Orense

Orense (officially, in Galician, Ourense) is a Spanish city and municipality located in the southeast of Galicia. It is the capital of the province of Orense and of the homonymous region. It is the third Galician municipality by population after Vigo and La Coruña, and the most populous in the interior of Galicia, with 105,233 inhabitants according to INE data in 2018.

The city is crossed by the rivers Miño, Barbaña and Lonia. It is known as "City of Las Burgas" due to its famous hot springs, where the water comes out at temperatures between 60 and 68 °C. There are also thermal waters in the spas of Chavasqueira, O Tinteiro, Muíño da Veiga and Outariz.

The most outstanding monuments are the cathedral from the 12th century century, with its Portico of Paradise and Santo Cristo, the main bridge, the cloister of San Francisco, the churches of the Holy Trinity and Santo Domingo, and the whole of its old area, in the process of recovery.

Geography

Orense, from the Miño

Integrated in the Orense region, it is located 94 km from Vigo, 95 km from Pontevedra, 104 km from Santiago de Compostela, 114 km from Lugo, 160 km from La Coruña and 499 km from Madrid.

The relief of the municipality is defined by the valley formed by the passage of the Miño river and its tributaries Barbaña and Loña, together with the mountains that surround it. The Rio do Porto also flows into the Miño within the municipality, separating the Montes de Lodeiros, which are over 350 m in altitude, from Monte Salgueiro and Castro de Beiro, which are over 450 m in altitude. The altitude of the municipality ranges from 471 m to the east (Montealegre) and 90 m on the banks of the Miño river, at the western end of the municipality. The city stands 139 m above sea level.

Northwest: Amoeiro	North: Amoeiro and Coles	Northeast: Coles
West: Pungin and Toén		This: Pereiro de Aguiar
Southwest: Toén	South: Barbadanes and San Ciprián de Viñas	Sureste: Pereiro de Aguiar y San Ciprián de Viñas

---

Interactive map — Orense and its centre or geographical centre

Climate

According to the Köppen climate classification, Ourense's climate is a Csa-type Mediterranean climate.

Average climate parameters of Orense Observatory (143 m. n. m.) (Reference period: 1981-2010, extremes: 1951-2022)
Month	Ene.	Feb.	Mar.	Open up.	May.	Jun.	Jul.	Ago.	Sep.	Oct.	Nov.	Dec.	Annual
Temp. max. abs. (°C)	22.5	25.5	30.6	32.9	37.6	40.9	44.1	42.9	41.2	34.9	26.3	22.4	44.1
Average temperature (°C)	12.7	15.2	18.7	19.8	22.9	27.5	30.2	30.6	27.5	21.7	15.9	12.8	21.3
Average temperature (°C)	8.0	9.2	11.9	13.3	16.2	20.2	22.5	22.6	19.9	15.6	11.1	8.5	14.9
Temp. medium (°C)	3.4	3.2	5.0	6.7	9.5	12.8	14.8	14.5	12.3	9.6	6.3	4.1	8.5
Temp. min. abs. (°C)	-7.0	-8.0	-6.8	-3.2	2.4	2.4	6.4	1.5	3.0	-3.0	-6.8	-8.6	-8.6
Total precipitation (mm)	88.9	65.6	59.0	71.7	63.5	35.7	19.9	21.5	56.8	111.9	103	111.5	811.3
Precipitation days (≥ 1 mm)	10.2	8.6	8.4	11.1	9.5	4.6	2.9	3.3	5.8	10.4	10.5	11.2	96.9
Days of snow (≥)	0.6	0.2	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2	1.1
Hours of sun	87	115	166	180	205	249	278	268	204	138	84	70	2054
Relative humidity (%)	81	72	68	67	66	62	59	60	65	75	82	84	70
Source: State Meteorology Agency

History

Prehistory and antiquity

The Miño valley in the Orense area was already inhabited in the castro era, as evidenced by the settlements of Castro de Oira, San Tomé and Valdegola, as well as the original settlement in the vicinity of As Burgas, the thermal water sources in around which the Roman city was formed.

