlets") or lugares ("places"). This traditional breakdown into such small areas is unusual when compared to the rest of Spain. Roughly half of the named population entities of Spain are in Galicia, which occupies only 5.8 percent of the country's area. It is estimated that Galicia has over a million named places, over 40,000 of them being communities.
- ranked fifth out of the 17 autonomous communities.
There are three public universities in Galicia: University of A Coruña
, University of Santiago de Compostela
and the University of Vigo
.
In comparison to the other regions of Spain, the major economic benefit of Galicia is its fishing Industry. Galicia is a land of economic contrast. While the western coast, with its major population centers and its fishing and manufacturing industries, is prosperous and increasing in population, the rural hinterland — the provinces of Ourense
and Lugo
— are economically dependent on traditional agriculture, based on small landholdings called minifundios. However, the rise of tourism, sustainable forestry and organic and traditional agriculture are bringing other possibilities to the Galician economy without compromising the preservation of the natural resources and the local culture.
Traditionally, Galicia depended mainly on agriculture and fishing. Reflecting that history, the Community Fisheries Control Agency
, which coordinates fishing controls in European Union
waters is based in Vigo. Nonetheless, today the tertiary sector of the economy (the service sector) is the largest, with 582,000 workers out of a regional total of 1,072,000 (as of 2002).
The secondary sector (manufacturing) includes shipbuilding
in Vigo and Ferrol, textiles and granite work in A Coruña. A Coruña also manufactures automobile
s, but not nearly on the scale of the automobile manufacturing in Vigo. The Centro de Vigo de PSA Peugeot Citroën
, founded in 1958, makes about 450,000 vehicles annually (455,430 in 2006); a Citroën C4 Picasso
made in 2007 was their nine-millionth vehicle.
Arteixo
, an industrial municipality in the A Coruña metropolitan area, is the headquarters of Inditex
, Europe's largest textile company and the world's second largest. Of their eight brands, Zara is the best-known; indeed, it is the best-known Spanish brand of any sort on an international basis. For 2007, Inditex had 9,435 million euros in sales for a net profit of 1,250 million euros. The company president, Amancio Ortega, is the richest person in Spain with a net worth of 21.5 billion euros.
Galicia is home to the savings bank
Novacaixagalicia
, and to Spain's two oldest commercial banks Banco Etcheverría
(the oldest) and Banco Pastor
.
Galicia was late to catch the tourism boom that has swept Spain in recent decades, but the coastal regions (especially the Rías Baixas
and Santiago de Compostela
) are now significant tourist destinations. In 2007, 5.7 million tourists visited Galicia, an 8 percent growth over the previous year, and part of a continual pattern of growth in this sector. 85 percent of touristas who visit Galicia visit Santiago de Compostela. Tourism constitutes 12 percent of the Galician GDP and employs between 12 and 13 percent of the regional workforce.
. For well over a century Galicia has grown more slowly than the rest of Spain, due largely to emigration to Latin America
and to other parts of Spain. Sometimes Galicia has lost population in absolute terms. In 1857, Galicia had Spain's densest
population and constituted 11.49 percent of the national population. As of 2007, only 6.13 percent of the Spanish population resides in the autonomous community. This is due to the diaspora galician people was forced to since the nineteenth century, first to South America
and later to Central Europe
.
According to the 2006 census, Galicia has a fertility rate of 1.03 children per woman, compared to 1.38 nationally, and far below the figure of 2.1 that represents a stable populace. Lugo and Ourense provinces have the lowest fertility rates in Spain, 0.88 and 0.93, respectively.
Within the region, the A Coruña
-Ferrol
metropolitan area has become increasingly dominant in terms of population. The population of the city of A Coruña in 1900 was 43,971. The population of the rest of the province including the City and Naval Station of nearby Ferrol and Santiago de Compostela was 653,556. A Coruña's growth occurred after the Spanish Civil War
at the same speed as other major Galician cities, but it was the arrival of democracy in Spain after the death of Francisco Franco
when A Coruña left all the other Galician cities behind.
The rapid increase of population of Vigo
, A Coruña, and to a lesser degree Santiago de Compostela and other major Galician cities, during the years that followed the Spanish Civil War
during the mid 20th century occurred as the rural population declined: many villages and hamlets of the four provinces of Galicia disappeared or nearly disappeared during the same period. Economic development
and mechanization of agriculture resulted in the fields being abandoned, and most of the population has moving to find jobs in the main cities. The number of people working in the Tertiary
and Quaternary sectors
of the economy has increased significantly.
Since 1999, the absolute number of births in Galicia has been increasing. In 2006, 21,392 births were registered in Galicia, 300 more than in 2005, according to the Instituto Galego de Estadística. Since 1981, the Galician life expectancy
has increased by 5 years, thanks to a higher quality of life.
, A Coruña
, Ourense
, Lugo
, Pontevedra
, Ferrol and Santiago de Compostela
, the capital and archiepiscopal seat.
The largest conurbations are:
, Bilbao
, Zaragoza
and Madrid
and to Latin America
- Argentina
, Uruguay
, Venezuela
, Brazil
and Cuba
in particular. One notable example of that emigration is that of Fidel Castro
, whose father was a Galician immigrant and mother was of Galician descent.
The two cities with the greatest number of people of Galician descent outside of Galicia itself are Buenos Aires
, Argentina, and nearby Montevideo
, Uruguay, where immigration from Galicia was so significant that Argentines and Uruguayans now commonly refer to all Spaniards as gallegos (Galicians).
During the Franco years there was a new wave of emigration out of Galicia to other European countries, most notably to France
, Germany
, Switzerland
, and the United Kingdom
. There are many expatriate communities throughout the world, and many have their own groups or clubs. Galician immigration is so widespread that websites such as Fillos de Galicia
were created in order to organize and inform Galicians throughout the world.
The proportion of foreign-born people in Galicia is only 2.9 percent compared to a national figure of 10 percent; among the autonomous communities, only Extremadura
has a lower percentage of immigrants. Of the foreign nationals resident in Galicia, 17.93 percent are ethnically related Portuguese
, 10.93 percent are Colombian
and 8.74 percent Brazilian.
, the only Galician airport with intercontinental flights. With 1,943,900 passengers in 2009, it connects to cities in Spain as well as several major European cities – a scheduled transcontinental service to Caracas
and Buenos Aires
has been proposed. There are two other commercial-aviation airports in Galicia: Vigo-Peinador Airport
which in 2008 had 1,278,762 passengers, it connects to cities in Spain and to London
, Paris
, and Brussels
. A Coruña Airport
had 1,174,970 passengers in 2008; it connects around Spain, to Lisbon
, Amsterdam
, Paris
and a highly flown line to London
.
; It is one of the world's leading fishing ports, second only to Tokyo
, with an annual catch worth 1,500 million euros. In 2007 the port took in 732951 metric ton of fish and seafood, and about 4000000 metric ton of other cargoes. Other important ports are Ferrol, A Coruña, and the smaller ports of Marín
and Vilagarcía de Arousa
, as well as important recreational ports in Pontevedra
and Burela
. Beyond these, Galicia has 120 other organized ports.
s and autovía
s connecting the major cities, as well as national and secondary roads to the rest of the municipalities. The Autovía A-6
connects A Coruña
and Lugo
to Madrid
, entering Galicia at Pedrafita do Cebreiro
. The Autovía A-52
connects Vigo, Ourense
and Benavente
, and enters Galicia at A Gudiña
. Two more autovías are under construction. Autovía A-8
enters Galicia on the Cantabrian coast, and ends in Baamonde (Lugo province). Autovía A-76
enters Galicia in Valdeorras
; it is an upgrade of the existing N-120
to Ourense and Vigo.
Within Galicia are the Autopista AP-9
from Ferrol to Vigo and the Autopista AP-53
(also known as AG-53, because it was initially built by the Xunta de Galicia) from Santiago
to Ourense. Additional roads under construction include Autovía A-54
from Santiago de Compostela to Lugo, and Autovía A-56
from Lugo to Ourense. The Xunta de Galicia has built roads connecting comarca
l capitals, such as the aforementioned AG-53, or Autovía AG-55 connecting A Coruña to Carballo
.
to Cornes, Conxo, Santiago de Compostela. A second line was inaugurated in 1875, connecting A Coruña and Lugo. In 1883, Galicia was first connected by rail to the rest of Spain, by way of O Barco de Valdeorras
.
Galicia today has roughly 1100 kilometres (683.5 mi) of rail lines. Several Iberian gauge
(1,668 mm) lines operated by Adif
and Renfe Operadora connect all the important Galician cities. A metre gauge
(1,000 mm) line operated by FEVE
connects Ferrol to Ribadeo
and Oviedo
. The only electrified line is the Ponferrada
-Monforte de Lemos
-Ourense
-Vigo
line.
Several AVE
high speed train
lines are under construction. Among these are the Olmedo
-Zamora
-Galicia scheduled to open in 2012, which will connect Santiago and Ourense to Madrid, and the AVE Atlantic Axis route, which will connect all of the major Galician Atlantic coast cities to Portugal. Other projected AVE lines are Vigo-Monforte and A Coruña-León
.
, Galician-Portuguese
emerged as a literary language in the Middle Ages, during the 12th-13th century, when a rich lyric tradition developed
. However, in the face of the hegemony of Castilian Spanish, during the so-called Séculos Escuros ("Dark Centuries"), from 1530 to 1800, it fell from major literary or legal use, revived again during the 19th century Rexurdimento
with such writers as Rosalía de Castro
, Manuel Murguía
, Manuel Leiras Pulpeiro, and Eduardo Pondal
. In the 20th century, before the Spanish Civil War the Irmandades da Fala
("Brotherhood of the Language") and Grupo Nós included such writers as Vicente Risco
, Ramón Cabanillas and Castelao
. Public use of Galician was largely suppressed during the Franco dictatorship but has been resurgent since the restoration of democracy. Contemporary writers in Galician include Xosé Luís Méndez Ferrín
, Manuel Rivas
, and Suso de Toro
.
Galician cuisine often uses fish and shellfish. The empanada
is a meat or fish pie, with a bread-like base, top and crust with the meat or fish filling usually being in a tomato sauce including onions and garlic. Caldo galego is a hearty soup whose main ingredients are potatoes and a local vegetable named grelo (Broccoli rabe)
. The latter is also employed in Lacón con grelos, a typical carnival dish, consisting of pork shoulder boiled with grelos, potatoes and chorizo
. Centolla is the equivalent of King Crab
. It is prepared by being boiled alive, having its main body opened like a shell, and then having its innards mixed vigorously. Another popular dish is octopus
, boiled (traditionally in a copper pot) and served in a wooden plate, cut into small pieces and laced with olive oil, sea salt and pimentón (Spanish paprika). This dish is called Pulpo a la gallega or in Galician "Polbo á Feira", which roughly translates as "Galician-style Octopus". There are several regional varieties of cheese. The best known one is the so-called tetilla, named after its breast-like shape. Other highly regarded varieties include the San Simón cheese from Vilalba
and the creamy cheese produced in the Arzúa
-Curtis
area. The latter area produces also high-quality beef. A classical dessert is filloas, crêpe-like pancakes made with flour, broth and eggs. When cooked at a pig slaughter festival, they may also contain the animal's blood. A famous almond cake called Tarta de Santiago
(St. James' cake) is a Galician sweet speciality mainly produced in Santiago de Compostela.
Galicia has 30 products with Denominación de Origen
(D.O.), some of them with Denominación de Origen Protegida (D.O.P.). D.O. and D.O.P. are part of a system of regulation of quality and geographical origin among Spain's finest producers. Galicia produces a number of high-quality wines
, including Albariño
, Ribeiro
, Ribeira Sacra, Monterrei
and Valdeorras
. The grape varieties used are local and rarely found outside Galicia and Northern Portugal. Just as notably from Galicia comes the spirit Aguardente—the name means burning water—often referred to as Orujo
in Spain and internationally or as caña
in Galicia. This spirit is made from the distillation of the pomace
of grapes.
, from the city of A Coruña
, is the region's most successful club and is currently (2010–11 season
) Galicia's only representative in the top flight of the national championship, La Liga
. Celta de Vigo
, from Vigo
, are also a major club and are Deportivo's principal regional rivals. When the two sides play, it is referred to as the Galician derby
. SD Compostela
from Santiago de Compostela
and Racing Ferrol
from Ferrol
are two other notable club sides. Similarly to Catalonia
and the Basque Country
, Galicia also periodically fields a regional team against international opposition (see Galicia autonomous football team).
Other popular sports in Galicia include futsal
(a variety of indoor football), handball
and basketball
. Galicia is also noted for a great tradition of maritime sports, both sea and river-based - sports such as rowing
, yachting
, canoeing
and surfing
.
) on 1 May (Galician Literature Day) on 17 May (Galicia's National Day) also known as St. James the Apostle Day on 25 July on 15 August (strictly religious)
and the Americas
through Hispasat
. CRTVG also broadcasts a digital terrestrial television
(DTT) channel known as tvG2
and is considering adding further DTT channels, with a 24-hour news channel projected for 2010.
, with 12 local editions and a national edition. Other major newspapers are El Correo Gallego
(Santiago de Compostela
), Faro de Vigo
(Vigo
), El Progreso (Lugo), La Región (Ourense), and Galicia Hoxe
– The first daily newspaper to publish exclusively in Galician. Other newspapers of note are Atlántico Diario
in the Vigo metropolitan area, the free De luns a venres (the first free daily in Galician), the sports paper DxT Campeón, El Ideal Gallego
from A Coruña, the Heraldo de Vivero, the Xornal de Galicia, and the Diario de Ferrol.
in Vinson Massif
, Antarctica is named after the autonomous community of Galicia.
Autonomous communities of Spain
An autonomous community In other languages of Spain:*Catalan/Valencian .*Galician .*Basque . The second article of the constitution recognizes the rights of "nationalities and regions" to self-government and declares the "indissoluble unity of the Spanish nation".Political power in Spain is...
in northwest Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, with the official status of a nationality of Spain.
Its component provinces
Provinces of Spain
Spain and its autonomous communities are divided into fifty provinces .In other languages of Spain:*Catalan/Valencian , sing. província.*Galician , sing. provincia.*Basque |Galicia]] — are not also the capitals of provinces...
are A Coruña
A Coruña (province)
The province of A Coruña is the most North-western Atlantic-facing province of Spain, and one of the four provinces which constitute the autonomous community of Galicia...
, Lugo
Lugo (province)
Lugo is a province of northwestern Spain, in the northeastern part of the autonomous community of Galicia. It is bordered by the provinces of Ourense, Pontevedra, and A Coruña, the principality of Asturias, the State of León, and in the north by the Cantabrian Sea .The population is 356,595 , of...
, Ourense
Ourense (province)
Ourense is a province of northwestern Spain, in the southeastern part of the Autonomous Community of Galicia. It is bordered by the provinces of Pontevedra in the west, Lugo in the north, León and Zamora in the east, and by Portugal in the south. With an area of 7,278 square km it is the only...
and Pontevedra
Pontevedra (province)
Pontevedra is a province of Spain along the country's Atlantic coast in southwestern Europe. The province forms the southwestern part of the autonomous community of Galicia...
. It is bordered by Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
to the south, the Spanish autonomous communities of Castile and León
Castile and León
Castile and León is an autonomous community in north-western Spain. It was so constituted in 1983 and it comprises the historical regions of León and Old Castile...
and Asturias
Asturias
The Principality of Asturias is an autonomous community of the Kingdom of Spain, coextensive with the former Kingdom of Asturias in the Middle Ages...
to the east, the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
to the west, and the Bay of Biscay
Bay of Biscay
The Bay of Biscay is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Brest south to the Spanish border, and the northern coast of Spain west to Cape Ortegal, and is named in English after the province of Biscay, in the Spanish...
to the north. Besides its continental territory, Galicia includes Arousa Island, and the archipelagos of Cíes
Cíes Islands
The Cíes Islands are an archipelago off the coast of Pontevedra in Galicia , in the mouth of the Ría de Vigo. They belong to the parish of San Francisco de Afora, in the municipality of Vigo...
, Ons
Ons Island
The Ons Island is the main island of a small archipelago in the coast of Pontevedra in Galicia, Spain. Ons belongs administratively to the Galician municipality of Bueu, which has a regular ferry boat connection to the island, as have the mainland towns of Portonovo, Sanxenxo, Marín and...
, Sálvora
Sálvora
Sálvora is a small island located on the Ría de Arousa, coast of Galicia, Spain. It belongs to the municipality of Santa Uxía de Ribeira and is integrated in the Atlantic Islands of Galicia National Park....
Island, Cortegada Island
Cortegada Island
Cortegada is an island in the coast of Pontevedra in Galicia, Spain. It is part of the Atlantic Islands of Galicia National Park.Originally a village of the municipally of O Carril , it was offered as a present to King Alfonso XIII at the start of XX century, then sold to a private company...
, Malveiras Islands, Sisargas Islands, and other minor isles and islets.
Galicia has roughly 2.79 million inhabitants as of 2011, with the largest concentration in two coastal areas, from Ferrol to A Coruña
A Coruña
A Coruña or La Coruña is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. It is the second-largest city in the autonomous community and seventeenth overall in the country...
in the north-west, and from Vilagarcía
Vilagarcía de Arousa
Vilagarcía de Arousa is a port town situated on the firth of Arousa in Galicia, 45km south of Santiago de Compostela. Vilagarcía has a population of almost 37,000 inhabitants, so it is the eighth largest town in Galicia....
to Vigo
Vigo
Vigo is a city and municipality in north-west Spain, in Galicia, situated on the ria of the same name on the Atlantic Ocean.-Population:...
in the south-west. The capital is Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain.The city's Cathedral is the destination today, as it has been throughout history, of the important 9th century medieval pilgrimage route, the Way of St. James...
, in the province of A Coruña. Vigo, in the province of Pontevedra, is the most populous municipality with 297,332 inhabitants and the second most populous city with 206,411 habitants; while A Coruña
A Coruña
A Coruña or La Coruña is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. It is the second-largest city in the autonomous community and seventeenth overall in the country...
is the most populous city with 220,581 habitants and the second most populous municipality with 246,056 habitants in its municipality (INE
Instituto Nacional de Estadística (Spain)
The National Institute of Statistics is the official organisation in Spain that collects statistics about demography, economy, and Spanish society. Every 10 years, this organisation conducts a national census. The last census took place in 2001....
2009). Both cities are the cores of the two major metropolitan areas of Galicia.
Two languages are official and widely used in Galicia, Galician
Galician language
Galician is a language of the Western Ibero-Romance branch, spoken in Galicia, an autonomous community located in northwestern Spain, where it is co-official with Castilian Spanish, as well as in border zones of the neighbouring territories of Asturias and Castile and León.Modern Galician and...
