Bergondo

Bergondo is a Spanish municipality in the province of La Coruña in Galicia. It belongs to the region of La Coruña, within the metropolitan area of La Coruña. It borders the municipalities of Sada, Cambre, Abegondo, Betanzos and Paderne.

Toponymy

Bergondo has a possible Celtic or Germanic origin ^{[citation required]}, and may refer to King Brigo or a mountainous elevation: Berg . The place name of Lubre, one of the town's places, could have been the sacred forest of the Celts.

The first document in which the toponym of Bergondo is cited is dated 1138 as Burgundium. Abbot Recendus of Burgundio confirmed the donation made by the Count of Traba to her daughter Urraca, who in his will of 1193 left the monastery called Bergondo.

Territorial organization

The municipality is made up of 73 population entities distributed in 9 parishes:

• Babío (Santa Marta)
• Bergondo (San Salvador)
• Cortiñán (Santa Maria)
• Guísamo (Santa Maria)
• Lubre (San Xoán)
• Morujo
• Ouces (San Xoán)
• Rois (Santa Mariña)
• Vijoy

Demography

The municipality has an area of 32.72 km². In 2022 it had a population of 6,892 inhabitants and a density of 210.63 inhabitants/km².

The 2022 population pyramid data can be summarized as follows:

• The population under 20 is 15% of the total.
• The figure between 20-40 years is 16.58 %.
• The figure between 40-60 years is 32.2%.
• Over 60 years is 36.39 %.

Graphic of demographic evolution of Bergondo between 1842 and 2021

Population of law according to population censuses of the INE.Population in fact according to population censuses of the INE.

Graphic of demographic evolution of Bergondo between 1998 and 2022

Population as of 1 January according to the municipal register of the INE.

Industry

It is a municipality with a long jewelry tradition, particularly fine jewelry. Some of the most important companies in the sector are located in the municipality, such as Balcarsa, Unión Joyera or Sanjurjo, among others. It also has an important industrial, commercial and services area, with about 300 companies located there. The tradition probably dates back to the time of the expulsion of the Jews by Isabel La Católica, since many of those who initially headed to Coruña to embark to the Netherlands, then of the Crown, upon seeing that they were well received in Galicia, that the Inquisition had not arrived, which would take years due to the difficult access through the mountains of Lugo, they settled there, teaching the people their goldsmithing and jewelry art (Ónega, JR 1982. Editora Nacional: The Jews in the Kingdom of Galicia). And one of the places where they possibly took root the most was in Bergondo.

For at least two centuries, some people from Bergon discovered that by buying military stripes (mainly in Ferrol) and melting them, they could obtain gold. This gave them the idea that possibly many people wanted to get rid of remains of jewelry and even teeth. They extended the business first to nearby places and later throughout Spain. They were the "prata e ouro" (silver and gold). And it should be said that not all prata e ouro were men, since a woman, Xaviela Fraga, already at the beginning of the 19th century, when she became a widow with many children, exercised it. The movement of these people, who were interested in reaching the most remote places, was quite difficult, since at that time the means of communication were scarce so most of the time they had to travel on foot. When they reached a town, they went to the square and there they shouted: Silver and Gold! and people came to sell their waste, which they weighed, naturally, and paid in cash. When this purchase was finished, they headed to the nearest town and so on, until night came. And they spent the night wherever they were, which, obviously, were not luxury hotels, something that their pocketbooks would not have allowed either. They always went in groups for fear of highway robbers, and, of course, without telling anyone about the route to follow. Of "genre" As they called what they had acquired, they did not separate even to sleep, due to the danger of theft. And so after generations of much sacrifice, they arrived, already at the beginning of the 20th century, to establish themselves in important cities: Madrid, Barcelona... that today, many of their heirs still continue.

Infrastructures

It has at its disposal two sports halls, a library, a house of culture (with a gym, assembly hall, information, computer room...), numerous courts in the various parishes of the municipality, the building "to Senra" recently restored (gymnasium, assembly hall, library, cafeteria, computer room, exhibitions, living room...), various classrooms in different parishes where activities are carried out. On the other hand, it should be noted that its neighbors are eagerly awaiting the construction of a swimming pool and an artificial grass soccer field.

Artistic heritage

Religious art

Among the religious monuments present in the municipality, the following stand out:

• Monastery of San Salvador, built in the 12th century, with Romanesque church of the second half of the 13th century, with three naves and three semi-cylindrical apses. Inside there are good medieval graves.

Civil Art

The most notable civil monuments of the municipality are:

• Pazo de Mariñán, building of the eighteenth century with Baroque and neoclassical elements.
• Peace of Armuño, more or less of the same time as that of Mariñán.
• Pazo do Casal, built in the 19th century and which stands out mainly for its garden, both in species: it has a catalogued sequoia and the second in size of Spain as well as other exotic species, as the sketch of drawings in boj of which stands out mainly a labyrinth in an unusual way for its trace in curved paths.

Local festivals

In Bergondo, traditional festivals are celebrated such as the parade of kings, a carnival festival (with an ear and pancake contest)... but also other festivities such as the Crafts Fair, located in relation to Galician letters, for which In which an writing contest is held, the patron saint festivities of Santa Maria de Guisamo are also very well known, whose patron saint is San Ramón and are celebrated on the last weekend of August, or the first of September. Without forgetting the feast of the Child Jesus, of the parish of Bergondo, which is celebrated the Sunday following the Assumption, with great solemnity in the Monastery of San Salvador, as well as that of Sta. Martha (July 29) and the consequent Pilgrimage the following Sunday: the Sacrament, both taking place at the Monte de Sta. Marta, of the parish of Sta. Marta de Babío; that of Santa Marina, in the parish of Rois; that of Fiobre, which takes place on the day of Santiago... and the last of all: September 8, which is the day of Santa María de la Cabeza, wife of San Isidro, and therefore takes place in the parish of San Isidro. All of them enlivened, as is natural, with the presence of: vendors of food and drink products, donuts and, of course, bagpipers, in addition to rockets because in Galicia a party without fireworks is not a party. At night, there is usually, of course, dancing.