The origin of the city is Roman, although there are doubts about the etymology of the Orense place name. The first theory indicates that it was baptized by the Romans possibly as "The city of gold" (Auriense) for its enormous abundance of this metal, which made it an important city in the Roman province of Hispania until their reserves of the precious golden metal, which could be found in the course of the Miño river itself, were exhausted. Another theory postulates that the name of the city came from the Latin aquae urente ("burning waters"), or from the Germanic warmsee ("hot lake"), due to its well-known sources. of thermal waters, known as Burgas (name derived from the Low Latin burca, which means "bath").

Middle Ages

After Roman rule, Ourense remained an important city due to the bridge over the Miño River, whose pillars are still Roman and which has been rebuilt multiple times throughout history. This strategic situation made the city an important commercial center since the Middle Ages.

During the Swabian era, it is supposed that the city became a royal court during the reign of Karriarico and Teodomiro, who ordered the construction of the first church in honor of Saint Martin of Tours, patron saint of the city, grateful for the healing of One of his sons. Once the Suevian kingdom was united to the Visigothic kingdom, a documentary vacuum was produced. In Visigothic Hispania, it was the episcopal seat of the Catholic Church, a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Braga, which included the ancient Roman province of Gallaecia in the Diocese of Hispania. It is assumed to have been raided by Arabs and Normans in the X and XI, after which, a slow recovery begins.

Detail of the Paradise porch, in the cathedral

In 1084, Bishop Ederonio restored the then cathedral, today the church of Santa María Madre on the ruins of the old one, consecrating the current one dedicated to San Martín de Tours shortly after.

Singular importance had the bishops Don Diego Velasco who obtained from Doña Teresa de Portugal the jurisdiction of the city for the bishop and his successors in 1122, which they would hold until 1628. It is at this time when the first mention of the Council appears, the Ourense's medieval history is marked by the different bishops, among which Pedro Seguín and Bishop Don Lorenzo stand out, who carried out important works to consolidate the Roman bridge that was threatened with ruin.

And at the end of the XII century the bishops of Ourense ordered the construction of the fortress of Castelo Ramiro, which is located on a a mountain from which the city is dominated and from where they could control the entry and exit of people and merchandise in Ourense, although said fortress was demolished by order of the Catholic Monarchs in 1486.

Important events in the life of the city in the Middle Ages were the occupation of the Duke of Lancaster, who proclaimed himself King of Castile in Orense for the rights of his wife; the second Irmandiña revolt (1468) and already in 1501 the interview between Felipe el Hermoso and Doña Juana with Cardinal Cisneros.

Modern and Contemporary Ages

During the 17th and XVIII the city lives a peaceful lethargy only broken by the Church that carries out various works, some at the behest of the bishops and others by religious orders such as the Jesuits who settled in the city in the middle of the century XVII.

At the beginning of the XIX century, Orense is a small city populated mainly by noblemen, artisans and religious, highlighting the figure of the Cardinal Quevedo who is part of the Cortes of Cádiz. The designation as provincial capital promotes the appearance of a new civil servant class until the arrival of the railway from Vigo gives a definitive push to the city that will see the consolidation of a new class: the bourgeoisie formed mainly by Castilian emigrants such as the De las Cuevas, Pérez, Romero, Villanueva who will dominate the political and economic landscape of the city well into the XX century.

The development of the city marked by the arrival of the railway and the construction of the Villacastín-Vigo highway will result in a city of an eminently commercial and administrative nature.

During the Second Republic, the city was not exempt from national controversies, although with conservative tendencies, this did not prevent the first socialist mayor, Manuel Suárez Castro, from holding office until the military coup on July 18.

After the Civil War, strong emigration from the province generated significant demographic growth and growth in the construction sector. Important milestones of this period are the union with the municipality of Puente Canedo located on the northern bank of the Miño, the completion of the Madrid-Zamora-Orense-Vigo railway and the emergence of new neighborhoods.

Currently, Orense is an important communication hub where four national highways, as well as four railway lines, converge with the Rías Bajas highway and the Santiago highway.

It maintains great importance as the administrative and economic center of the province and a strong commercial sector, it is the third largest city in Galicia by population.

The local administration promotes the tourist aspect of the city, placing special emphasis on the thermal aspect. To this end, improvements have been carried out on the banks of the Miño river and in the thermal areas. Added to this is some progress in the execution of the planned infrastructures, with the recent arrival of the AG-53 (Santiago motorway) and the high-speed line that connects it with Santiago de Compostela, as well as the expectation of compliance of the A-76 (Ponferrada), the A-56 (Lugo) and the high-speed lines to Madrid and Vigo in the medium term.