, a Romance language which, along with Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
, descends from medieval Galician-Portuguese
Galician-Portuguese
Galician-Portuguese or Old Portuguese was a West Iberian Romance language spoken in the Middle Ages, in the northwest area of the Iberian Peninsula. It was first spoken in the area bounded in the north and west by the Atlantic Ocean and the Douro River in the south but it was later extended south...
, and Castilian
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
.
Toponym
The name Galicia derives from the Latin toponym GallaeciaGallaecia
Gallaecia or Callaecia, also known as Hispania Gallaecia, was the name of a Roman province and an early Mediaeval kingdom that comprised a territory in the north-west of Hispania...
, related to the name of an ancient Celtic tribe that resided north of the Douro
Douro
The Douro or Duero is one of the major rivers of the Iberian Peninsula, flowing from its source near Duruelo de la Sierra in Soria Province across northern-central Spain and Portugal to its outlet at Porto...
river, the Gallaeci or Callaeci in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
, or Kallaikói (καλλαικoι) in Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
. According to Ptolemy
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy , was a Roman citizen of Egypt who wrote in Greek. He was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in Egypt under Roman rule, and is believed to have been born in the town of Ptolemais Hermiou in the...
, these Callaeci were the first tribe in the area to battle the invading Romans.
The historical denomination Galiza is still used with some frequency, among others by the Galician reintegrationists
Reintegrationism
Reintegrationism is the linguistic and cultural movement in Galicia which defends the unity of Galician and Portuguese as a single language. In other words, it postulates that Galician and Portuguese languages did not only share a common origin and literary tradition, but that they are in fact...
. It was the most usual Galician spelling of the name of the country during the Low Middle Ages, becoming popular again, in written uses, during the first three quarters of the 20th century; nevertheless, this alternative is now seldom used by the Xunta de Galicia
Xunta de Galicia
The Xunta de Galicia is the collective decision-making body of the government of the autonomous community of Galicia, composed of the President, the Vice-President and the specialized ministers ....
, the local autonomous government. Besides, the Royal Galician Academy, institution responsible for regulating the Galician language, whilst recognizing it as a legitimate denomination had informed that the only official name of the country is Galicia.
Geography
Galicia has a surface area of 29574 square kilometres (11,418.6 sq mi). Its northernmost point, at 43º 47' N, is Estaca de Bares (also the northernmost point of Spain); its southernmost, at 41º 49' N, is on the Portuguese border in the Baixa Limia-Serra do Xurés Natural Park. The easternmost longitude is at 6º 42' W on the border between the province of Ourense and the Castilian-LeoneseCastile and León
Castile and León is an autonomous community in north-western Spain. It was so constituted in 1983 and it comprises the historical regions of León and Old Castile...
province of Zamora) its westernmost at 9º 18' W, reached in two places: the La Nave Cape in Fisterra
Fisterra
Fisterra , in Spanish usually Finisterre, is a municipality in the province of A Coruña, in the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain. Fisterra is on Cape Finisterre, the final destination for many pilgrims on the Way of St. James....
(also known as Finisterre), and Cape Touriñán, both in the province of A Coruña.
Topography
is a hilly landscape, composed of relatively low mountain ranges, usually below 1000 m (3,280.8 ft) high, without sharp peaks, rising to 2000 m (6,561.7 ft) in the eastern mountains. There are many rivers, most (though not all) running down relatively gentle slopes in narrow river valleys, though at times their courses become far more rugged, as in the canyons of the Sil river, Galicia's second most important river after the MiñoMinho River
The Minho or Miño is the longest river in Galicia, Spain, with an extension of 340 km.Both names come from Latin Minius...
.
, a remarkable feature of Galicia is the presence of many firth
Firth
Firth is the word in the Lowland Scots language and in English used to denote various coastal waters in Scotland and England. In mainland Scotland it is used to describe a large sea bay, or even a strait. In the Northern Isles it more usually refers to a smaller inlet...
-like inlets along the coast, estuaries that were drowned with rising sea levels after the ice age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
. These are called rías
Ria
A ria is a coastal inlet formed by the partial submergence of an unglaciated river valley. It is a drowned river valley that remains open to the sea. Typically, rias have a dendritic, treelike outline although they can be straight and without significant branches. This pattern is inherited from the...
and are divided into the smaller Rías Altas
Rias Altas
Rías Altas is the northernmost of three sections of A Costa do Marisco in Galicia, Spain. It extends from the port of Ribadeo to Santa Cruz....
("High Rías"), and the larger Rías Baixas
Rías Baixas
The Rías Baixas are a part of Costa del Marisco facing the Atlantic Ocean in the southern part of the Galicia region of Spain. They consist of the southern part of the Province of Coruña and the entire Province of Pontevedra...
("Low Rías"). The Rías Altas include Ribadeo, Foz, Viveiro, Barqueiro, Ortigueira, Cedeira, Ferrol, Betanzos, A Coruña, Corme e Laxe and Camariñas. The Rías Baixas, found south of Fisterra, include Corcubión, Muros e Noia, Arousa, Pontevedra and Vigo. The Rías Altas can sometimes refer only to those east of Estaca de Bares, with the others being called Rías Medias ("Intermediate Rías").
Erosion by the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
has contributed to the great number of capes
Cape (geography)
In geography, a cape or headland is a point or body of land extending into a body of water, usually the sea.A cape usually represents a marked change in trend of the coastline. Their proximity to the coastline makes them prone to natural forms of erosion, mainly tidal actions. This results in capes...
. Besides the aforementioned Estaca de Bares in the far north, separating the Atlantic Ocean from the Cantabrian Sea, other notable capes are Cape Ortegal, Cape Prior, Punta Santo Adrao, Cape Vilán, Cape Touriñán (westernmost point in Galicia), Cape Finisterre
Cape Finisterre
right|thumb|300px|Position of Cape Finisterre on the [[Iberian Peninsula]]Cape Finisterre is a rock-bound peninsula on the west coast of Galicia, Spain....
or Fisterra, considered by the Romans
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
, along with Finistère
Finistère
Finistère is a département of France, in the extreme west of Brittany.-History:The name Finistère derives from the Latin Finis Terræ, meaning end of the earth, and may be compared with Land's End on the opposite side of the English Channel...
in Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
and Land's End
Land's End
Land's End is a headland and small settlement in west Cornwall, England, within the United Kingdom. It is located on the Penwith peninsula approximately eight miles west-southwest of Penzance....
in Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, to be the end of the known world.
All along the Galician coast are various archipelago
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...
s near the mouths of the rías. These archipelagos provide protected deepwater harbors and also provide habitat for seagoing birds. A 2007 inventory estimates that the Galician coast has 316 archipelagos, islets, and freestanding rocks. Among the most important of these are the archipelagos of Cíes
Cíes Islands
The Cíes Islands are an archipelago off the coast of Pontevedra in Galicia , in the mouth of the Ría de Vigo. They belong to the parish of San Francisco de Afora, in the municipality of Vigo...
, Ons
Ons Island
The Ons Island is the main island of a small archipelago in the coast of Pontevedra in Galicia, Spain. Ons belongs administratively to the Galician municipality of Bueu, which has a regular ferry boat connection to the island, as have the mainland towns of Portonovo, Sanxenxo, Marín and...
, and Sálvora
Sálvora
Sálvora is a small island located on the Ría de Arousa, coast of Galicia, Spain. It belongs to the municipality of Santa Uxía de Ribeira and is integrated in the Atlantic Islands of Galicia National Park....
. Together with Cortegada Island
Cortegada Island
Cortegada is an island in the coast of Pontevedra in Galicia, Spain. It is part of the Atlantic Islands of Galicia National Park.Originally a village of the municipally of O Carril , it was offered as a present to King Alfonso XIII at the start of XX century, then sold to a private company...
, these make up the Atlantic Islands of Galicia National Park
Atlantic Islands of Galicia National Park
The Atlantic Islands of Galicia National Park is the only national park located in the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain. It comprises the archipelagos of Cíes, Ons, Sálvora and Cortegada.- External links :* *...
. Other significant islands are Islas Malveiras, Islas Sisargas, and, the largest and holding the largest population, Arousa Island
A Illa de Arousa
A Illa de Arousa is the only island municipality in Galicia, Spain in the province of Pontevedra.-External links:* Townhall of Arousa Island**...
.
The coast of this 'green corner' of the Iberian Peninsula
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
, some 1500 km (932.1 mi) in length, attracts great numbers of tourists, although real state development in the 2000-2010 decade have degraded it partially.
Mountains
Castile and León
Castile and León is an autonomous community in north-western Spain. It was so constituted in 1983 and it comprises the historical regions of León and Old Castile...
. Noteworthy mountain ranges are O Xistral (northern Lugo), the Serra dos Ancares
Serra dos Ancares
The Serra dos Ancares is a mountain range in north-west Spain, extending in a south-westerly direction from the western end of the Cantabrian Mountains in Asturias....
(on the border with León and Asturias
Asturias
The Principality of Asturias is an autonomous community of the Kingdom of Spain, coextensive with the former Kingdom of Asturias in the Middle Ages...
), O Courel (on the border with León), O Eixe (the border between Ourense and Zamora), Serra de Queixa (in the center of Ourense province), O Faro (the border between Lugo and Pontevedra), Cova da Serpe (border of Lugo and A Coruña), Montemaior (A Coruña), Montes do Testeiro, Serra do Suído, and Faro de Avión (between Pontevedra and Ourense); and, to the south, A Peneda, O Xurés and O Larouco, all on the border of Ourense and Portugal.
The highest point in Galicia is Trevinca
Trevinca
Peña Trevinca , also known as Trevinca, is a mountain in northern Spain. It is located at the confluence of the Montes de León and the Macizo Galaico on the boundary between the autonomous communities of Galicia and Castile and León...
or Pena Trevinca (2124 m (6,968.5 ft)), located in the Serra do Eixe, at the border between Ourense and León and Zamora provinces. Other tall peaks are Pena Survia (2112 m (6,929.1 ft)) in the Serra do Eixe, O Mustallar (1935 m (6,348.4 ft)) in Os Ancares
Os Ancares
Os Ancares is a comarca in the Galician Province of Lugo. The overall population of this local region is 13,888 .A range of mountains called in Galician the "Serra dos Ancares" forms the border with the neighbouring autonomous community of Castile and León where there is an area called Los...
, and Cabeza de Manzaneda (1782 m (5,846.5 ft)) in Serra de Queixa, where there is a ski resort.
Hydrography
Galicia is poetically known as the "country of the thousand rivers" ("o país dos mil ríos"). The largest and most important of these rivers is the MinhoMinho River
The Minho or Miño is the longest river in Galicia, Spain, with an extension of 340 km.Both names come from Latin Minius...
, known as O Pai Miño (Father Minho), 307.5 kilometre long and discharging 419 m³ (548 cu yd) per second, with its affluent the Sil, which has created a spectacular canyon. Most of the rivers in the inland are tributaries of this fluvial system, which drains some 17027 sqkm. Other rivers run directly into the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
or the Cantabrian Sea, most of them having short courses. Only the Navia
Navia (river)
The Navia is a river in northern Spain flowing from Galicia intothe Autonomous Community of Asturias....
, Ulla
Ulla
Ulla may refer to:* Ulla, short for the name Ursula in German-speaking countries* Ulla, short for the name Ulrika in Scandinavian countries* Ulla, a common first name for women in Scandinavian countries...
, Tambre
Tambre
Tambre is a comune in the Province of Belluno in the Italian region Veneto, located about 80 km north of Venice and about 15 km east of Belluno...
, and Limia
Limia
Limia is a genus of livebearing freshwater fishes belonging to the cyprinodontiform family Poeciliidae, which includes other livebearers such as platys, swordtails , guppies and mollies...
have courses longer than 100 kilometre.
Galicia's many hydroelectric
Hydroelectricity
Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy...
dams take advantage of the steep, deep, narrow rivers and their canyons. Few of Galicia's rivers are navigable, other than the lower portion of the Miño and the portions of various rivers that have been dammed into reservoirs. Some rivers are navigable by small boats in their lower reaches: this is taken great advantage of in a number of semi-aquatic festivals and pilgrimages.
Environment
Galicia has preserved some of its dense Atlantic forests, where wildlife is commonly found. It is relatively unpolluted, and its landscapes composed of green hills, cliffs and rias are generally very different from what is commonly understood as Spanish landscape. Nevertheless, Galicia is having some important environmental problems in the modern age. Deforestation and forest fires are a problem in many areas, as it is the continual spread of the eucalyptusEucalyptus
Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...
tree, an invasive species imported from Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, actively promoted and researched by the paper industry since the mid-twentieth century. All of this factors are steadily degrading the soils in the coastal, milder areas, and transforming habitats and landscape. Furthermore, excessive hydroelectic development in most rivers have been a serious concern for local conservationist during the last decades.
Fauna, most notably the European Wolf
Eurasian Wolf
The Eurasian Wolf , also known as the, European, Common or Forest Wolf is a subspecies of grey wolf which has the largest range among wolf subspecies and is the most common in Europe and Asia, ranging through Mongolia, China, Russia, Scandinavia, Western Europe and the Himalayan Mountains...
, have suffered because of the actions of livestock owners and farmers, and because of the loss of habitats, whilst the native deer species have declined because of hunting and development.
Recently, oil spills have become a major issue, especially with the Mar Egeo disaster in A Coruña
A Coruña
A Coruña or La Coruña is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. It is the second-largest city in the autonomous community and seventeenth overall in the country...
and the Prestige
Prestige (oil tanker)
|The Prestige was a Liberian-owned oil tanker, operating under a Bahamian flag, that on 19 November 2002 sank off the coast of Galicia, Spain.-Design and construction:...
oil spill
Prestige oil spill
The Prestige oil spill was an oil spill off the coast of Galicia caused by the sinking of an oil tanker in 2002. The spill polluted thousands of kilometers of coastline and more than one thousand beaches on the Spanish, French and Portuguese coast, as well as causing great harm to the local fishing...
in 2002, a crude oil spill larger than the Exxon Valdez
Exxon Valdez
Oriental Nicety, formerly Exxon Valdez, Exxon Mediterranean, SeaRiver Mediterranean, S/R Mediterranean, Mediterranean, and Dong Fang Ocean is an oil tanker that gained notoriety after running aground in Prince William Sound spilling hundreds of thousands of barrels of crude oil in Alaska...
disaster in Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
.
Flora
Galicia has more than 2800 plant species. Plant endemics are represented by 31 taxons.Galicia is one of the more wooded areas of Spain, and the majority of Galicia's plantations lack any formal management.
A few oak forests (known locally as fragas) remain, particularly in the north-central part of the province of Lugo and the north of the province of A Coruña (Fragas do Eume). Wood and wood products (particularly softwood pulp
Pulp (paper)
Pulp is a lignocellulosic fibrous material prepared by chemically or mechanically separating cellulose fibres from wood, fibre crops or waste paper. Wood pulp is the most common raw material in papermaking.-History:...
) figure significantly in Galicia's economy. There is also some farming, both crops for direct use and pasture for livestock.
Apart from tree plantations, Galicia is also notable for the extensive surface occupied by meadows used for animal husbandry (especially cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
), an important activity.
- Reforestation with eucalyptus (especially Eucalyptus globulusEucalyptus globulusThe Tasmanian Blue Gum, Southern Blue Gum or Blue Gum, is an evergreen tree, one of the most widely cultivated trees native to Australia. They typically grow from 30 to 55 m tall. The tallest currently known specimen in Tasmania is 90.7 m tall...
) began in the Francisco FrancoFrancisco FrancoFrancisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
era, largely on behalf of the paper company Empresa Nacional de Celulosas de España (ENCE) in PontevedraPontevedraPontevedra is a city in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. It is the capital of both the comarca and province of Pontevedra, in Galicia . It is also the capital of its own municipality which is, in fact, often considered as an extension of the actual city...
, which wanted it for its pulp.
Fauna
Galicia has 262 inventoried species of vertebrateVertebrate
Vertebrates are animals that are members of the subphylum Vertebrata . Vertebrates are the largest group of chordates, with currently about 58,000 species described. Vertebrates include the jawless fishes, bony fishes, sharks and rays, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds...
s, including 12 species of freshwater fish, 15 amphibian
Amphibian
Amphibians , are a class of vertebrate animals including animals such as toads, frogs, caecilians, and salamanders. They are characterized as non-amniote ectothermic tetrapods...
s, 24 reptile
Reptile
Reptiles are members of a class of air-breathing, ectothermic vertebrates which are characterized by laying shelled eggs , and having skin covered in scales and/or scutes. They are tetrapods, either having four limbs or being descended from four-limbed ancestors...
s, 152 birds and 59 mammals.
The animals most often thought of as being "typical" of Galicia are the livestock raised there. The Galician Pony
Galician pony
The Galician pony , is a breed of pony developed in Galicia .It has had an influence on the Galiceno breed in Mexico and, allegedly, on the Mustang. It is thought to have developed partly from a mix of Celtic horses, Roman horses and horses brought to Galicia by the Swabians. The ponies are hardy...
is native to the region, as is the Galician Blond
Galician Blond
The Galician Blond is a breed of cattle native to the region of Galicia in Northern Spain. Also named for its color, its coat varies from cream to golden red....
cow and the domestic fowl
Fowl
Fowl is a word for birds in general but usually refers to birds belonging to one of two biological orders, namely the gamefowl or landfowl and the waterfowl...
known as the galiña de Mos. The latter is an endangered species
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
, although it is showing signs of a comeback since 2001.
Galicia's woodlands and mountains are home to rabbit
Rabbit
Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...
s, hares, wild boars and roe deer
Roe Deer
The European Roe Deer , also known as the Western Roe Deer, chevreuil or just Roe Deer, is a Eurasian species of deer. It is relatively small, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapted to cold environments. Roe Deer are widespread in Western Europe, from the Mediterranean to Scandinavia, and from...
, all of which are popular with hunters.
Several important bird migration routes pass through Galicia, and some of the community's relatively few environmentally protected areas are Special Protection Area
Special Protection Area
A Special Protection Area or SPA is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds.Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and certain particularly threatened birds.Together with Special...
s (such as on the Ría de Ribadeo) for these birds.
From a domestic point of view, Galicia has been credited for author Manuel Rivas
Manuel Rivas
Manuel Rivas is a Galician writer, poet and journalist. He began his career in some Spanish newspapers like El Ideal Gallego, La Voz de Galicia, El Pais, and was the sub-editor of Diario 16 in Galicia...
as the "land of one million cows". Galician Blond
Galician Blond
The Galician Blond is a breed of cattle native to the region of Galicia in Northern Spain. Also named for its color, its coat varies from cream to golden red....
and Holstein cattle coexist on meadows and farms.