Demographics

As of January 1, 2023, the population of the municipality amounted to 103,756 inhabitants.

Graphic of demographic evolution of Orense between 1857 and 2014

Population in the centuryXIX.Population of Law (1900-1991) or resident population (2001) according to population censuses of the INE.Population according to the 2010 INE Municipal Register.

Administration and politics

Municipal government

Orense City Council

Territorial organization

Parishes that are part of the municipality:

Palace of Justice

Economy

The economy in the municipality of Orense is marked by a clear predominance of the service sector. The city concentrates the largest commercial and leisure offer in the province, as well as administrative services (Diputación, Provincial Court, Government Sub-delegation, Treasury Delegation), educational (University of Vigo campus) and health (Complejo Hospitalario de Orense) reference.

In this sense, one of the largest industrial estates in Galicia and the Technological Park of Galicia are located in the neighboring town hall of San Ciprián de Viñas, where national companies such as Adolfo Domínguez or Coren and a good number of auxiliary automobile industries. Also in the neighboring Pereiro de Aguiar industrial estate is the company Sociedad Textil Lonia, which markets the CH Carolina Herrera and Purificación García brands.

Another of the leading sectors in the city has traditionally been construction, since the early sixties the accelerated (and in some cases uncontrolled) growth of the city has given rise to a large sector linked to construction and its materials in the one that stands out the construction company Copasa (eleventh Galician company in 2007).

Due to the fact that the four large industrial estates (San Ciprián de Viñas, Parque Tecnológico, Barreiros and Pereiro de Aguiar) are not located in the municipality of Orense, the tertiary sector, mainly the commercial one, with a long tradition in the city since the mid-19th century, is the main economic support for the city, more balanced data when referring to the metropolitan area in which these estates are located.

Services

Transportation

In the past, Orense was a very poorly communicated city, it took twice as long to go from Madrid to Orense than to go from Madrid to Alicante. With the advent of democracy, a process of improving Orensan roads began. In 1975 there were two national highways. Today Orense has four national highways and two highways, and another two highways are in the pipeline.

Roads and highways

The municipality of Orense is crossed by the following highways:

• Autovia de las Rías Bajas A-52, entre los pK 228 y 231, que cerca la ciudad por el Oeste y la une con Vigo y con Benavente. The conventional alternative is the N-525 road, which separates from the motorway to follow to Santiago de Compostela and connect with the N-540, which is directed to Lugo. The motorway allows the connection, either outside Orense, with the Galician motorway AG-53 that unites it with Santiago de Compostela.
• N-120 road between pK 563 and 582, which connects with Monforte de Lemos and Ribadavia.
• Carretera OU-536, which allows communication with Castro Caldelas and Puebla de Trives.
• OU-101 Highway, heading towards Maceda.
• Road OU-540, heading towards Celanova.

Panoramic view of Orense from Hotel San Rosendo

When traveling within the city, the highlights are Progreso, Habana and Curros Enríquez streets in the center, Nuestra Señora de la Saínza and Zamora in the south and Las Caldas, Río Corzos Street, and Santiago Avenue in the north (a residential area). It has a small section of the ring road to the east, while the northern section has been paralyzed for more than a decade. As for the south and west, the Madrid highway forms a ring road section. The Ronda Bulevar Oeste was also recently presented, which will alleviate traffic in the center of the city.

Railway

Orense Station

The railway in Ourense is of great importance as it is one of the most important railway junctions in Galicia. The city houses the headquarters of the Galician railway control post.

Two lines cross the city of Orense:

• La Coruña-Zamora Line, which connects with Madrid and is also used by Renfe Media Distance services to La Coruña, Santiago de Compostela and Puebla de Sanabria.
• Vigo-Monforte Line, a very important line in the transport of goods for the port of Vigo and which is also used for passenger services of Renfe half distance to Vigo, Lugo and Ponferrada destinations, as well as national and international long distance destinations such as Barcelona, Bilbao or France.

The 334.016 locomotive with a talgo entering Orense

Significant investments are currently being made in railways due to the arrival of high-speed rail in Galicia with the new Olmedo-Zamora-Galicia High-Speed Line and because Orense will act as a traffic distributor between the south and the Galician north. Since December 2011,^[update] Ourense has the first high-speed line in operation in the Galician community with the commissioning of the La Coruña-Santiago de Compostela section -Pray.