Climate
The lands of Galicia are ascribed to two different areas in the Köppen climate classificationKöppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...
: a south-east area (roughly, the province of Ourense) with tendencies to have some summer drought, classified as a warm-summer Mediterranean climate
Mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate is the climate typical of most of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, and is a particular variety of subtropical climate...
(Csb), similar to the climate of the coastal regions of Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
and Washington, with mild temperatures and rainfall usual throughout the year; and the western and northern coastal regions, the provinces of Lugo, A Coruña, and Pontevedra, which are characterized by their Oceanic climate
Oceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also called marine west coast climate, maritime climate, Cascadian climate and British climate for Köppen climate classification Cfb and subtropical highland for Köppen Cfb or Cwb, is a type of climate typically found along the west coasts at the middle latitudes of some of the...
(Csf), with a more uniform precipitation distribution along the year, and milder summers.
As an example, Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain.The city's Cathedral is the destination today, as it has been throughout history, of the important 9th century medieval pilgrimage route, the Way of St. James...
, the capital city, has an average of 129 rainy days and 1362 millimetres (53.6 in) per year (with just 17 rainy days in the three summer months) and 2,101 sunlight hours per year, with just 6 days with frosts per year. But the colder city of Lugo
Lugo
Lugo is a city in northwestern Spain, in the autonomous community of Galicia. It is the capital of the province of Lugo. The municipality had a population of 97,635 in 2010, which makes is the fourth most populated city in Galicia.-Population:...
, to the east, has an average of 1,759 sunlight hours per year, 117 days with precipitations (> 1 mm) totalling 901.54 millimetres (35.5 in), and 40 days with frosts per year. The more mountainous parts of the provinces of Ourense and Lugo receive significant snowfall during the winter months.
Climate data for some locations in Galicia (average 2006-2010):
| City/Town | Hottest month av. | Coldest month av. | Precipitations | Days with precip. | Days with p. (summer) | Days with frost | Sunlight hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain.The city's Cathedral is the destination today, as it has been throughout history, of the important 9th century medieval pilgrimage route, the Way of St. James... |
19.1 °C (66.4 °F) | 7.4 °C (45.3 °F) | 1362 millimetres (53.6 in) | 129 | 17 | 6 | 2,101 |
| Santa Comba Santa Comba, Galicia Santa Comba is a municipality of Spain in the Province of A Coruña, in the autonomous community of Galicia.-External links:*... |
17.6 °C (63.7 °F) | 7.3 °C (45.1 °F) | 1983 millimetres (78.1 in) | 144 | 21 | 8 | 2,064 |
| Ferrol Ferrol Ferrol can refer to:* Ferrol, Spain, industrial city and naval station in Galicia * Ferrol, Virginia, town in the United States of America* Ferrol, Romblon, municipality in the Philippines* Ferrol, Peninsula, Peru, South America... |
20 °C (68 °F) | 9.6 °C (49.3 °F) | 1304 millimetres (51.3 in) | 138 | 19 | 1 | 2,147 |
| Lugo Lugo Lugo is a city in northwestern Spain, in the autonomous community of Galicia. It is the capital of the province of Lugo. The municipality had a population of 97,635 in 2010, which makes is the fourth most populated city in Galicia.-Population:... |
18.6 °C (65.5 °F) | 5.1 °C (41.2 °F) | 902 millimetres (35.5 in) | 117 | 12 | 40 | 1,759 |
| Ribadeo Ribadeo Ribadeo is a municipality in the Spanish province of Lugo in Galicia. It has a population of 9619 and an area of 106.2 km². It is the capital of the A Mariña Oriental region .- External links:*.... |
19 °C (66.2 °F) | 9 °C (48.2 °F) | 1093 millimetres (43 in) | 124 | 18 | 1 | 1,823 |
| Ourense Ourense Ourense is a city in northwestern Spain, the capital of the province of the same name in Galicia. Its population of 108,674 accounts for 30% of the population of the province and makes it the third largest city of Galicia.-Population:... |
22 °C (71.6 °F) | 6.9 °C (44.4 °F) | 833 millimetres (32.8 in) | 95 | 9 | 17 | 1,909 |
| Pontevedra Pontevedra Pontevedra is a city in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. It is the capital of both the comarca and province of Pontevedra, in Galicia . It is also the capital of its own municipality which is, in fact, often considered as an extension of the actual city... |
20.2 °C (68.4 °F) | 8.6 °C (47.5 °F) | 1487 millimetres (58.5 in) | 126 | 14 | 7 | 2,169 |
Prehistory
in the municipality of Triacastela
Triacastela
Triacastela is a municipality in the province of Lugo, Galicia, Spain. It gets its name from the three castles that once stood here, none of which exist today....
(province of Lugo) has preserved animal remains and Neanderthal
Neanderthal
The Neanderthal is an extinct member of the Homo genus known from Pleistocene specimens found in Europe and parts of western and central Asia...
stone objects from the Middle Paleolithic
Middle Paleolithic
The Middle Paleolithic is the second subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age as it is understood in Europe, Africa and Asia. The term Middle Stone Age is used as an equivalent or a synonym for the Middle Paleolithic in African archeology. The Middle Paleolithic and the Middle Stone Age...
, thanks to its alkaline soils. There are other remnants of the Middle Paleolithic along the lower Miño and in the Ourense depression.
The earliest culture to have left significant architectural traces is the Megalithic culture which expanded along the western European coasts during the Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
and Calcolithic eras. Thousands of Megalithic tumuli
Tumulus
A tumulus is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, Hügelgrab or kurgans, and can be found throughout much of the world. A tumulus composed largely or entirely of stones is usually referred to as a cairn...
are distributed all along the country. Within each tumulus is a stone burial chamber known locally as anta (dolmen
Dolmen
A dolmen—also known as a portal tomb, portal grave, dolmain , cromlech , anta , Hünengrab/Hünenbett , Adamra , Ispun , Hunebed , dös , goindol or quoit—is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of...
), many of them preceded by a corridor; the sizes of these chambers vary.
Rich mineral deposits led to the development of Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
metallurgy
Metallurgy
Metallurgy is a domain of materials science that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are called alloys. It is also the technology of metals: the way in which science is applied to their practical use...
. Utensils and gold and bronze jewelry from Galicia have been found as far away as the far side of the Pyrenees
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...
, while Atlantic Bronze Age
Atlantic Bronze Age
The Atlantic Bronze Age is a cultural complex of the Bronze Age period of approximately 1300–700 BC that includes different cultures in Portugal, Andalusia, Galicia, Armorica and the British Isles.-Trade:...
commerce created an extensive network which expanded a common elite culture all along the Atlantic fringe of Europe.
At this time, climate change seems to have driven migration into the region from the vast plateau of Iberia's Meseta Central, increasing the population and causing conflict between communities. Before the Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
invasion, a series of tribes lived in the region (Gallaeci, Celtici
Celtici
]The Celtici were a Celtic tribe or group of tribes of the Iberian peninsula, inhabiting three definite areas: in what today are the provinces of Alentejo and the Algarve in Portugal; in the Province of Badajoz and north of Province of Huelva in Spain, in the ancient Baeturia; and along the...
), and according to Pomponius Mela
Pomponius Mela
Pomponius Mela, who wrote around AD 43, was the earliest Roman geographer. He was born in Tingentera and died c. AD 45.His short work occupies less than one hundred pages of ordinary print. It is laconic in style and deficient in method, but of pure Latinity, and occasionally relieved by pleasing...
, Strabo
Strabo
Strabo, also written Strabon was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.-Life:Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus , a city which he said was situated the approximate equivalent of 75 km from the Black Sea...
, Pliny
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
, Herodotus
Herodotus
Herodotus was an ancient Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria and lived in the 5th century BC . He has been called the "Father of History", and was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a...
and others, they shared similar Celt
Celt
The Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Iron Age and Roman-era Europe who spoke Celtic languages.The earliest archaeological culture commonly accepted as Celtic, or rather Proto-Celtic, was the central European Hallstatt culture , named for the rich grave finds in Hallstatt, Austria....
ic customs.
Castro culture
The Castro cultureCastro culture
Castro culture is the archaeological term for naming the Celtic archaeological culture of the northwestern regions of the Iberian Peninsula from the end of the Bronze Age until it was subsumed in local Roman culture...
('Culture of the Castles') flourished in the second half of the first millennium BCE, being usually considered a local evolution of the Atlantic Bronze Age culture, with later developments and influences, and overlapping into the Roman era. Geographically, it corresponds to the people Roman called Gallaeci. They were capable fighters; Strabo
Strabo
Strabo, also written Strabon was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.-Life:Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus , a city which he said was situated the approximate equivalent of 75 km from the Black Sea...
described them as the most difficult foes the Romans encountered in conquering Lusitania
Lusitania
Lusitania or Hispania Lusitania was an ancient Roman province including approximately all of modern Portugal south of the Douro river and part of modern Spain . It was named after the Lusitani or Lusitanian people...
, while Appian
Appian
Appian of Alexandria was a Roman historian of Greek ethnicity who flourished during the reigns of Trajan, Hadrian, and Antoninus Pius.He was born ca. 95 in Alexandria. He tells us that, after having filled the chief offices in the province of Egypt, he went to Rome ca. 120, where he practised as...
mentions their warlike spirit, noting that the women bore their weapons side by side with their mens, frequently preferring death to captivity.
The castros date from this era. These were usually annular forts, with one or more concentric earthen or stony walls, with a trench in front of each one. They were located at hills, or in seashore cliffs and peninsulas. Some visitable castros can be found, in the seashore, at Fazouro, Santa Tegra, Baroña and O Neixón, and inland at San Cibrao de Lás, Borneiro, Castromao, and Viladonga.
Some other distinct features, such as temples, baths, reservoirs, warrior statues and decorative carvings, have been found associated to this culture. In some of the walls and at other places, human and animal remains have been found, probably as part of a founding, protective ritual.
Dating from the end of the Megalithic era, and up to the Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
, there are numerous stone carvings (petroglyph
Petroglyph
Petroglyphs are pictogram and logogram images created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, and abrading. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions of the technique to refer to such images...
s) in open air, being their significance unknown. The best known of these are at Campo Lameiro
Campo Lameiro
Campo Lameiro is a municipality in Galicia, Spain in the province of Pontevedra....
.
Roman rule
The Roman legions first entered the area under Decimus Junius BrutusDecimus Junius Brutus Callaicus
Decimus Junius Brutus Callaicus was a Roman politician and general of the 2nd century BC. He was the son of the consul Marcus Junius Brutus and brother of the praetor Marcus Junius Brutus; he himself was appointed consul in 138 BC...
in 137–136 BC, but the country was only incorporated into the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
by the time of Augustus
Augustus
Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...
. The Romans were interested in Galicia mainly for its mineral resources, most notably gold. Under Roman rule, most castros were abandoned, and Galicians served frequently in the Roman army.
The Romans brought new technologies, new travel routes, new forms of organizing property, and a new language, building roads and monuments as the lighthouse known as Torre de Hércules
Tower of Hercules
The Tower of Hercules is an ancient Roman lighthouse on a peninsula about from the centre of A Coruña, Galicia, in north-western Spain. Until the 20th century, the tower itself was known as the "Farum Brigantium". The Latin word farum is derived from the Greek pharos for the Lighthouse of...
, in A Coruña
A Coruña
A Coruña or La Coruña is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. It is the second-largest city in the autonomous community and seventeenth overall in the country...
, but the remoteness and lesser interest of the country since the 2nd century of our era, led to a lower degree of Romanization
Romanization
In linguistics, romanization or latinization is the representation of a written word or spoken speech with the Roman script, or a system for doing so, where the original word or language uses a different writing system . Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written...
when compared to other areas, hindering and delaying the introduction of Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
.
In the 3rd century it was made a province, under the name Gallaecia
Gallaecia
Gallaecia or Callaecia, also known as Hispania Gallaecia, was the name of a Roman province and an early Mediaeval kingdom that comprised a territory in the north-west of Hispania...
, which included also northern Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, Asturias
Asturias
The Principality of Asturias is an autonomous community of the Kingdom of Spain, coextensive with the former Kingdom of Asturias in the Middle Ages...
, and a large section of what today is known as Castilla y León.
Middle Ages
Migration Period
The Migration Period, also called the Barbarian Invasions , was a period of intensified human migration in Europe that occurred from c. 400 to 800 CE. This period marked the transition from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages...
, in the 5th century, Galicia was taken by the Suevi in 409, forming the first medieval kingdom to be created in Europe, in 411, even before the fall of the Roman Empire, being also the first Germanic kingdom to mint coinage in Roman lands. During this period a Briton
Britons (historical)
The Britons were the Celtic people culturally dominating Great Britain from the Iron Age through the Early Middle Ages. They spoke the Insular Celtic language known as British or Brythonic...
colony and bishopric (see Mailoc
Mailoc
Mailoc or Maeloc was a 6th-century bishop of Britonia, a settlement founded by expatriate Britons in Galicia, Spain. He represented his diocese, referred to as the Britonensis ecclesia or "British church", at the Second Council of Braga in 572...
) was established in Northern Galicia (Britonia
Britonia
Britonia is the historical name of a settlement in Galicia which was settled in the late 5th and early 6th centuries AD by Romano-Britons escaping the advancing Anglo-Saxons who were conquering Britain at the time...
), probably as foederati
Foederati
Foederatus is a Latin term whose definition and usage drifted in the time between the early Roman Republic and the end of the Western Roman Empire...
and allies of the Suevi. In 585, the Visigoth
Visigoth
The Visigoths were one of two main branches of the Goths, the Ostrogoths being the other. These tribes were among the Germans who spread through the late Roman Empire during the Migration Period...
ic King Leovigild invaded the Suebic kingdom of Galicia and defeated it, bringing it under Visigoth control.
Later the Muslims
Arab Empire
Islamic Empire may refer to:*The Caliphates of the early Middle Ages:**Rashidun Caliphate **Umayyad Caliphate - Successor of the Rashidun Caliphate***Umayyad Emirate in the Al-Andalus...
invaded Spain (711), but the Arabs and Moors
Moors
The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...
never managed to have any real control over Galicia, which was later incorporated into the expanding Christian Kingdom of Asturias
Kingdom of Asturias
The Kingdom of Asturias was a Kingdom in the Iberian peninsula founded in 718 by Visigothic nobles under the leadership of Pelagius of Asturias. It was the first Christian political entity established following the collapse of the Visigothic kingdom after Islamic conquest of Hispania...
, usually known as Gallaecia or Galicia (Yillīqiya and Galīsiya) by Muslim Chroniclers, as well as by many European contemporaries. This era consolidated Galicia as a Christian society which spoke a Romance language
Romance languages
The Romance languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family, more precisely of the Italic languages subfamily, comprising all the languages that descend from Vulgar Latin, the language of ancient Rome...
. During the next century Galician noblemen took northern Portugal, conquering Coimbra
Coimbra
Coimbra is a city in the municipality of Coimbra in Portugal. Although it served as the nation's capital during the High Middle Ages, it is better-known for its university, the University of Coimbra, which is one of the oldest in Europe and the oldest academic institution in the...
in 871, thus freeing what were considered the southernmost city of ancient Galicia.
In the 9th century, the rise of the cult of the Apostle James in Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain.The city's Cathedral is the destination today, as it has been throughout history, of the important 9th century medieval pilgrimage route, the Way of St. James...
gave Galicia a particular symbolic importance among Christians, an importance it would hold throughout the Reconquista
Reconquista
The Reconquista was a period of almost 800 years in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms succeeded in retaking the Muslim-controlled areas of the Iberian Peninsula broadly known as Al-Andalus...
. As the Middle Ages went on, Santiago became a major pilgrim destination and the Way of Saint James a major pilgrim road, a route for the propagation of Romanesque art
Romanesque art
Romanesque art refers to the art of Western Europe from approximately 1000 AD to the rise of the Gothic style in the 13th century, or later, depending on region. The preceding period is increasingly known as the Pre-Romanesque...
and the words and music of the troubadors. During the 10th and 11th centuries, a period during which Galician nobility become related to the royal family, Galicia was at times headed by its own privative kings, whilst Vikings (locally known as Leodemanes or Lordomanes) occasionally raided the coasts. The Towers of Catoira
Catoira
Catoira is a municipality in Galicia , in the province of Pontevedra. Catoira is also known because of Torres do Oeste ruins.-Local festivals:The most important celebrations include...
(Pontevedra) were built as a system of fortifications to prevent and stop the Viking raids on Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain.The city's Cathedral is the destination today, as it has been throughout history, of the important 9th century medieval pilgrimage route, the Way of St. James...
.
In 1063, Ferdinand I of Castile divided his realm among his sons, and the Kingdom of Galicia was granted to Garcia II of Galicia. In 1072, it was forcibly annexed by Garcia's brother Alfonso VI of León; from that time Galicia was united with the Kingdom of León
Kingdom of León
The Kingdom of León was an independent kingdom situated in the northwest region of the Iberian Peninsula. It was founded in AD 910 when the Christian princes of Asturias along the northern coast of the peninsula shifted their capital from Oviedo to the city of León...
under the same monarchs. In the 13th century Alfonso X of Castile
Alfonso X of Castile
Alfonso X was a Castilian monarch who ruled as the King of Castile, León and Galicia from 1252 until his death...
standardized the Castilian language and made it the language of court and government. Nevertheless, in his Kingdom of Galicia the Galician language
Galician language
Galician is a language of the Western Ibero-Romance branch, spoken in Galicia, an autonomous community located in northwestern Spain, where it is co-official with Castilian Spanish, as well as in border zones of the neighbouring territories of Asturias and Castile and León.Modern Galician and...
was the only language spoken, and the most used in government and legal uses, as well as in literature
Galician-Portuguese lyric
In the Middle Ages, the Galician-Portuguese lyric, sometimes called trovadorismo in Portugal and trobadorismo in Galicia, was a lyric poetic school or movement. All told, there are around 1680 texts in the so-called "secular lyric" or lírica profana...
.
Modern era
Isabella I of Castile
Isabella I was Queen of Castile and León. She and her husband Ferdinand II of Aragon brought stability to both kingdoms that became the basis for the unification of Spain. Later the two laid the foundations for the political unification of Spain under their grandson, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor...
and Joanna La Beltraneja, who was believed to be the illegitimate daughter of Beltrán and the former queen, most of the Galician aristocracy supported Joanna. After Isabella's victory, she initiated the "Doma y Castración del Reino de Galicia", that is, the "Taming and Castration of the Kingdom of Galicia" (Court Historian, Zurita), a process of centralisation.
In the face of this development, the Galician language began a slow decline that would culminate in the Séculos Escuros ("Obscure Centuries"), roughly the 16th through mid-18th centuries, when written Galician practically disappeared, and the language survived only orally, marginalizing Galician-speakers.
During the Peninsular War
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...
, Galicia was one of the most affected areas. However, organisation between local people and the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
led to a very short six-month period of French control.
The 1833 territorial division of Spain
1833 territorial division of Spain
The 1833 territorial division of Spain divided Spain into provinces, classified into "historic regions" . on the official web site of the government of the Canary Islands, accessed 2009-12-31...
put a formal end to the Kingdom of Galicia, unifying Spain into a single centralized monarchy. Instead of seven provinces and a regional administration, Galicia was reorganized into the current four provinces. Although it was recognized as a "historical region", that status was strictly honorific. In reaction, nationalist
Galician nationalism
Galician nationalism is a political movement arguing for the recognition of Galicia as a nation. The political movement referred to as modern Galician nationalism was born at the beginning of the twentieth century from the idea of Galicianism.- Ideology :...
and federalist
Federalism
Federalism is a political concept in which a group of members are bound together by covenant with a governing representative head. The term "federalism" is also used to describe a system of the government in which sovereignty is constitutionally divided between a central governing authority and...
movements arose.
The liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
General Miguel Solís Cuetos led a separatist coup attempt
Solís Uprising
The Solís Uprising was an unsuccessful military uprising in Galicia in 1846. The soldiers executed after the defeat became known as the Martyrs of Carral .-Context:...
in 1846 against the authoritarian
Authoritarianism
Authoritarianism is a form of social organization characterized by submission to authority. It is usually opposed to individualism and democracy...
regime of Ramón María Narváez. Solís and his forces were defeated at the Battle of Cacheiras, 23 April 1846, and the survivors, including Solís himself, were shot. They have taken their place in Galician memory as the Martyrs of Carral or simply the Martyrs of Liberty.
Defeated on the military front, Galicians turned to culture. The Rexurdimento
Rexurdimento
The Rexurdimento was a period in the History of Galicia during the 19th century. Its central feature was the revitalization of the Galician language as a vehicle of social and cultural expression after the so-called séculos escuros , in which the dominance of Castilian Spanish was nearly complete...
focused on recovery of the Galician language as a vehicle of social and cultural expression. Among the writers associated with this movement are Rosalía de Castro
Rosalía de Castro
María Rosalía Rita de Castro , was a Galician romanticist writer and poet.Writing in the Galician language, after the Séculos Escuros , she became an important figure of the Galician romantic movement, known today as the Rexurdimento , along with Manuel Curros Enríquez and Eduardo Pondal...
, Manuel Murguía
Manuel Murguía
Manuel Murguia was a Galician journalist and historian who created the Real Academia Galega. He was one of the main figures in Galician Rexurdimento movement. He is also remembered as Rosalía de Castro's husband, publisher and main supporter.-Life:...
, Manuel Leiras Pulpeiro, and Eduardo Pondal
Eduardo Pondal
Eduardo María González-Pondal Abente was a Spanish poet, who wrote in both Spanish and GalicianOf Hidalgo origin Pondal was the youngest of a family of seven. From 1884 onwards he studied Latin in a school in Vilela de Nemiña which belonged to his cleric relative, Cristobal Lago...
.
In the early 20th century came another turn toward nationalist politics with Solidaridad Gallega (1907–1912) modeled on Solidaritat Catalana in Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
. Solidaridad Gallega failed, but in 1916 Irmandades da Fala
Irmandades da Fala
The Irmandades da Fala was a Galician nationalist organization active between 1916 and 1936.It was the first political organization of Galicia that only used the Galician language.-Origin:...
(Brotherhood of the Language) developed first as a cultural association but soon as a full-blown nationalist movement. Vicente Risco
Vicente Risco
Vicente Martínez Risco Agüero was a Galician intellectual of the 20th Century. He was a founder member of Xeración Nós, and among the most important figures in the history of Galician literature. He is well regarded for his writings on Galician nationalism, as well as a contributor to the Galician...
and Ramón Otero Pedrayo were outstanding cultural figures of this movement, and the magazine Nós ('Us'), founded 1920, its most notable cultural institution; Lois Peña Novo the outstanding political figure.
The Second Spanish Republic
Second Spanish Republic
The Second Spanish Republic was the government of Spain between April 14 1931, and its destruction by a military rebellion, led by General Francisco Franco....
was declared in 1931. During the republic, the Partido Galeguista
Partido Galeguista (1931)
The Partido Galeguista was a Galician nationalist party founded in December 1931. It achieved notoriety during the time of the Spanish Second Republic...
(PG) was the most important of a shifting collection of Galician nationalist parties. Following a referendum on a Galician Statute of Autonomy
Galician Statute of Autonomy (1936)
The Galician Statute of Autonomy was a statute of autonomy for Galicia. It was voted in referendum and presented to the Spanish Parliament. Yet, it could never be implemented because of the Spanish Civil War and subsequent Francoist dictatorship...
, Galicia was granted the status of an autonomous region, starting the path for the constitution of a Galician state into a Spanish federal republic. However, because of the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
, this was never put into practice.
Galicia was spared the worst of the fighting in that war. It was one of the areas where the initial coup attempt at the outset of the war was successful, and it remained in Nationalist (Franco's army) hands throughout the war. While there were no pitched battles, there was repression and even death: all political parties were abolished, as were all labor unions and Galician nationalist organizations. Galicia's statute of autonomy was annulled (as were those of Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
and the Basque
Basque Country (autonomous community)
The Basque Country is an autonomous community of northern Spain. It includes the Basque provinces of Álava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa, also called Historical Territories....
provinces once those were conquered). According to Carlos Fernández Santander, at least 4,200 people were killed either extrajudicially or after summary trials. Victims included the civil governors of all four Galician provinces; Juana Capdevielle, the wife of the governor of La Coruña; mayors such as Ángel Casal of Santiago de Compostela; prominent socialists such as Jaime Quintanilla in Ferrol and Emilio Martínez Garrido in Vigo
Vigo
Vigo is a city and municipality in north-west Spain, in Galicia, situated on the ria of the same name on the Atlantic Ocean.-Population:...
; Popular Front
Popular Front (Spain)
The Popular Front in Spain's Second Republic was an electoral coalition and pact signed in January 1936 by various left-wing political organisations, instigated by Manuel Azaña for the purpose of contesting that year's election....
deputies Antonio Bilbatúa, José Miñones, Díaz Villamil, Ignacio Seoane, and former deputy Heraclio Botana); soldiers who had not joined the rebellion, such as Generals Rogelio Caridad Pita and Enrique Salcedo Molinuevo and Admiral Antonio Azarola; and the founders of the PG, Alexandre Bóveda
Alexandre Bóveda
Alexandre Bóveda Iglesias , commonly known as Alexandre Bóveda, was a Galician politician and financial officer. He is considered one of the most important Galicianist intellectuals during the Spanish Second Republic...
and Víctor Casas. Many others managed to escape into exile.
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
— himself a Galician from Ferrol — ruled as dictator from the civil war until his death in 1975. Franco's centralizing regime suppressed any official promotion of the Galician language, although its everyday use was never proscribed. Among the attempts at resistance were small leftist guerrilla groups such as those led by José Castro Veiga ("El Piloto") and Benigno Andrade ("Foucellas"), both of whom were ultimately captured and executed. In the 1960s, ministers such as Manuel Fraga Iribarne
Manuel Fraga Iribarne
Manuel Fraga Iribarne is a Spanish People's Party politician. Fraga's career as one of the key political figures in Spain straddles both General Francisco Franco's dictatorial regime and the subsequent transition to democracy. He served as the President of the Xunta of Galicia from 1990 to 2005...
introduced some reforms allowing technocrats affiliated with Opus Dei
Opus Dei
Opus Dei, formally known as The Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei , is an organization of the Catholic Church that teaches that everyone is called to holiness and that ordinary life is a path to sanctity. The majority of its membership are lay people, with secular priests under the...
to modernize administration in a way that facilitated capitalist
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
economic development. However, for decades Galicia was largely confined to the role of a supplier of raw materials and energy to the rest of Spain, causing environmental havoc and leading to a wave of migration to Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
and to various parts of Europe. Fenosa
Unión Fenosa
Unión Fenosa, S.A., is a large Spanish company dedicated to the production and distribution to end users of gas and electricity. It has installed capacity of 11,120 megawatts of power and 8.9 million customers. The headquarters are in Madrid and the chairman is Pedro López Jiménez...
, the monopolistic supplier of electricity, built hydroelectric dams, flooding many Galician river valleys.
The Galician economy finally began to modernize with a Citroën
Citroën
Citroën is a major French automobile manufacturer, part of the PSA Peugeot Citroën group.Founded in 1919 by French industrialist André-Gustave Citroën , Citroën was the first mass-production car company outside the USA and pioneered the modern concept of creating a sales and services network that...
factory in Vigo, the modernization of the canning industry and the fishing fleet, and eventually a modernization of small peasant farming practices, especially in the production of cows' milk. In the province of Ourense, businessman and politician Eulogio Gómez Franqueira gave impetus to the raising of livestock and poultry by establishing the Cooperativa Orensana S.A. (Coren).
During the last decade of Franco's rule, there was a renewal of nationalist feeling in Galicia. The early 1970s were a time of unrest among university students, workers, and farmers. In 1972, general strikes in Vigo and Ferrol cost the lives of Amador Rey and Daniel Niebla. That same year, the bishop of Mondoñedo
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.-History:...
-Ferrol, Miguel Anxo Araúxo Iglesias, wrote a pastoral letter that was not well received by the Franco regime, about a demonstration in Bazán
Navantia
Navantia, formerly Bazán or IZAR, is a Spanish shipbuilding firm, which offers its services to both military and civil sector. It is the fifth largest shipbuilder in Europe, and the ninth largest in the world with shipyards all over Spain....
(Ferrol) where two workers died.
As part of the transition to democracy
Spanish transition to democracy
The Spanish transition to democracy was the era when Spain moved from the dictatorship of Francisco Franco to a liberal democratic state. The transition is usually said to have begun with Franco’s death on 20 November 1975, while its completion has been variously said to be marked by the Spanish...
upon the death of Franco in 1975, Galicia regained its status as an autonomous region within Spain with the Statute of Autonomy of 1981, which begins, "Galicia, historical nationality, is constituted as an Autonomous Community to access to its self-government, in agreement with the Spanish Constitution and with the present Statute (...)". Varying degrees of nationalist or independentist sentiment are evident at the political level. The only nationalist party of any electoral significance, the Bloque Nacionalista Galego
Bloque Nacionalista Galego
The Galician Nationalist Bloc is a Galician nationalist coalition of political parties. It is self-defined as a "patriotic front".Formed in 1982, under the guidance of historical leader Xosé Manuel Beiras, the BNG advocates for further devolution of powers to the Parliament of Galicia and the...
or BNG, is a conglomerate of left-wing parties and individuals that claims Galician political status as a nation.
From 1990 to 2005, Manuel Fraga, former minister and ambassador in the Franco dictature, presided over the Galician autonomous government, the Xunta de Galicia
Xunta de Galicia
The Xunta de Galicia is the collective decision-making body of the government of the autonomous community of Galicia, composed of the President, the Vice-President and the specialized ministers ....
. Fraga was associated with the Partido Popular
People's Party (Spain)
The People's Party is a conservative political party in Spain.The People's Party was a re-foundation in 1989 of the People's Alliance , a party led and founded by Manuel Fraga Iribarne, a former Minister of Tourism during Francisco Franco's dictatorship...
('People's Party', Spain's main national conservative party) since its founding. In 2002, when the oil tanker Prestige
Prestige (oil tanker)
|The Prestige was a Liberian-owned oil tanker, operating under a Bahamian flag, that on 19 November 2002 sank off the coast of Galicia, Spain.-Design and construction:...
sank and covered the Galician coast in oil, Fraga was accused by the grassroots movement Nunca Mais
Plataforma Nunca Máis
Nunca Máis is the name and slogan of a popular movement in Galicia formed in response to the Prestige ship environmental disaster in 2002. The movement's banner is based on the Galician flag, but with a blue diagonal on a black field, rather than a blue diagonal on a white field...
("Never again") of having been unwilling to react. In the 2005 Galician elections, the 'People's Party' lost its absolute majority, though remaining (barely) the largest party in the parliament, with 43% of the total votes. As a result, power passed to a coalition] of the Partido dos Socialistas de Galicia (PSdeG) ('Galician Socialists' Party'), a federal sister-party of Spain's main social-democratic party, the Partido Socialista Obrero Español (PSOE, 'Spanish Socialist Workers Party') and the nationalist Bloque Nacionalista Galego
Bloque Nacionalista Galego
The Galician Nationalist Bloc is a Galician nationalist coalition of political parties. It is self-defined as a "patriotic front".Formed in 1982, under the guidance of historical leader Xosé Manuel Beiras, the BNG advocates for further devolution of powers to the Parliament of Galicia and the...
(BNG). As the senior partner in the new coalition, the PSdeG nominated its leader, Emilio Perez Touriño
Emilio Pérez Touriño
Emilio Pérez Touriño is a Spanish politician and economist. He is the former secretary general of the Socialist Party of Galicia and, from August 2005 to March 2009, former president of the autonomous community of Galicia . Namely, he was president of the executive branch, the Xunta de Galicia...
, to serve as Galicia's new president, with Anxo Quintana
Anxo Quintana
Anxo Manuel Quintana González, commonly known as Anxo Quintana, is the former leader of the Galician Nationalist Bloc , the main nationalist party in Galicia...
, the leader of BNG, as its vice-president.
In 2009 the PSdG-BNG coalition lost the elections and the government went back to the People's Party (conservative), which will govern until 2013. Alberto Núñez Feijóo
Alberto Núñez Feijóo
Alberto Núñez Feijóo is the 5th and current President of the Xunta of Galicia.Núñez Feijóo became president in April 2009 following the regional parliamentary elections held in Galicia the previous month....
(PP) is now Galicia's president. It must be said that the PSdG-BNG coalition actually obtained the most of votes.
Language
Galician language
Galician is a language of the Western Ibero-Romance branch, spoken in Galicia, an autonomous community located in northwestern Spain, where it is co-official with Castilian Spanish, as well as in border zones of the neighbouring territories of Asturias and Castile and León.Modern Galician and...
(Galician: galego) and Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
(known in Spain as castellano, "Castilian"), both of them Romance languages
Romance languages
The Romance languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family, more precisely of the Italic languages subfamily, comprising all the languages that descend from Vulgar Latin, the language of ancient Rome...
, the former originated locally, the latter born in Castile. Galician is recognized in the Statute of Autonomy of Galicia as the lingua propia ("own language") of Galicia.
Galician is closely related to Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
. Both share a common medieval phase known as Galician-Portuguese
Galician-Portuguese
Galician-Portuguese or Old Portuguese was a West Iberian Romance language spoken in the Middle Ages, in the northwest area of the Iberian Peninsula. It was first spoken in the area bounded in the north and west by the Atlantic Ocean and the Douro River in the south but it was later extended south...
. The independence of Portugal since the late Middle Ages has favored the divergence of the Galician and Portuguese languages.
The official Galician language has been standardized by the Real Academia Galega
Real Academia Galega
The Royal Galician Academy is an institution dedicated to the study of Galician culture and especially the Galician language; it promulgates norms of grammar, spelling, and vocabulary and works to promote the language. The Academy is based in A Coruña, Galicia, Spain. The current president is...
on the basis of literary tradition. Although there are local dialects, Galician media conform to this standard form, which is also used in primary, secondary, and university education. There are more than three million Galician speakers in the world, placing Galician just barely among the 150 most widely spoken languages on earth.
Spanish was nonetheless the only official language in Galicia for more than four centuries. Over the many centuries of Castilian domination, Galician faded from day-to-day use in urban areas. The period since the re-establishment of democracy in Spain—in particular since the Ley de Normalización Lingüística ("Law of Linguistic Normalization", Ley 3/1983, 15 June 1983)—represents the first time since the introduction of mass education that a generation has attended school in Galician (Spanish is also still taught in Galician schools).
Nowadays, Galician is resurgent, though in the cities it remains a "second language" for most. According to a 2001 census, 99.16 percent of the populace of Galicia understand the language, 91.04 percent speak it, 68.65 percent read it and 57.64 percent write it. The first two numbers (understanding and speaking) remain roughly the same as a decade earlier; the latter two (reading and writing) both show enormous gains: a decade earlier, only 49.3 percent of the population could read Galician, and only 34.85 percent could write it. This fact can be easily explained because of the impossibility of teaching Galician during the Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
era, so older people speak the language but have no written competence. Galician is the highest-percentage spoken language in its region among the regional language
Regional language
A regional language is a language spoken in an area of a nation state, whether it be a small area, a federal state or province, or some wider area....
s of Spain.
The earliest known document in Galician-Portuguese dates from 1228. The Foro do bo burgo do Castro Caldelas was granted by Alfonso IX of Castile to the Ourensian town of Allariz
Allariz
The town of Allariz is in the province of Ourense, Autonomous Community of Galicia, Spain. It occupies the center of the western half of the province, connecting with the towns of Taboadela, Paderne, Sandiás, Vilar de Santos, Rairiz de Veiga, Xunqueira de Ambía, A Merca and A Bola...
. A distinct Galician Literature
Galician literature
Galician language literature is the literature written in Galician. The earliest works in Galician language are from the early 13th-century trovadorismo tradition...
emerged after the Middle Ages. In the 13th century, important contributions were made to the romance canon in Galician-Portuguese. The most notable were by the troubadour
Troubadour
A troubadour was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages . Since the word "troubadour" is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a trobairitz....
Martín Codax
Martín Codax
Martín Codax or Martim Codax was a Galician medieval jogral , possibly from Vigo, Galicia in present day Spain. He may have been active during the middle of the thirteenth century, judging from scriptological analysis...
, by King Denis of Portugal and by King Alfonso X of Castile
Alfonso X of Castile
Alfonso X was a Castilian monarch who ruled as the King of Castile, León and Galicia from 1252 until his death...
, Alfonso O Sabio ("Alfonso the Wise"), the same monarch who began the process of establishing the hegemony of Castilian. During this period, Galician-Portuguese was considered the language of love poetry in the Iberian Romance
Romance languages
The Romance languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family, more precisely of the Italic languages subfamily, comprising all the languages that descend from Vulgar Latin, the language of ancient Rome...
linguistic culture. The names and memories of Codax and other popular cultural figures are well preserved in modern Galicia and, despite the long period of Castilian linguistic domination, these names are again household words.