Also, as a result of the arrival of high speed, the intermodal station that unifies the bus and train services was built, also allowing a better urban integration of the railway network in the city. Although, during 2011 the Orense station had to be remodeled to be adapted to the arrival of the AVE at the end of that year.

There has also been talk of a possible change of name to Eulogio Gómez Franqueira, the name of the street where it is located and a relevant businessman from Orense.^{[citation required]}

Urban transport

Urbanos Orense is the company in charge of urban buses in the city. It has 33 different lines that connect, all of them, the city with the peripheral parishes, also going beyond the municipal limit.

Heritage

There is a very popular saying to describe the most emblematic monuments of the city:

Religious buildings

Cathedral of San Martín

Night view of the head of San Martín Cathedral

Other buildings or constructions

• Castelo Ramiro. It was the main castle of the city of Orense, although it was demolished by order of the Catholic Kings in 1486
• Liceo de Orense-Palacio de los Oca-Valladares (B.I.C)
• Orense Archaeological Museum (B.I.C.)

Bridges and walkways

Medieval Bridge

Millennium Bridge

• Medieval Bridge or Old Bridge (B.I.C.). From the first Roman bridge of the time of Augustus there are only some stones left in the bases. In the centuryXII it was rebuilt giving the current profile with pointed arch, but the new ruins have to wait for the centuryXVIIin which Melchor de Velasco Agüero applies the definitive solution. The tower that appears on the city's shield was demolished in the centuryXIX.
• Millennium Bridge, opened in 2001, was designed by the architect Alvaro Varela and the engineer Juan M. Calvo with the combination of concrete and steel. Its original curve is enhanced by the pedestrian walkway that arrives to rise 22 meters, giving rise to extraordinary viewpoints on the Miño. All this makes it a symbol of progress of the city. The slope of its wings is 67%.
• New Bridge, under the design of the engineer Martin Díez de la Banda, was completed in 1918. His name came by comparison with the one that so far existed, the Old Bridge. It consists of six stone arches with a metallic section of parabolic arch. Since then it has been completed with others: the viaduct, the New Bridge, and more recently the walkway of Vao.
• Viaducto. Although the railway arrived in Orense in 1881, it would not be until the year 1958 in which it would end the project that allowed crossing the river so that with it the train could follow its way to the southeast of Galicia. The design was the work of José Luis Tovar Bisbal (who also designed the train station), performing the work in concrete. Its total length reaches 415 m and its arches a height of 46 meters.
• New Bridge. Its construction sought to relieve the traffic of the New Bridge, but it will not be until 1971 when it will enter into operation. It is also called, by its location, do Ribeiriño or das Caldas.
• Walkway of the Vado, pedestrian walkway opened in 2003, communicating the neighborhood of the Bridge with the city center through the mall. It is supported only by two concrete pillars, while the rest of the structure consists of intertwined metal tubes. Its name derives from an old step that in the summer times was used to cross the river without paying the toll of the bridge. It has been relatively recently suffered maintenance.
• Loña Bridge, is quoted in century documentsXII, although it is possible that in the Roman era there was another (wood or stone) to give access to the Mende thermal baths or to the Galaico-Roman agricultural villa of Santomé. Its medieval factory with a single arch, consolidated in 1969 and restored in 1988. Finally, the Barbaña came to have three historical bridges, but or disappeared (the current ones date from the centuries. XIX and XX.) or were transferred (as happens with the old Codesal Bridge).
• Codesera Bridge. Its name would come from the "codes" (type of typical Galician wild bush) that abounded in the surroundings of the Polvorin, where it was until in 1984 it was moved to the lands of Cabeanca, almost at the border with the municipality of Amoero. In this way the disappearance of a bridge of the century was preventedXV or XVI, although it remained in a remote and unfamiliar place.
• Viaducto de O Ribeiriño. A-52 center access to the city (barrio de Vistahermosa).
• Oira Gateway. Near the municipal swimming pools is a pedestrian walkway across the Miño River.
• Outariz Gateway. Cross the Miño River from the Baths of Outariz to the other side of the river. It has two arches. There is a tradition in which those who fall in love put their name in a lock, place it on the bridge and throw the key to the Miño River from the gateway.