Regional government
Galicia has partial self-governance, in the form of a devolved government, established on 16 March 1978 and reinforced by the Galician Statute of Autonomy, ratified on 28 April 1981. There are three branches of governmentSeparation of powers
The separation of powers, often imprecisely used interchangeably with the trias politica principle, is a model for the governance of a state. The model was first developed in ancient Greece and came into widespread use by the Roman Republic as part of the unmodified Constitution of the Roman Republic...
: the executive branch, the Xunta de Galicia
Xunta de Galicia
The Xunta de Galicia is the collective decision-making body of the government of the autonomous community of Galicia, composed of the President, the Vice-President and the specialized ministers ....
, consisting of the President and the other independently elected councillors; the legislative branch consisting of the Galician Parliament
Parliament of Galicia
The Galician Parliament is the unicameral legislature of the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain. It is formed by 75 deputies . Deputies are elected every four years in ordinary period, or extraordinarily upon dissolution and call of elections by the President of the Xunta of Galicia, by...
; and the judicial branch consisting of the High Court of Galicia
High Court of Galicia
The High Court of Justice of Galicia is the highest body and last judicial instance in the Galician jurisdiction, integrating the Spanish judiciary...
and lower courts.
Executive
The Xunta de GaliciaXunta de Galicia
The Xunta de Galicia is the collective decision-making body of the government of the autonomous community of Galicia, composed of the President, the Vice-President and the specialized ministers ....
is a collective entity with executive and administrative power. It consists of the President
President of the Xunta of Galicia
The President of the Xunta of Galicia , usually known in English as the Galician regional president, is the head of government of Galicia. The president leads the executive branch of the regional government....
, a vice president, and twelve councillors. Administrative power is largely delegated to dependent bodies. The Xunta also coordinates the activities of the provincial councils .
The President of the Xunta directs and coordinates the actions of the Xunta. He or she is simultaneously the representative of the autonomous community and of the Spanish state in Galicia. He or she is a member of the parliament and is elected by its deputies and then formally named by the monarch of Spain.
Legislative
The Galician ParliamentParliament of Galicia
The Galician Parliament is the unicameral legislature of the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain. It is formed by 75 deputies . Deputies are elected every four years in ordinary period, or extraordinarily upon dissolution and call of elections by the President of the Xunta of Galicia, by...
consists of 75 deputies elected by universal adult suffrage
Universal suffrage
Universal suffrage consists of the extension of the right to vote to adult citizens as a whole, though it may also mean extending said right to minors and non-citizens...
under a system of proportional representation
Proportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
. The franchise includes even Galicians who reside abroad. Elections occur every four years.
The last election of 2 May 2009 resulted in the following distribution of seats:
- Partido Popular de GaliciaPeople's Party of GaliciaThe People's Party of Galicia is a centre-right political party in Galicia, Spain. It is the Galician affiliate of the Spanish People's Party....
(PPdeG): 38 deputies (47.11%) - Partido Socialista de GaliciaSocialist Party of GaliciaThe Socialist Party of Galicia is a centre-left political party in Galicia, Spain. It is the Galician affiliate of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party . It defines itself as a Galicianist and social democratic party.-External links:Official*...
(PSdeG-PSOE): 25 deputies (29.92%) - Bloque Nacionalista Galego (BNG): 12 deputies (16.58%)
Local government
There are 315 municipalities in Galicia, each of which is run by a mayor-council governmentMayor-council government
The mayor–council government system, sometimes called the mayor–commission government system, is one of the two most common forms of local government for municipalities...
known as a .
There is a further subdivision of local government known as an ; each has its own council and mayor . There are nine of these in Galicia: Arcos da Condesa, Bembrive, Camposancos, Chenlo, Morgadans, Pazos de Reis, Queimadelos, Vilasobroso
Vilasobroso, Mondariz
Vilasobroso is a village in the southwest of Galicia, Spain. It is both a parish within the municipality of Mondariz, known as San Martiño de Vilasobroso, and an Entidad local menor. As an Entidad local menor it is only one of nine administrative divisions directly below a municipality in the...
and Beran.
National government
Galicia's interests are represented at national level by 25 elected deputies in the Congress of Deputies and 19 senators in the SenateSpanish Senate
The Senate of Spain is the upper house of Spain's parliament, the . It is made up of 264 members: 208 elected by popular vote, and 56 appointed by the regional legislatures. All senators serve four-year terms, though regional legislatures may recall their appointees at any time.The last election...
- of these, 16 are elected and 3 are appointed by the Galician parliament.
Administrative divisions
Prior to the 1833 territorial division of Spain1833 territorial division of Spain
The 1833 territorial division of Spain divided Spain into provinces, classified into "historic regions" . on the official web site of the government of the Canary Islands, accessed 2009-12-31...
Galicia was divided into seven administrative provinces
Provinces of Spain
Spain and its autonomous communities are divided into fifty provinces .In other languages of Spain:*Catalan/Valencian , sing. província.*Galician , sing. provincia.*Basque |Galicia]] — are not also the capitals of provinces...
:
- A CoruñaA Coruña (province)The province of A Coruña is the most North-western Atlantic-facing province of Spain, and one of the four provinces which constitute the autonomous community of Galicia...
- SantiagoSantiago de CompostelaSantiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain.The city's Cathedral is the destination today, as it has been throughout history, of the important 9th century medieval pilgrimage route, the Way of St. James...
- BetanzosBetanzosBetanzos is a municipality in Galicia, Spain, in the Province of A Coruña. In Roman times Betanzos was called Carunium or Brigantium. During the Medieval period the settlement was known as Carunio....
- MondoñedoProvince of MondoñedoProvince of Mondoñedo One of the seven provinces which existed in Galicia from the 15th Century till 1833; from that date onwards the number of provinces were reduced to four, and the entire Province of Mondoñedo was first divided into two halves and later absorbed and assimilated into the existing...
- LugoLugo (province)Lugo is a province of northwestern Spain, in the northeastern part of the autonomous community of Galicia. It is bordered by the provinces of Ourense, Pontevedra, and A Coruña, the principality of Asturias, the State of León, and in the north by the Cantabrian Sea .The population is 356,595 , of...
- OurenseOurense (province)Ourense is a province of northwestern Spain, in the southeastern part of the Autonomous Community of Galicia. It is bordered by the provinces of Pontevedra in the west, Lugo in the north, León and Zamora in the east, and by Portugal in the south. With an area of 7,278 square km it is the only...
- TuiTui, GaliciaTui , in Spanish Tuy, is a town in Galicia , in the province of Pontevedra. It is located on the left bank of the Minho River, facing the Portuguese town of Valença....
From 1833, the seven original provinces of the 15th century were consolidated into four:
- A CoruñaA Coruña (province)The province of A Coruña is the most North-western Atlantic-facing province of Spain, and one of the four provinces which constitute the autonomous community of Galicia...
- OurenseOurense (province)Ourense is a province of northwestern Spain, in the southeastern part of the Autonomous Community of Galicia. It is bordered by the provinces of Pontevedra in the west, Lugo in the north, León and Zamora in the east, and by Portugal in the south. With an area of 7,278 square km it is the only...
- PontevedraPontevedra (province)Pontevedra is a province of Spain along the country's Atlantic coast in southwestern Europe. The province forms the southwestern part of the autonomous community of Galicia...
- LugoLugo (province)Lugo is a province of northwestern Spain, in the northeastern part of the autonomous community of Galicia. It is bordered by the provinces of Ourense, Pontevedra, and A Coruña, the principality of Asturias, the State of León, and in the north by the Cantabrian Sea .The population is 356,595 , of...
Galicia is further divided into 53 comarcas
Comarcas of Spain
In Spain traditionally and historically, some autonomous communities are also divided into comarcas .In other languages of Spain:*Catalan/Valencian , sing comarca.*Galician , sing. comarca....
, 315 municipalities
Municipalities of Spain
The municipalities of Spain In other languages of Spain:*Catalan/Valencian , sing. municipi.*Galician or , sing. municipio/bisbarra.*Basque , sing. udalerria. are the basic level of Spanish local government...
and 3,778 parishes. Municipalities are divided into parishes, which may be further divided into aldeas ("hamlets") or lugares ("places"). This traditional breakdown into such small areas is unusual when compared to the rest of Spain. Roughly half of the named population entities of Spain are in Galicia, which occupies only 5.8 percent of the country's area. It is estimated that Galicia has over a million named places, over 40,000 of them being communities.
Health care
Galicia's public healthcare system is the (SERGAS). It is administered by the regional government's Ministry of Health.Education
Galicia's education system is administered by the regional government's Ministry of Education and University Administration. 76% of Galician teenagers achieve a high school degreeHigh school diploma
A high school diploma is a diploma awarded for the completion of high school. In the United States and Canada, it is considered the minimum education required for government jobs and higher education. An equivalent is the GED.-Past diploma styles:...
- ranked fifth out of the 17 autonomous communities.
There are three public universities in Galicia: University of A Coruña
University of A Coruña
The University of A Coruña is a public university located in the city of A Coruña, Galicia. Established in 1989, university departments are divided between two primary campuses in A Coruña and nearby Ferrol...
, University of Santiago de Compostela
University of Santiago de Compostela
The Royal 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....
and the University of Vigo
University of Vigo
The University of Vigo is a public university located in the city of Vigo, Galicia, Spain. There are three campuses:* Lagoas-Marcosende, between the municipalities of Vigo and Mos;* A Xunqueira, in Pontevedra;* As Lagoas, in Ourense;...
.
Economy
Ourense
Ourense is a city in northwestern Spain, the capital of the province of the same name in Galicia. Its population of 108,674 accounts for 30% of the population of the province and makes it the third largest city of Galicia.-Population:...
and Lugo
Lugo
Lugo is a city in northwestern Spain, in the autonomous community of Galicia. It is the capital of the province of Lugo. The municipality had a population of 97,635 in 2010, which makes is the fourth most populated city in Galicia.-Population:...
— are economically dependent on traditional agriculture, based on small landholdings called minifundios. However, the rise of tourism, sustainable forestry and organic and traditional agriculture are bringing other possibilities to the Galician economy without compromising the preservation of the natural resources and the local culture.
Traditionally, Galicia depended mainly on agriculture and fishing. Reflecting that history, the Community Fisheries Control Agency
Community Fisheries Control Agency
The Community Fisheries Control Agency is an agency of the European Union based in Vigo, Spain. Its goals are to co-ordinate the operational activities of Member States in the area of fisheries, and provide assistance to the Member States in their application of the CFP.- External links :*...
, which coordinates fishing controls in European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
waters is based in Vigo. Nonetheless, today the tertiary sector of the economy (the service sector) is the largest, with 582,000 workers out of a regional total of 1,072,000 (as of 2002).
The secondary sector (manufacturing) includes shipbuilding
Shipbuilding
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to before recorded history.Shipbuilding and ship repairs, both...
in Vigo and Ferrol, textiles and granite work in A Coruña. A Coruña also manufactures automobile
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
s, but not nearly on the scale of the automobile manufacturing in Vigo. The Centro de Vigo de PSA Peugeot Citroën
PSA Peugeot Citroën
PSA Peugeot Citroën is a French manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles sold under the Peugeot and Citroën marques. Headquartered in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, PSA is the second largest automaker based in Europe and the number eight in the world.-History:In December 1974 Peugeot S.A....
, founded in 1958, makes about 450,000 vehicles annually (455,430 in 2006); a Citroën C4 Picasso
Citroën C4 Picasso
The Citroën C4 Picasso is a range of two compact MPVs, a five-seater and a seven-seater , unveiled by French automaker Citroën in August 2006 and presented at the 2006 Paris Motor Show in September 2006 for the seven-seater, and in January 2007 for the five-seater...
made in 2007 was their nine-millionth vehicle.
Arteixo
Arteixo
Arteixo is a municipality of Spain in the Province of A Coruña, in the autonomous community of Galicia. Its area is 93.76 km² and its population is 29,762...
, an industrial municipality in the A Coruña metropolitan area, is the headquarters of Inditex
Inditex
Industria de Diseño Textil, S.A. , more commonly known as Inditex, is a large Spanish corporation and the world's largest fashion group. It is made up of almost a hundred companies dealing with activities related to textile design, production and distribution...
, Europe's largest textile company and the world's second largest. Of their eight brands, Zara is the best-known; indeed, it is the best-known Spanish brand of any sort on an international basis. For 2007, Inditex had 9,435 million euros in sales for a net profit of 1,250 million euros. The company president, Amancio Ortega, is the richest person in Spain with a net worth of 21.5 billion euros.
Galicia is home to the savings bank
Savings bank (Spain)
In Spain, a savings bank is a financial institution which specializes in accepting savings deposits and granting loans. Their original aim was to create the habit of thrift amongst the very poor but they have evolved to compete with and rival commercial banks.Their trade association is the Spanish...
Novacaixagalicia
Novacaixagalicia
Novacaixagalicia is the trading name of Caixa de Aforros de Galicia, Vigo, Ourense e Pontevedra a Spanish savings bank based in Galicia...
, and to Spain's two oldest commercial banks Banco Etcheverría
Banco Etcheverría
Banco Etcheverría is the oldest bank in the Spanish financial system . It was founded in Betanzos, A Coruña in 1717 by Juan Etcheverry, a French businessman established in Galicia who also created a tanning factory.His family inherited and continued the bank business through generations; the...
(the oldest) and Banco Pastor
Banco Pastor
Banco Pastor, S.A. is a Spanish bank. It is the second oldest banking institution in the country, after Banco Etcheverría.Founded in 1776 by Jaime Dalmau Batista as Jaime Dalmau y Cía , who had a shipping company operating between the port of A Coruña and several American ports...
.
Galicia was late to catch the tourism boom that has swept Spain in recent decades, but the coastal regions (especially the Rías Baixas
Rías Baixas
The Rías Baixas are a part of Costa del Marisco facing the Atlantic Ocean in the southern part of the Galicia region of Spain. They consist of the southern part of the Province of Coruña and the entire Province of Pontevedra...
and Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain.The city's Cathedral is the destination today, as it has been throughout history, of the important 9th century medieval pilgrimage route, the Way of St. James...
) are now significant tourist destinations. In 2007, 5.7 million tourists visited Galicia, an 8 percent growth over the previous year, and part of a continual pattern of growth in this sector. 85 percent of touristas who visit Galicia visit Santiago de Compostela. Tourism constitutes 12 percent of the Galician GDP and employs between 12 and 13 percent of the regional workforce.
Population
Galicia's inhabitants are known as GaliciansGalician people
The Galicians are an ethnic group, a nationality whose historical homeland is Galicia in north-western Spain. Most Galicians are bilingual, speaking both their historic language, Galician, and Castilian Spanish.-Political and administrative divisions:...
. For well over a century Galicia has grown more slowly than the rest of Spain, due largely to emigration to Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
and to other parts of Spain. Sometimes Galicia has lost population in absolute terms. In 1857, Galicia had Spain's densest
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
population and constituted 11.49 percent of the national population. As of 2007, only 6.13 percent of the Spanish population resides in the autonomous community. This is due to the diaspora galician people was forced to since the nineteenth century, first to South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
and later to Central Europe
Central Europe
Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...
.
According to the 2006 census, Galicia has a fertility rate of 1.03 children per woman, compared to 1.38 nationally, and far below the figure of 2.1 that represents a stable populace. Lugo and Ourense provinces have the lowest fertility rates in Spain, 0.88 and 0.93, respectively.
Within the region, the A Coruña
A Coruña
A Coruña or La Coruña is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. It is the second-largest city in the autonomous community and seventeenth overall in the country...
-Ferrol
Ferrol, A Coruña
Ferrol , sometimes in Spanish El Ferrol, is a city in the province of A Coruña in Galicia, located on the Atlantic coast in north-western Spain...
metropolitan area has become increasingly dominant in terms of population. The population of the city of A Coruña in 1900 was 43,971. The population of the rest of the province including the City and Naval Station of nearby Ferrol and Santiago de Compostela was 653,556. A Coruña's growth occurred after the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
at the same speed as other major Galician cities, but it was the arrival of democracy in Spain after the death of Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
when A Coruña left all the other Galician cities behind.
The rapid increase of population of Vigo
Vigo
Vigo is a city and municipality in north-west Spain, in Galicia, situated on the ria of the same name on the Atlantic Ocean.-Population:...
, A Coruña, and to a lesser degree Santiago de Compostela and other major Galician cities, during the years that followed the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
during the mid 20th century occurred as the rural population declined: many villages and hamlets of the four provinces of Galicia disappeared or nearly disappeared during the same period. Economic development
Economic development
Economic development generally refers to the sustained, concerted actions of policymakers and communities that promote the standard of living and economic health of a specific area...
and mechanization of agriculture resulted in the fields being abandoned, and most of the population has moving to find jobs in the main cities. The number of people working in the Tertiary
Tertiary sector of industry
The tertiary sector of the economy is one of the three economic sectors, the others being the secondary sector and the primary sector .The service sector consists of the "soft" parts of the economy, i.e...
and Quaternary sectors
Quaternary sector of industry
The quaternary sector of the economy is a way to describe a knowledge-based part of the economy which typically includes services such as information generation and sharing, information technology, consultation, education, research and development, financial planning, and other knowledge-based...
of the economy has increased significantly.
Since 1999, the absolute number of births in Galicia has been increasing. In 2006, 21,392 births were registered in Galicia, 300 more than in 2005, according to the Instituto Galego de Estadística. Since 1981, the Galician life expectancy
Life expectancy
Life expectancy is the expected number of years of life remaining at a given age. It is denoted by ex, which means the average number of subsequent years of life for someone now aged x, according to a particular mortality experience...
has increased by 5 years, thanks to a higher quality of life.
- Birth rateBirth rateCrude birth rate is the nativity or childbirths per 1,000 people per year . Another word used interchangeably with "birth rate" is "natality". When the crude birth rate is subtracted from the crude death rate, it reveals the rate of natural increase...
(2006): 7.9 per 1,000 (all of Spain: 11.0 per 1,000) - Death rate (2006): 10.8 per 1,000 (all of Spain: 8.4 per 1,000)
- Life expectancy at birth (2005): 80.4 years (all of Spain: 80.2 years)
- Male: 76.8 years (all of Spain: 77.0 years)
- Female: 84.0 years (all of Spain: 83.5 years)
Urbanization
The principal cities are VigoVigo
Vigo is a city and municipality in north-west Spain, in Galicia, situated on the ria of the same name on the Atlantic Ocean.-Population:...
, A Coruña
A Coruña
A Coruña or La Coruña is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. It is the second-largest city in the autonomous community and seventeenth overall in the country...
, Ourense
Ourense
Ourense is a city in northwestern Spain, the capital of the province of the same name in Galicia. Its population of 108,674 accounts for 30% of the population of the province and makes it the third largest city of Galicia.-Population:...
, Lugo
Lugo
Lugo is a city in northwestern Spain, in the autonomous community of Galicia. It is the capital of the province of Lugo. The municipality had a population of 97,635 in 2010, which makes is the fourth most populated city in Galicia.-Population:...
, Pontevedra
Pontevedra
Pontevedra is a city in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. It is the capital of both the comarca and province of Pontevedra, in Galicia . It is also the capital of its own municipality which is, in fact, often considered as an extension of the actual city...
, Ferrol and Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain.The city's Cathedral is the destination today, as it has been throughout history, of the important 9th century medieval pilgrimage route, the Way of St. James...
, the capital and archiepiscopal seat.
The largest conurbations are:
- A Coruña-Ferrol – 640,000
- Vigo-Pontevedra – 660,000
| List of towns in Galicia by population | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City/Town | Province | Population (2009) | City/Town | Province | Population (2009) | |||
| 1 | Vigo Vigo Vigo is a city and municipality in north-west Spain, in Galicia, situated on the ria of the same name on the Atlantic Ocean.-Population:... |
Pontevedra Pontevedra (province) Pontevedra is a province of Spain along the country's Atlantic coast in southwestern Europe. The province forms the southwestern part of the autonomous community of Galicia... |
297,332 | 11 | Carballo Carballo Carballo is a municipality of Spain in the Province of A Coruña, in the autonomous community of Galicia.The seafood company Calvo is headquartered here.... |
A Coruña A Coruña (province) The province of A Coruña is the most North-western Atlantic-facing province of Spain, and one of the four provinces which constitute the autonomous community of Galicia... |
30,990 | |
| 2 | A Coruña A Coruña A Coruña or La Coruña is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. It is the second-largest city in the autonomous community and seventeenth overall in the country... |
A Coruña A Coruña (province) The province of A Coruña is the most North-western Atlantic-facing province of Spain, and one of the four provinces which constitute the autonomous community of Galicia... |
246,056 | 12 | Redondela Redondela Redondela is a small town in the province of Pontevedra, Galicia, northwestern Spain.-Parroquias:* Cabeiro* Cedeira* Cesantes* Chapela* Negros* Quintela* Reboreda* Redondela* Saxamonde* Trasmañó* Ventosela* Vilar de Infesta* O Viso- See also :... |
Pontevedra Pontevedra (province) Pontevedra is a province of Spain along the country's Atlantic coast in southwestern Europe. The province forms the southwestern part of the autonomous community of Galicia... |
30,001 | |
| 3 | Ourense Ourense Ourense is a city in northwestern Spain, the capital of the province of the same name in Galicia. Its population of 108,674 accounts for 30% of the population of the province and makes it the third largest city of Galicia.-Population:... |
Ourense Ourense (province) Ourense is a province of northwestern Spain, in the southeastern part of the Autonomous Community of Galicia. It is bordered by the provinces of Pontevedra in the west, Lugo in the north, León and Zamora in the east, and by Portugal in the south. With an area of 7,278 square km it is the only... |
107,742 | 13 | Arteixo Arteixo Arteixo is a municipality of Spain in the Province of A Coruña, in the autonomous community of Galicia. Its area is 93.76 km² and its population is 29,762... |
A Coruña A Coruña (province) The province of A Coruña is the most North-western Atlantic-facing province of Spain, and one of the four provinces which constitute the autonomous community of Galicia... |
29,762 | |
| 4 | Lugo Lugo Lugo is a city in northwestern Spain, in the autonomous community of Galicia. It is the capital of the province of Lugo. The municipality had a population of 97,635 in 2010, which makes is the fourth most populated city in Galicia.-Population:... |
Lugo Lugo (province) Lugo is a province of northwestern Spain, in the northeastern part of the autonomous community of Galicia. It is bordered by the provinces of Ourense, Pontevedra, and A Coruña, the principality of Asturias, the State of León, and in the north by the Cantabrian Sea .The population is 356,595 , of... |
96,678 | 14 | Culleredo Culleredo Culleredo is a municipality of Spain in the Province of A Coruña, in the autonomous community of Galicia.Culleredo is placed in the outskirts of A Coruña and its population in mainly formed of commuters.... |
A Coruña A Coruña (province) The province of A Coruña is the most North-western Atlantic-facing province of Spain, and one of the four provinces which constitute the autonomous community of Galicia... |
28,227 | |
| 5 | Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain.The city's Cathedral is the destination today, as it has been throughout history, of the important 9th century medieval pilgrimage route, the Way of St. James... |
A Coruña A Coruña (province) The province of A Coruña is the most North-western Atlantic-facing province of Spain, and one of the four provinces which constitute the autonomous community of Galicia... |
95,092 | 15 | Ribeira Santa Uxía de Ribeira Santa Uxía de Ribeira is the capital of the region of Barbanza, in the Province of A Coruña, Galicia, Spain .-History:An ecclesiastical tithe register dated on 1438 is the first document mentioning the city. Until the 17th century, Ribeira's port was of little importance on the region, partly due... |
A Coruña A Coruña (province) The province of A Coruña is the most North-western Atlantic-facing province of Spain, and one of the four provinces which constitute the autonomous community of Galicia... |
27,518 | |
| 6 | Pontevedra Pontevedra Pontevedra is a city in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. It is the capital of both the comarca and province of Pontevedra, in Galicia . It is also the capital of its own municipality which is, in fact, often considered as an extension of the actual city... |
Pontevedra Pontevedra (province) Pontevedra is a province of Spain along the country's Atlantic coast in southwestern Europe. The province forms the southwestern part of the autonomous community of Galicia... |
81,576 | 16 | Ames Ames, A Coruña -Parroquias:... |
A Coruña A Coruña (province) The province of A Coruña is the most North-western Atlantic-facing province of Spain, and one of the four provinces which constitute the autonomous community of Galicia... |
26,983 | |
| 7 | Ferrol Ferrol Ferrol can refer to:* Ferrol, Spain, industrial city and naval station in Galicia * Ferrol, Virginia, town in the United States of America* Ferrol, Romblon, municipality in the Philippines* Ferrol, Peninsula, Peru, South America... |
A Coruña A Coruña (province) The province of A Coruña is the most North-western Atlantic-facing province of Spain, and one of the four provinces which constitute the autonomous community of Galicia... |
74,273 | 17 | Marín Marín, Pontevedra Marín is a municipality in Galicia, Spain in the province of Pontevedra. In this town is settled the Spanish Navy as the “Escuela Naval Militar de Oficiales of Marin is located here.-Demographics:Population growth.... |
Pontevedra Pontevedra (province) Pontevedra is a province of Spain along the country's Atlantic coast in southwestern Europe. The province forms the southwestern part of the autonomous community of Galicia... |
25,969 | |
| 8 | Narón Narón Narón is a municipality in Ferrolterra, Galicia .Geographically, the town is very close to the Atlantic Ocean. The city of Ferrol is 5 km away... |
A Coruña A Coruña (province) The province of A Coruña is the most North-western Atlantic-facing province of Spain, and one of the four provinces which constitute the autonomous community of Galicia... |
37,712 | 18 | Cangas de Morrazo | Pontevedra Pontevedra (province) Pontevedra is a province of Spain along the country's Atlantic coast in southwestern Europe. The province forms the southwestern part of the autonomous community of Galicia... |
25,748 | |
| 9 | Vilagarcía de Arousa Vilagarcía de Arousa Vilagarcía de Arousa is a port town situated on the firth of Arousa in Galicia, 45km south of Santiago de Compostela. Vilagarcía has a population of almost 37,000 inhabitants, so it is the eighth largest town in Galicia.... |
Pontevedra Pontevedra (province) Pontevedra is a province of Spain along the country's Atlantic coast in southwestern Europe. The province forms the southwestern part of the autonomous community of Galicia... |
37,576 | 19 | Cambre Cambre Cambre is a municipality of Spain in the Province of A Coruña, in the autonomous community of Galicia. It is located 12 km from the capital city and ten minutes away from the city's airport, Alvedro.... |
A Coruña A Coruña (province) The province of A Coruña is the most North-western Atlantic-facing province of Spain, and one of the four provinces which constitute the autonomous community of Galicia... |
23,231 | |
| 10 | Oleiros Oleiros, Galicia Oleiros is a municipality of Spain in the Province of A Coruña, in the autonomous community of Galicia . The whole municipality is basically a residential area and the vast majority of its residents commute on a daily basis to the neighbor city of A Coruña... |
A Coruña A Coruña (province) The province of A Coruña is the most North-western Atlantic-facing province of Spain, and one of the four provinces which constitute the autonomous community of Galicia... |
33,443 | 20 | Ponteareas | Pontevedra Pontevedra (province) Pontevedra is a province of Spain along the country's Atlantic coast in southwestern Europe. The province forms the southwestern part of the autonomous community of Galicia... |
23,172 | |
Migration
Like most of Western Europe, Galicia's history has been defined by mass emigration. There was significant Galician emigration in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to the industrialized Spanish cities of BarcelonaBarcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, Bilbao
Bilbao
Bilbao ) is a Spanish municipality, capital of the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. With a population of 353,187 , it is the largest city of its autonomous community and the tenth largest in Spain...
, Zaragoza
Zaragoza
Zaragoza , also called Saragossa in English, is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain...
and Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
and to Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
- Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
, Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
and Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
in particular. One notable example of that emigration is that of Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
, whose father was a Galician immigrant and mother was of Galician descent.
The two cities with the greatest number of people of Galician descent outside of Galicia itself are Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, Argentina, and nearby Montevideo
Montevideo
Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...
, Uruguay, where immigration from Galicia was so significant that Argentines and Uruguayans now commonly refer to all Spaniards as gallegos (Galicians).
During the Franco years there was a new wave of emigration out of Galicia to other European countries, most notably to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. There are many expatriate communities throughout the world, and many have their own groups or clubs. Galician immigration is so widespread that websites such as Fillos de Galicia
Fillos de Galicia
Fillos de Galicia is a web portal and virtual community which focuses on Galician culture and diaspora. The site focuses on promoting unity between Galicians and descendants of Galicians around the world. The community is a hub where many objectives can be accomplished, such as learning more...
were created in order to organize and inform Galicians throughout the world.
The proportion of foreign-born people in Galicia is only 2.9 percent compared to a national figure of 10 percent; among the autonomous communities, only Extremadura
Extremadura
Extremadura is an autonomous community of western Spain whose capital city is Mérida. Its component provinces are Cáceres and Badajoz. It is bordered by Portugal to the west...
has a lower percentage of immigrants. Of the foreign nationals resident in Galicia, 17.93 percent are ethnically related Portuguese
Portuguese people
The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....
, 10.93 percent are Colombian
Colombian people
Colombian people are from a multiethnic Spanish speaking nation in South America called Colombia. Colombians are predominantly Roman Catholic and are a mixture of Europeans, Africans, and Amerindians.-Demography:...
and 8.74 percent Brazilian.
Airports
Galicia's principal airport is the Santiago de Compostela AirportSantiago de Compostela Airport
Santiago de Compostela Airport - Lavacolla is one of the three international airports in Galicia, Spain. It is located in Lavacolla, a town in the outskirts of Galicia's capital city, Santiago de Compostela. In 2010, 2,172,869 passengers passed through it....
, the only Galician airport with intercontinental flights. With 1,943,900 passengers in 2009, it connects to cities in Spain as well as several major European cities – a scheduled transcontinental service to Caracas
Caracas
Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
and Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
has been proposed. There are two other commercial-aviation airports in Galicia: Vigo-Peinador Airport
Vigo-Peinador Airport
Vigo Airport is east from the centre of Vigo, and is situated in the municipalities of Redondela, Vigo and Mos, Spain. In 2010, 1.093.571 passengers and 901 tonnes of goods passed through the airport.- History :...
which in 2008 had 1,278,762 passengers, it connects to cities in Spain and to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, and Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
. A Coruña Airport
A Coruña Airport
A Coruña Airport , formerly known as Alvedro Airport, is the airport serving the Galician city of A Coruña in northwestern Spain. The airport is located in the municipality of Culleredo, approximately from the city center. It is a part of the network of airports managed by Aena, a Spanish...
had 1,174,970 passengers in 2008; it connects around Spain, to Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and a highly flown line to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Ports
The most important Galician port is the Port of VigoPort of Vigo
Port of Vigo located in Vigo, Pontevedra, Galicia, Spain is the biggest fishing port in the world and one of the busiest in transportation. It is also home of the world's largest fishing company, Pescanova...
; It is one of the world's leading fishing ports, second only to Tokyo
Port of Tokyo
Port of Tokyo is one of the largest Japanese seaports and one of the largest seaports in the Pacific Ocean basin having an annual traffic capacity of around 100 million tonnes of cargo and 4,500,000 TEU's....
, with an annual catch worth 1,500 million euros. In 2007 the port took in 732951 metric ton of fish and seafood, and about 4000000 metric ton of other cargoes. Other important ports are Ferrol, A Coruña, and the smaller ports of Marín
Marín, Pontevedra
Marín is a municipality in Galicia, Spain in the province of Pontevedra. In this town is settled the Spanish Navy as the “Escuela Naval Militar de Oficiales of Marin is located here.-Demographics:Population growth....
and Vilagarcía de Arousa
Vilagarcía de Arousa
Vilagarcía de Arousa is a port town situated on the firth of Arousa in Galicia, 45km south of Santiago de Compostela. Vilagarcía has a population of almost 37,000 inhabitants, so it is the eighth largest town in Galicia....
, as well as important recreational ports in Pontevedra
Pontevedra
Pontevedra is a city in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. It is the capital of both the comarca and province of Pontevedra, in Galicia . It is also the capital of its own municipality which is, in fact, often considered as an extension of the actual city...
and Burela
Burela
Burela, is a municipality in the Spanish province of Lugo. The first written reference to Burela is in a document dated back to 1096, and it is referred as Burellum. The origin of the name Burela is still unknown. Burela has an ancient history with some archeological evidence like the "Torques", a...
. Beyond these, Galicia has 120 other organized ports.
Roads
includes autopistaAutopista
Autopista refers to a controlled-access highway in various Spanish-speaking countries*Autopistas and autovías of Spain*Autopistas of Mexico*Autopistas of Puerto Rico*Autopistas of Chile...
s and autovía
Autovía
An autovía is one of two classes of major highway in the Spanish road system similar to a motorway. It is akin to the autopista, the other major highway class, but has fewer features and is never a toll road. Some distinguishing features of an autovía are that it must be divided by a median, it...
s connecting the major cities, as well as national and secondary roads to the rest of the municipalities. The Autovía A-6
Autovía A-6
The Autovía A-6 or Autopista AP-6 is a Spanish autovía and autopista route which starts in Madrid and ends in Arteixo ....
connects A Coruña
A Coruña
A Coruña or La Coruña is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. It is the second-largest city in the autonomous community and seventeenth overall in the country...
and Lugo
Lugo
Lugo is a city in northwestern Spain, in the autonomous community of Galicia. It is the capital of the province of Lugo. The municipality had a population of 97,635 in 2010, which makes is the fourth most populated city in Galicia.-Population:...
to Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, entering Galicia at Pedrafita do Cebreiro
Pedrafita do Cebreiro
Pedrafita do Cebreiro is a municipality in the province of Lugo in Galicia, Spain. It borders the Lugo municipalities of As Nogais, Cervantes, Folgoso do Courel, Samos and Triacastela. Its eastern boundary borders the province of León.The French Way of the Way of St...
. The Autovía A-52
Autovía A-52
The A-52 is a highway in western Spain. It starts at Vigo heads east from the town crossing the Autopista AP-9 and then the N-550/Autovía A-55. It then goes over the Rio Tea running parallel to the N-120 and along the Rio Miño. At Ourense the road turns south out of the valley in conjunction...
connects Vigo, Ourense
Ourense
Ourense is a city in northwestern Spain, the capital of the province of the same name in Galicia. Its population of 108,674 accounts for 30% of the population of the province and makes it the third largest city of Galicia.-Population:...
and Benavente
Benavente, Zamora
Benavente is a municipality in the north of the province of Zamora, in the autonomous community Castile and León of Spain. It has about 20,000 inhabitants....
, and enters Galicia at A Gudiña
A Gudiña
A Gudiña is a municipality in Ourense in the Galicia region of north-west Spain. It is located to the very south-east of the province....
. Two more autovías are under construction. Autovía A-8
Autovía A-8
The Autovía A-8 is a highway that connects all the regions on the Northern Coast of Spain. It is known as the Autovía del Cantábrico and connects Baamonde and Bilbao, where it continues as the Autopista AP-8 to the French border...
enters Galicia on the Cantabrian coast, and ends in Baamonde (Lugo province). Autovía A-76
Autovía A-76
The Autovía A-76 is a proposed initial upgrade of the N-120, a highway in northern Spain. There are another alternatives for this project to communicate these two northern cities, Ponferrada and Ourense...
enters Galicia in Valdeorras
Valdeorras
Valdeorras is a comarca in the Galician Province of Ourense. The overall population of this local region is 28,984 .-Municipalities:*O Barco de Valdeorras, capital of the comarca*O Bolo*Carballeda de Valdeorras*Larouco* Petín* A Rúa* Rubiá...
; it is an upgrade of the existing N-120
N-120
The N-120 is a highway in northern Spain. It goes from Vigo to the Ebro Valley.Starting on the Rías Bajas at Vigo. The city is connected on the Autopista AP-9, the Autovía A-57, Autovía A-55 and N-550. The N-120 heads east into the Sierra del Suido past the Mondariz Baneario and the Puerto de...
to Ourense and Vigo.
Within Galicia are the Autopista AP-9
Autopista AP-9
The Autopista A-9 is a highway in Galicia, Spain. It is known as the Autopista do Atlántico and runs from the Portugal border at the Rio Miño. It heads north via Tui, Vigo and a junction with the Autovía A-52. After Vigo the road crosses the Ría de Vigo, onto the Peninsula de Morrazo and passing...
from Ferrol to Vigo and the Autopista AP-53
Autopista AP-53
The Autopista A-53 is a highway in north western Spain. It links Santiago de Compostela to Ourense and follows the N-525. It starts to the south east of Santiago at a junction with the Autopista AP-9 . It passes the Castle Pazo de Oca and Lalín...
(also known as AG-53, because it was initially built by the Xunta de Galicia) from Santiago
Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain.The city's Cathedral is the destination today, as it has been throughout history, of the important 9th century medieval pilgrimage route, the Way of St. James...
to Ourense. Additional roads under construction include Autovía A-54
Autovía A-54
The Autovía A-54 is a freeway in Spain. It connects Santiago de Compostela with its airport with junctions onto the N-550, N-634 and N-547.This 4-lane newly designed freeway has just begun its construction process as of February 17, 2009. It will link Lugo and Santiago de Compostela . ...
from Santiago de Compostela to Lugo, and Autovía A-56
Autovía A-56
The Autovía A-56 is a proposed highway in north western Spain. It is planned as a new, safe, 4-lane alternative to the N-540 between Ourense and Lugo. It will connect the Autovía A-55 with the Autovía A-6. Construction has begun as of October 2008 in a 10 km. stretch located on the border...
from Lugo to Ourense. The Xunta de Galicia has built roads connecting comarca
Comarca
A comarca is a traditional region or local administrative division found in parts of Spain, Portugal, Panama, Nicaragua, and Brazil. The term is derived from the term marca, meaning a "march, mark", plus the prefix co- meaning "together, jointly".The comarca is known in Aragonese as redolada and...
l capitals, such as the aforementioned AG-53, or Autovía AG-55 connecting A Coruña to Carballo
Carballo
Carballo is a municipality of Spain in the Province of A Coruña, in the autonomous community of Galicia.The seafood company Calvo is headquartered here....
.
Railways
The first railway line in Galicia was inaugurated 15 September 1873. It ran from O Carril, Vilagarcía de ArousaVilagarcía de Arousa
Vilagarcía de Arousa is a port town situated on the firth of Arousa in Galicia, 45km south of Santiago de Compostela. Vilagarcía has a population of almost 37,000 inhabitants, so it is the eighth largest town in Galicia....
to Cornes, Conxo, Santiago de Compostela. A second line was inaugurated in 1875, connecting A Coruña and Lugo. In 1883, Galicia was first connected by rail to the rest of Spain, by way of O Barco de Valdeorras
O Barco de Valdeorras
O Barco de Valdeorras is a municipality in Ourense in the Galicia region of north-west Spain. It lies towards the very north-east of Ourense province.It is famous for its wines....
.
Galicia today has roughly 1100 kilometres (683.5 mi) of rail lines. Several Iberian gauge
Iberian gauge
Iberian gauge is the name given to the track gauge most extensively used by the railways of Spain and Portugal: namely ....
(1,668 mm) lines operated by Adif
Adif
Adif, an acronym of Administrador de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias, is a Spanish state-owned company under the responsibility of the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, charged with the management of most of Spain's railway infrastructure, that is the track, signalling and stations...
and Renfe Operadora connect all the important Galician cities. A metre gauge
Metre gauge
Metre gauge refers to narrow gauge railways and tramways with a track gauge of . In some African, American and Asian countries it is the main gauge. In Europe it has been used for local railways in France, Germany, and Belgium, most of which were closed down in mid 20th century. Only in Switzerland...
(1,000 mm) line operated by FEVE
FEVE
FEVE is a state-owned Spanish railway company, which operates most of Spain's of metre gauge railway.-History:...
connects Ferrol to Ribadeo
Ribadeo
Ribadeo is a municipality in the Spanish province of Lugo in Galicia. It has a population of 9619 and an area of 106.2 km². It is the capital of the A Mariña Oriental region .- External links:*....
and Oviedo
Oviedo
Oviedo is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain. It is also the name of the municipality that contains the city....
. The only electrified line is the Ponferrada
Ponferrada
Ponferrada is a city in the province of León, Castile and León, Spain. It lies on the Sil River, a tributary of the river Miño, in the El Bierzo valley, completely surrounded by mountains. It is the last major town along the French route of the Way of St. James before it reaches its destination...
-Monforte de Lemos
Monforte de Lemos
Monforte de Lemos is a city and municipality in northwestern Spain, in the province of Lugo, Galicia. It covers an area of 200 km² and lies 62 km from Lugo. As of 2005 it had a population of 19,472. It is located in a valley between the shores of Sil River and Miño River, in the area...
-Ourense
Ourense
Ourense is a city in northwestern Spain, the capital of the province of the same name in Galicia. Its population of 108,674 accounts for 30% of the population of the province and makes it the third largest city of Galicia.-Population:...
-Vigo
Vigo
Vigo is a city and municipality in north-west Spain, in Galicia, situated on the ria of the same name on the Atlantic Ocean.-Population:...
line.
Several AVE
AVE
Alta Velocidad Española is a service of high-speed rail in Spain operated by Renfe, the Spanish national railway company, at speeds of up to . The name is literally translated from Spanish as "Spanish High Speed", but also a play on the word , meaning "bird".AVE trains run on a network of...
high speed train
High Speed Train
There are three types of trains in Britain that have been traditionally viewed as high speed trains:* Advanced Passenger Train - Tilting trains which never entered into regular revenue-earning service....
lines are under construction. Among these are the Olmedo
Olmedo, Spain
Olmedo is a municipality in the province of Valladolid, Spain.-Transport:Olmedo is on the N-601 road ....
-Zamora
Zamora, Spain
Zamora is a city in Castile and León, Spain, the capital of the province of Zamora. It lies on a rocky hill in the northwest, near the frontier with Portugal and crossed by the Duero river, which is some 50 km downstream as it reaches the Portuguese frontier...
-Galicia scheduled to open in 2012, which will connect Santiago and Ourense to Madrid, and the AVE Atlantic Axis route, which will connect all of the major Galician Atlantic coast cities to Portugal. Other projected AVE lines are Vigo-Monforte and A Coruña-León
León, Spain
León is the capital of the province of León in the autonomous community of Castile and León, situated in the northwest of Spain. Its city population of 136,985 makes it the largest municipality in the province, accounting for more than one quarter of the province's population...
.
Literature
As with many other Romance languagesRomance languages
The Romance languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family, more precisely of the Italic languages subfamily, comprising all the languages that descend from Vulgar Latin, the language of ancient Rome...
, Galician-Portuguese
Galician-Portuguese
Galician-Portuguese or Old Portuguese was a West Iberian Romance language spoken in the Middle Ages, in the northwest area of the Iberian Peninsula. It was first spoken in the area bounded in the north and west by the Atlantic Ocean and the Douro River in the south but it was later extended south...
emerged as a literary language in the Middle Ages, during the 12th-13th century, when a rich lyric tradition developed
Galician-Portuguese lyric
In the Middle Ages, the Galician-Portuguese lyric, sometimes called trovadorismo in Portugal and trobadorismo in Galicia, was a lyric poetic school or movement. All told, there are around 1680 texts in the so-called "secular lyric" or lírica profana...
. However, in the face of the hegemony of Castilian Spanish, during the so-called Séculos Escuros ("Dark Centuries"), from 1530 to 1800, it fell from major literary or legal use, revived again during the 19th century Rexurdimento
Rexurdimento
The Rexurdimento was a period in the History of Galicia during the 19th century. Its central feature was the revitalization of the Galician language as a vehicle of social and cultural expression after the so-called séculos escuros , in which the dominance of Castilian Spanish was nearly complete...
with such writers as Rosalía de Castro
Rosalía de Castro
María Rosalía Rita de Castro , was a Galician romanticist writer and poet.Writing in the Galician language, after the Séculos Escuros , she became an important figure of the Galician romantic movement, known today as the Rexurdimento , along with Manuel Curros Enríquez and Eduardo Pondal...
, Manuel Murguía
Manuel Murguía
Manuel Murguia was a Galician journalist and historian who created the Real Academia Galega. He was one of the main figures in Galician Rexurdimento movement. He is also remembered as Rosalía de Castro's husband, publisher and main supporter.-Life:...
, Manuel Leiras Pulpeiro, and Eduardo Pondal
Eduardo Pondal
Eduardo María González-Pondal Abente was a Spanish poet, who wrote in both Spanish and GalicianOf Hidalgo origin Pondal was the youngest of a family of seven. From 1884 onwards he studied Latin in a school in Vilela de Nemiña which belonged to his cleric relative, Cristobal Lago...
. In the 20th century, before the Spanish Civil War the Irmandades da Fala
Irmandades da Fala
The Irmandades da Fala was a Galician nationalist organization active between 1916 and 1936.It was the first political organization of Galicia that only used the Galician language.-Origin:...
("Brotherhood of the Language") and Grupo Nós included such writers as Vicente Risco
Vicente Risco
Vicente Martínez Risco Agüero was a Galician intellectual of the 20th Century. He was a founder member of Xeración Nós, and among the most important figures in the history of Galician literature. He is well regarded for his writings on Galician nationalism, as well as a contributor to the Galician...
, Ramón Cabanillas and Castelao
Castelão
There are two association football stadiums nicknamed Castelão:*Castelão , located in São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil*Castelão , located in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil-Other:...
. Public use of Galician was largely suppressed during the Franco dictatorship but has been resurgent since the restoration of democracy. Contemporary writers in Galician include Xosé Luís Méndez Ferrín
Xosé Luís Méndez Ferrín
Xosé Luís Méndez Ferrín Galician writer and poet is widely considered the highest representative of contemporary Galician literature. Doctor in philology. Studied philosophy at the University of Santiago de Compostela and Romanic philology at the University of Madrid.He teaches literature at the...
, Manuel Rivas
Manuel Rivas
Manuel Rivas is a Galician writer, poet and journalist. He began his career in some Spanish newspapers like El Ideal Gallego, La Voz de Galicia, El Pais, and was the sub-editor of Diario 16 in Galicia...
, and Suso de Toro
Suso de toro
Xesús Miguel "Suso" de Toro Santos is a Spanish writer. A modern and contemporary arts graduate, he has published more than twenty novels and plays in Galician. He is a television scriptwriter and regular press and radio contributor....
.
Cuisine
Empanada
An empanada is a stuffed bread or pastry baked or fried in many countries in Latin America, Southern Europe and parts of Southeast Asia. The name comes from the verb empanar, meaning to wrap or coat in bread. Empanada is made by folding a dough or bread patty around the stuffing...
is a meat or fish pie, with a bread-like base, top and crust with the meat or fish filling usually being in a tomato sauce including onions and garlic. Caldo galego is a hearty soup whose main ingredients are potatoes and a local vegetable named grelo (Broccoli rabe)
Rapini
Rapini Rapini Rapini (also known as Broccoli Rabe (or Raap or Raab), Broccoletti, Broccoli di Rape, Cime di Rapa, Rape, Rappi, Friarielli (in Naples) is a common vegetable in the cuisines of southern Italy (in particular Basilicata , Puglia, and Sicily), Galicia (northwestern Spain), and China...
. The latter is also employed in Lacón con grelos, a typical carnival dish, consisting of pork shoulder boiled with grelos, potatoes and chorizo
Chorizo
Chorizo is a term encompassing several types of pork sausages originating from the Iberian Peninsula.In English, it is usually pronounced , , or , but sometimes ....
. Centolla is the equivalent of King Crab
King crab
King crabs, also called stone crabs, are a superfamily of crab-like decapod crustaceans chiefly found in cold seas. Because of their large size and the taste of their meat, many species are widely caught and sold as food, the most common being the red king crab, Paralithodes camtschaticus.King...
. It is prepared by being boiled alive, having its main body opened like a shell, and then having its innards mixed vigorously. Another popular dish is octopus
Octopus
The octopus is a cephalopod mollusc of the order Octopoda. Octopuses have two eyes and four pairs of arms, and like other cephalopods they are bilaterally symmetric. An octopus has a hard beak, with its mouth at the center point of the arms...
, boiled (traditionally in a copper pot) and served in a wooden plate, cut into small pieces and laced with olive oil, sea salt and pimentón (Spanish paprika). This dish is called Pulpo a la gallega or in Galician "Polbo á Feira", which roughly translates as "Galician-style Octopus". There are several regional varieties of cheese. The best known one is the so-called tetilla, named after its breast-like shape. Other highly regarded varieties include the San Simón cheese from Vilalba
Vilalba
Vilalba, is a municipality in Galicia , specifically in the province of Lugo.- Journalistic Tradition :Villalba had during the 20th century a rich journalistic tradition that began in 1902 with the Ideal Villalbés, a newspaper handwritten by the poet and journalist Antonio García Hermida...
and the creamy cheese produced in the Arzúa
Arzúa
Arzúa is a municipality of Spain in the Province of A Coruña, in the autonomous community of Galicia. It has an area of 155.89 km², a population of 6,632 , and a population density of 42.54 people/km²-Demographics:...
-Curtis
Curtis, Galicia
Curtis is a municipality of Spain in the Province of A Coruña, in the autonomous community of Galicia. Its capital is Teixeiro, where its town hall is located....
area. The latter area produces also high-quality beef. A classical dessert is filloas, crêpe-like pancakes made with flour, broth and eggs. When cooked at a pig slaughter festival, they may also contain the animal's blood. A famous almond cake called Tarta de Santiago
Tarta de Santiago
Tarta de Santiago is a famous type of almond cake or pie from Galicia, literally meaning cake of St. James, invented in the Middle Ages. The Galician name for cake is Torta whilst it is often referred to Tarta, which is the Spanish word. The filling principally consists of ground almonds, eggs and...
(St. James' cake) is a Galician sweet speciality mainly produced in Santiago de Compostela.
Galicia has 30 products with Denominación de Origen
Denominación de Origen
Denominación de Origen is part of a regulatory classification system primarily for Spanish wines but also for other foodstuffs like honey, meats and condiments. In wines it parallels the hierarchical system of France and Italy although Rioja and Sherry preceded the full system...
(D.O.), some of them with Denominación de Origen Protegida (D.O.P.). D.O. and D.O.P. are part of a system of regulation of quality and geographical origin among Spain's finest producers. Galicia produces a number of high-quality wines
Galician wine
Galician wine is Spanish wine made in the autonomous community of Galicia in the northwest corner of Spain. It includes wine made in the provinces of A Coruña, Ourense, Pontevedra and Lugo. Within Galicia are five Denominación de Origen -Monterrei, Rías Baixas, Ribeira Sacra, Ribeiro and Valdeorras...
, including Albariño
Albariño
Albariño or Alvarinho is a variety of white wine grape grown in Galicia , Monção and Melgaço , where it is used to make varietal white wines.Albariño is actually the Galician name for the grape...
, Ribeiro
Ribeiro
Ribeiro is a surname common in Galicia, Portugal and Brazil. It is also a wine-making region of Southeast central Galicia.* Jose F Ribeiro Providence RI*Adriano Leite Ribeiro, Brazilian football striker born 1982*Alfonso Ribeiro, American actor...
, Ribeira Sacra, Monterrei
Monterrei
Monterrei is a municipality in Ourense in the Galicia region of north-west Spain....
and Valdeorras
Valdeorras
Valdeorras is a comarca in the Galician Province of Ourense. The overall population of this local region is 28,984 .-Municipalities:*O Barco de Valdeorras, capital of the comarca*O Bolo*Carballeda de Valdeorras*Larouco* Petín* A Rúa* Rubiá...
. The grape varieties used are local and rarely found outside Galicia and Northern Portugal. Just as notably from Galicia comes the spirit Aguardente—the name means burning water—often referred to as Orujo
Orujo
Orujo is the name in north-west Spain for pomace brandy . It is a transparent spirit with an alcohol content over 50%...
in Spain and internationally or as caña
Orujo
Orujo is the name in north-west Spain for pomace brandy . It is a transparent spirit with an alcohol content over 50%...
in Galicia. This spirit is made from the distillation of the pomace
Pomace
Pomace , or marc , is the solid remains of grapes, olives, or other fruit after pressing for juice or oil. It contains the skins, pulp, seeds, and stems of the fruit....
of grapes.
Sport
As in the rest of Spain, football is the most popular sport in Galicia. Deportivo de La CoruñaDeportivo de La Coruña
Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña is a professional football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia; founded in 1906 and currently playing in Segunda División...
, from the city of A Coruña
A Coruña
A Coruña or La Coruña is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. It is the second-largest city in the autonomous community and seventeenth overall in the country...
, is the region's most successful club and is currently (2010–11 season
2010–11 La Liga
The 2010–11 La Liga season was the 80th since its establishment. The campaign began on 28 August 2010 and ended on 21 May 2011. A total of 20 teams contested the league, 17 of which already contested in the 2009–10 season and three of which were promoted from the Segunda División...
) Galicia's only representative in the top flight of the national championship, La Liga
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
. Celta de Vigo
Celta de Vigo
Real Club Celta de Vigo , simply referred to as Celta Vigo, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, currently playing in the Segunda División. It was founded on March 28, 1923 following the merger of Real Vigo Sporting and Real Fortuna Foot-ball Club.Nicknamed Los Celestes ,...
, from Vigo
Vigo
Vigo is a city and municipality in north-west Spain, in Galicia, situated on the ria of the same name on the Atlantic Ocean.-Population:...
, are also a major club and are Deportivo's principal regional rivals. When the two sides play, it is referred to as the Galician derby
Galician derby
The Galician derby is the name given to any association football match contested between Celta Vigo and Deportivo La Coruña, the two biggest clubs of Galicia.-All-time results:League...
. SD Compostela
SD Compostela
Sociedade Deportiva Compostela also known as Compostela is a Spanish football team based in Santiago de Compostela, in the autonomous community of Galicia. Founded on 26 June 1962, it currently plays in Preferente Autonómica.-History:...
from Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain.The city's Cathedral is the destination today, as it has been throughout history, of the important 9th century medieval pilgrimage route, the Way of St. James...
and Racing Ferrol
Racing de Ferrol
Racing Club de Ferrol, S.A.D. is a Spanish football team based in Ferrol in the province of A Coruña, in the autonomous community of Galicia.Founded in 1919, in currently plays in Tercera División, holding home games at Estadio de la Malata...
from Ferrol
Ferrol
Ferrol can refer to:* Ferrol, Spain, industrial city and naval station in Galicia * Ferrol, Virginia, town in the United States of America* Ferrol, Romblon, municipality in the Philippines* Ferrol, Peninsula, Peru, South America...
are two other notable club sides. Similarly to Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
and the Basque Country
Basque Country (autonomous community)
The Basque Country is an autonomous community of northern Spain. It includes the Basque provinces of Álava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa, also called Historical Territories....
, Galicia also periodically fields a regional team against international opposition (see Galicia autonomous football team).
Other popular sports in Galicia include futsal
Futsal
Futsal is a variant of association football that is played on a smaller pitch and mainly played indoors. Its name is a portmanteau of the Portuguese futebol de salão and the Spanish fútbol de salón , which can be translated as "hall football" or "indoor football"...
(a variety of indoor football), handball
Team handball
Handball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each pass a ball to throw it into the goal of the other team...
and basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
. Galicia is also noted for a great tradition of maritime sports, both sea and river-based - sports such as rowing
Rowing (sport)
Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...
, yachting
Yachting
Yachting refers to recreational sailing or boating, the specific act of sailing or using other water vessels for sporting purposes.-Competitive sailing:...
, canoeing
Canoeing
Canoeing is an outdoor activity that involves a special kind of canoe.Open canoes may be 'poled' , sailed, 'lined and tracked' or even 'gunnel-bobbed'....
and surfing
Surfing
Surfing' is a surface water sport in which the surfer rides a surfboard on the crest and face of a wave which is carrying the surfer towards the shore...
.
Pop/rock
- Los SuavesLos SuavesLos Suaves is a Spanish rock band from Ourense, Galicia. The band was founded in the 1980s by the Domínguez brothers: Charly, bassist and Yosi Domínguez, vocalist....
: hard rock/heavy metal band active since the early 1980s, from OurenseOurenseOurense is a city in northwestern Spain, the capital of the province of the same name in Galicia. Its population of 108,674 accounts for 30% of the population of the province and makes it the third largest city of Galicia.-Population:... - Deluxe: pop/rock band from A CoruñaA CoruñaA Coruña or La Coruña is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. It is the second-largest city in the autonomous community and seventeenth overall in the country...
led by Xoel López - Los Limones: indie rockIndie rockIndie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
/indie popIndie popIndie pop is a genre of alternative rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the mid 1980s, with its roots in the Scottish post-punk bands on the Postcard Records label in the early '80s, such as Orange Juice, Josef K and Aztec Camera, and the dominant UK independent band of the mid...
/post-rockPost-rockPost-rock is a subgenre of rock music characterized by the influence and use of instruments commonly associated with rock, but using rhythms and "guitars as facilitators of timbre and textures" not traditionally found in rock...
group from El Ferrol led by Ferrol born Santi Santos, active since the early '80s - Siniestro TotalSiniestro TotalSiniestro Total is a Galician punk rock group from Vigo . It was founded in 1981 by Julián Hernández, Alberto Torrado and Miguel Costas. After many changes in personnel, current members are Julián Hernández, Javier Soto, Óscar G...
: punk bands - Os ResentidosOs ResentidosOs Resentidos was a Galician rock band founded in the year 1984 by Antón Reixa, Alberto Torrado, and Javier Soto. Javier later left the band, being replaced by Xabier Debesa. Os Resentidos disbanded in 1994....
: led by Antón Reixa in the 1980s - Heredeiros da CrusHeredeiros da CrusHeredeiros da Crus is a Galician Rock and Roll band formed in 1992 by Antón Axeitos in Ribeira, A Coruña. The rest of the band members were Antonio Novo as main guitarist, Francisco Velo playing the bass and the frontman and singer Javier Vazquez Maneiro...
: rock band singing in Galician language
Folk/traditional based music
- Luar na LubreLuar na Lubre-Etymology:Luar is Galician for moonlight; lubre is a magical forest in which the Celtic druids cast their spells.-Biography:During its career, this musical group has spread Galician music and culture. The band became famous worldwide after Mike Oldfield took interest in their music...
: a band inspired by traditional Celtic music. They have collaborated with Mike OldfieldMike OldfieldMichael Gordon Oldfield is an English multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, working a style that blends progressive rock, folk, ethnic or world music, classical music, electronic music, New Age, and more recently, dance. His music is often elaborate and complex in nature...
and other musicians. - Carlos NuñezCarlos NúñezCarlos Núñez is a Galician musician who plays the gaita, the traditional Galician bagpipe.-Life and career:Nuñez was born in 1971 in Vigo, Galicia, Spain. He began playing the bagpipes when he was eight years old. In his early teens, he was invited to play with the Festival Orchestra of the...
: he has also collaborated with a great number of artists, being notable his long-term friendship with The ChieftainsThe ChieftainsThe Chieftains are a Grammy-winning Irish musical group founded in 1962, best known for being one of the first bands to make Irish traditional music popular around the world.-Name:...
. - Susana SeivaneSusana SeivaneSusana Seivane Hoyo is a Galician gaita player. She was born in Barcelona, Spain, into a family of well-known Galician luthiers and musicians, the Seivane family, whose workshop is the Obradoiro de Gaitas Seivane. She started her musical career at the age of three...
: virtuoso piper. She descends from a family of pipe makers and stated she preferred pipes instead of dolls during her childhood. - MilladoiroMilladoiroMilladoiro is a music band from Galicia. Often compared to the Chieftains, it is among the world's top Celtic music groups.- Biography :Rodrigo Romaní and Antón Seoane had released in 1978 an album named Milladoiro, on which they were joined by Xosé V. Ferreirós, then credited as a guest artist...
- Cristina PatoCristina PatoCristina Pato is a bagpiper and pianist.The first female Galician bagpiper to record a solo album in Spain, she has released three albums as a solo bagpiper and collaborated in international tours with bands such as Yo-Yo Ma, Silk Road Ensemble, The Chieftains, Hevia, Tenerife Symphony Orchestra,...
Public holidays
(St. Joseph's Day) on 19 March (strictly religious) (May DayMay Day
May Day on May 1 is an ancient northern hemisphere spring festival and usually a public holiday; it is also a traditional spring holiday in many cultures....
) on 1 May (Galician Literature Day) on 17 May (Galicia's National Day) also known as St. James the Apostle Day on 25 July on 15 August (strictly religious)
Festivals
- Festa do Corpus ChristiCorpus Christi (feast)Corpus Christi is a Latin Rite solemnity, now designated the solemnity of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ . It is also celebrated in some Anglican, Lutheran and Old Catholic Churches. Like Trinity Sunday and the Solemnity of Christ the King, it does not commemorate a particular event in...
in Ponteareas, has been observed since 1857 on the weekend following Corpus ChristiCorpus Christi (feast)Corpus Christi is a Latin Rite solemnity, now designated the solemnity of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ . It is also celebrated in some Anglican, Lutheran and Old Catholic Churches. Like Trinity Sunday and the Solemnity of Christ the King, it does not commemorate a particular event in...
(a movable feast) and is known for its floral carpets. It was declared a Festival of Touristic Interest in 1968 and a Festival of National Touristic Interest in 1980. - Arde LucusArde lucusArde Lucus is a festival celebrated in Lugo in the last weeks of June which revives the Roman and castro past of the city, and which emerged to commemorate the declaration of the city's Roman wall as a World Heritage Site in 2000...
, in June, celebrates the Celtic and Roman history of the city of Lugo, with recreations of a Celtic weddings, Roman circus, etc. - Rapa das Bestas ("shearing of the beasts") in Sabucedo, the first weekend in July, is the most famous of a number of rapas in Galicia and was declared a Festival of National Touristic Interest in 1963. Wild colts are driven down from the mountains and brought to a closed area known as a curro, where their manes are cut and the animals are marked, and assisted after a long winter in the hills. In Sabucedo, unlike in other rapas, the aloitadores ("fighters") each take on their task with no assistance.
- Festival de Ortigueira (Ortigueira's Festival of Celtic World) lasts four days in July, in OrtigueiraOrtigueiraOrtigueira is a seaport and municipality in the Province of A Coruña, Galicia, Spain; it is located on the northern slope of the Serra da Faladoira, the river Mera and on the eastern shore of the Ria de Santa Marta—a winding, rock-bound and much indented inlet of the Bay of Biscay, between Capes...
. First celebrated 1978–1987 and revived in 1995, the festival is based in CeltCeltThe Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Iron Age and Roman-era Europe who spoke Celtic languages.The earliest archaeological culture commonly accepted as Celtic, or rather Proto-Celtic, was the central European Hallstatt culture , named for the rich grave finds in Hallstatt, Austria....
ic culture, folk music, and the encounter of different peoples throughout Spain and the world. Attended by over 100,000 people, it is considered a Festival of National Touristic Interest. - Festa da Dorna, 24 July, in RibeiraSanta Uxía de RibeiraSanta Uxía de Ribeira is the capital of the region of Barbanza, in the Province of A Coruña, Galicia, Spain .-History:An ecclesiastical tithe register dated on 1438 is the first document mentioning the city. Until the 17th century, Ribeira's port was of little importance on the region, partly due...
. Founded 1948, declared a Galician Festival of Touristic Interest in 2005. Originally founded as a joke by a group of friends, it includes the Gran Prix de Carrilanas, a regatta of hand-made boats; the IcarusIcarus-Space and astronomy:* Icarus , on the Moon* Icarus , a planetary science journal* 1566 Icarus, an asteroid* IKAROS, a interplanetary unmanned spacecraft...
Prize for Unmotorized Flight; and a musical competition, the Canción de Tasca. - Festas do Apóstolo Santiago (Festas of the Apostle James): the events in honor of the patron saint of Galicia last for half a month. The religious celebrations take place 24 July. Celebrants set off fireworksFireworksFireworks are a class of explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. The most common use of a firework is as part of a fireworks display. A fireworks event is a display of the effects produced by firework devices...
, including a pyrotechnic castle in the form of the façade of the cathedral. - Romería Vikinga de Catoira ("Viking Pilgrimage of CatoiraCatoiraCatoira is a municipality in Galicia , in the province of Pontevedra. Catoira is also known because of Torres do Oeste ruins.-Local festivals:The most important celebrations include...
"), first Sunday in August, is a secular festival that has occurred since 1960 and was declared a Festival of International Touristic Interest in 2002. It commemorates the historic defense of Galicia and the treasures of Santiago de Compostela from NormanNormansThe Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
and SaracenSaracenSaracen was a term used by the ancient Romans to refer to a people who lived in desert areas in and around the Roman province of Arabia, and who were distinguished from Arabs. In Europe during the Middle Ages the term was expanded to include Arabs, and then all who professed the religion of Islam...
pirate attacks. - Feira Franca, first weekend of September, in PontevedraPontevedraPontevedra is a city in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. It is the capital of both the comarca and province of Pontevedra, in Galicia . It is also the capital of its own municipality which is, in fact, often considered as an extension of the actual city...
recreates an open market that first occurred in 1467. The fair commemorates the height of Pontevedra's prosperigin in the 15th and 16th centuries, through historical recreation, theater, animation, and demonstration of artisanal activities. Held annually since 2000. - Festa de San Froilán, 4–12 October, celebrating the patron saint of the city of LugoLugoLugo is a city in northwestern Spain, in the autonomous community of Galicia. It is the capital of the province of Lugo. The municipality had a population of 97,635 in 2010, which makes is the fourth most populated city in Galicia.-Population:...
. A Festival of National Touristic Interest, the festival was attended by 1,035,000 people in 2008. It is most famous for the booths serving polbo á feiraPolbo á feiraPolbo á feira alternatively known as polbo estilo feira and pulpo á galega is a traditional Galician dish....
, an octopusOctopusThe octopus is a cephalopod mollusc of the order Octopoda. Octopuses have two eyes and four pairs of arms, and like other cephalopods they are bilaterally symmetric. An octopus has a hard beak, with its mouth at the center point of the arms...
dish. - Festa do marisco (Seafood festival), October, in O GroveO GroveO Grove , Ogrobe is a municipality belonging to the province of Pontevedra, in Galicia, Spain.A peninsula that faces the Atlantic Ocean and the shores of O Salnés valley, enclosed by the southern Galician estuaries, the so-called "Rías Baixas"....
. Established 1963; declared a Festival of National Touristic Interest in the 1980s. - BullfightingBullfightingBullfighting is a traditional spectacle of Spain, Portugal, southern France and some Latin American countries , in which one or more bulls are baited in a bullring for sport and entertainment...
has no tradition at all in Galicia. In 2009 only 8 corridasBullfightingBullfighting is a traditional spectacle of Spain, Portugal, southern France and some Latin American countries , in which one or more bulls are baited in a bullring for sport and entertainment...
, out of the 1,848 held throughout Spain, took place within Galicia. In addition, recent studies have stated that 92% of Galicians are firmly against bullfighting, the highest rate of the country, even more than CataloniaCataloniaCatalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
. Despite this, popular associations, such as Galicia Mellor Sen Touradas-Galicia Better without Bullfights, have blamed politicians for having no compromise in order to abolish it and have been very critical of local councils', especially those governed by the PP and PSOE, payment of subsidies for corridas.
Television
Televisión de Galicia (TVG) is the autonomous community's public channel, which has broadcast since 24 July 1985 and is part of the Compañía de Radio-Televisión de Galicia (CRTVG). TVG broadcasts throughout Galicia and has two international channels, Galicia Televisión Europa and Galicia Televisión América, available throughout the European UnionEuropean Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
and the Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
through Hispasat
Hispasat
Hispasat is a group of Spanish communication satellites . They were developed by the Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial and the European Space Agency...
. CRTVG also broadcasts a digital terrestrial television
Digital terrestrial television
Digital terrestrial television is the technological evolution of broadcast television and advance from analog television, which broadcasts land-based signals...
(DTT) channel known as tvG2
G2 (TV channel)
tvG2, also known as G2, is the secondary television channel of Galician public broadcaster Compañía de Radio Televisión de Galicia .-External links:** at crtvg.es...
and is considering adding further DTT channels, with a 24-hour news channel projected for 2010.
Radio
Radio Galega (RG) is the autonomous community's public radio station and is part of CRTVG. Radio Galega began broadcasting 24 February 1985, with regular programming starting 29 March 1985. There are two regular broadcast channels: Radio Galega and Radio Galega Música. In addition, there is a DTT and internet channel, Son Galicia Radio, dedicated specifically to Galician music.Press
The most widely distributed newspaper in Galicia is La Voz de GaliciaLa Voz de Galicia
La Voz de Galicia is a Spanish daily newspaper owned by the Corporación Voz de Galicia. La Voz is the most sold newspaper in Galicia and the sixth of Spain...
, with 12 local editions and a national edition. Other major newspapers are El Correo Gallego
El Correo Gallego
El Correo Gallego is a Galician newspaper founded in Ferrol, Spain, by José María Abizanda in 1878; in the 20th century it was moved to the city of Santiago de Compostela....
(Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain.The city's Cathedral is the destination today, as it has been throughout history, of the important 9th century medieval pilgrimage route, the Way of St. James...
), Faro de Vigo
Faro de Vigo
Faro de Vigo is a Galician newspaper from Vigo. It is the oldest Spanish newspaper still in circulation. Its headquarters are located in Chapela, Redondela...
(Vigo
Vigo
Vigo is a city and municipality in north-west Spain, in Galicia, situated on the ria of the same name on the Atlantic Ocean.-Population:...
), El Progreso (Lugo), La Región (Ourense), and Galicia Hoxe
Galicia Hoxe
Galicia Hoxe was a Galician newspaper from Santiago de Compostela written in Galician. Founded in January 1994, it was formerly called O Correo Galego. It changed its name to Galicia Hoxe in May 2003, and closed down on 28th June 2011, due to financial reasons....
– The first daily newspaper to publish exclusively in Galician. Other newspapers of note are Atlántico Diario
Atlántico Diario
Atlántico Diario is a Spanish language daily newspaper for the Vigo metropolitan area of Galicia in Spain....
in the Vigo metropolitan area, the free De luns a venres (the first free daily in Galician), the sports paper DxT Campeón, El Ideal Gallego
El Ideal Gallego
El Ideal Gallego is a Galician newspaper from A Coruña. Founded in A Coruña on 1 April 1917 by José Toubes Pego. In 1999, El Ideal Gallego acquired El Diario de Ferrol becoming its editor and moving their headquarters to the City Port and Naval Station of Ferrol, which like A Coruña, also lies in...
from A Coruña, the Heraldo de Vivero, the Xornal de Galicia, and the Diario de Ferrol.
Honour
Galicia PeakGalicia Peak
Galicia Point is the peak rising to 4500 m in Vinson Massif, Sentinel Range in Ellsworth Mountains, Antarctica, and surmounting Jacobsen Valley to the east and Branscomb Glacier to the north and west....
in Vinson Massif
Vinson Massif
Vinson Massif is the highest mountain of Antarctica, lying in the Sentinel Range of the Ellsworth Mountains, which stand above the Ronne Ice Shelf near the base of the Antarctic Peninsula. The massif is located about from the South Pole and is about long and wide. At the highest point is Mount...
, Antarctica is named after the autonomous community of Galicia.
Image gallery
See also
- Outline of SpainOutline of SpainThe following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Spain:-General reference:* Pronunciation:**English **Spanish:)* Common English country name: Spain* Official English country name: The Kingdom of Spain or Spain...
- Celtic nationsCeltic nationsThe Celtic nations are territories in North-West Europe in which that area's own Celtic languages and some cultural traits have survived.The term "nation" is used in its original sense to mean a people who share a common traditional identity and culture and are identified with a traditional...
- Celts
- Ethnic groups in Europe
- Galician music
- Galician nationalismGalician nationalismGalician nationalism is a political movement arguing for the recognition of Galicia as a nation. The political movement referred to as modern Galician nationalism was born at the beginning of the twentieth century from the idea of Galicianism.- Ideology :...
- Galician peopleGalician peopleThe Galicians are an ethnic group, a nationality whose historical homeland is Galicia in north-western Spain. Most Galicians are bilingual, speaking both their historic language, Galician, and Castilian Spanish.-Political and administrative divisions:...
- Galician wineGalician wineGalician wine is Spanish wine made in the autonomous community of Galicia in the northwest corner of Spain. It includes wine made in the provinces of A Coruña, Ourense, Pontevedra and Lugo. Within Galicia are five Denominación de Origen -Monterrei, Rías Baixas, Ribeira Sacra, Ribeiro and Valdeorras...
- Modern CeltsModern CeltsA Celtic identity emerged in the "Celtic" nations of Western Europe, following the identification of the native peoples of the Atlantic fringe as "Celts" by Edward Lhuyd in the 18th century and during the course of the 19th-century Celtic Revival, taking the form of ethnic nationalism particularly...
- Nationalities in SpainNationalities in SpainHistorically, the modern country of Spain was formed after the process known as Reconquista.Several independent Christian Kingdoms and political entities mostly independent were formed by their own inhabitants efforts under aristocrat leadership and coexisted with the Muslim Iberian states and had...
- Timeline of Galician historyTimeline of Galician History-Paleolithic:*200th millennium BC – In the Paleolithic period the Neanderthal Man enters the Iberian peninsula.*70th millennium BC**Neanderthal Mousterian culture.**Beginning of the Last Ice Age.*40th millennium BC**Beginning of the Upper Paleolithic....
- Way of St. JamesWay of St. JamesThe Way of St. James or St. James' Way is the pilgrimage route to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain, where tradition has it that the remains of the apostle Saint James are buried....
(Camiño de Santiago)
External links
- Petroglyphs from Galicia
- Irish genes from Galicia
- Walking the Camino de Santiago, A Guide The end of the Camino at Santiago and also Cape FinisterreCape Finisterreright|thumb|300px|Position of Cape Finisterre on the [[Iberian Peninsula]]Cape Finisterre is a rock-bound peninsula on the west coast of Galicia, Spain....
- Galicia's National Tourism Board
- Photographs of Galicia
- Videos from Galicia
- Rural tourism in Galicia
- Photograph of forest fire in Galicia
- Landscape photographs of Galicia