Thermal areas

Jardines de las Burgas

• The Burgas

• Pozas de A Chavasqueira.

Its spring, which supplies flow to three cascading outdoor pools with temperatures from 38 °C to 41 °C, gushes out inside a granite construction called the Templarium (with an indoor bath, pool contrast and a future Sudarium). Known since ancient times, they were called "Caldas do Bispo", after the bishop who ordered them to be built. The original stone building that is part of the current complex was part of the first spa to be built in that area and which was closest to the spring of "O tinteiro" but of which no remains are currently preserved as it was left under the road bridge that runs parallel to the river. The architectural ensemble, like an old Japanese temple, is made of wood and is completed with a stone garden inspired by the ancient Zen culture. The two springs, with temperatures of approximately 68 and 58 °C, provide sodium bicarbonate, fluorinated, lithitic and sulfurous with medium mineralization, ideal in the treatment of rheumatism, arthritis or asthma and to improve the functioning of the respiratory and digestive systems. Today, recreational-preventive thermalism is a healthy and fun way for the whole family to combine leisure and health.

• Spring of the Ink

Thermal water source, free to use, 500 meters from the previous ones. This spring attracts aguistas from all over the peninsula and from Portugal. Contour recently rehabilitated by the town hall. Recommended for skin diseases and scars. Technically, they are considered fluorinated, sulphurated, sodium and bicarbonate waters and flow at a lower temperature than those previously mentioned (43 °C).

• Burga del Molino

Large outdoor thermal pool, free to use, is located next to Molina de la Vega, in a large recreational area, in the Quintela de Canedo area. Three kilometers from Tinteiro along the paved pedestrian walkway on the right bank of the Miño River.

• Burgas de Outariz

Its waters flow at a temperature of 60 °C, at two different points, being appropriate for rheumatism and arthritis. In one of them you can even see the spring appear directly from the fissure in the rock, which makes it more striking. Some open-air baths and a walkway connecting the two shores have been built. It consists of five submerged cobbled circles where the temperature of each of them varies from the coldest (36 °C–38 °C) to the hottest (60 °C). It is about submerging and sitting with your legs stretched out, the only thing that sticks out your head. This time of 15–20 minutes should not be exceeded. They are completely free and can be reached by a tourist train that runs through the capital.

Culture

The Plaza Mayor at Christmas

Parties

• Carnival, from 10-12 to 28 February. The city of Orense and the rest of the province dress up to celebrate the carnival. Where the originality of the costumes stands out, and the gastronomic products of each of the populations that make up the carnival. In the same city, there are two special days, the day of the midwives and the day of the compadres. These days, they start carnival in Orense. The day of the midwives is celebrated on Thursday two weeks before Carnavales. That day, for the young, there is a celebration, in which the boys make dolls, called midwives, which then the girls have to break them on that day. This day at night, it's a girls' night, that is, most women come out, and it's an opportunity to get together and have fun. Next Thursday is the day of the Compadres, and in this case, it is the girls who make the dolls that are called, Compadres, and this time it is the boys who are responsible for breaking them. The last doll left without breaking every day, is reserved for the following year. The carnival in the province of Orense is one of the most important in Spain, along with the Canary Islands and Cadiz. As typical costumes we find the Screens of Xinzo de Limia, declared carnival of international tourist interest since 2019, as well as the Peliqueiros from Laza, the Boteiros of Vilariño de Conso Bears. of Verin, all of them of national tourist interest. With regard to gastronomy we could highlight the ears of Carnival, the dessert par excellence of the carnival.
• Festival of the Mays. Early in May. The flowers are the protagonists; the floral ornaments parade through the streets of the city to celebrate the spring. the fundamental element of the feast are the so-called "greates" that are compositions of musgo and "carrabouxos" flowers that represent monuments and everyday elements of the Orasan life. Along with May, the second characteristic element of the party is the co-tail, satirical composition on aspects of society and politics.
• Fatima party. On May 13, at night, a massive procession runs through the city from the Virgin of Fatima church to the Cathedral of Orense. The following days are the festivals of the Couto district, where the Church of the Virgin of Fatima is located.
• Corpus parties. They match the religious feast of Corpus Christi. They are held in June. They highlight fireworks, the Battle of Flores or outdoor concerts (every year there are several outstanding artists from the national level). It's the town parties.
• Feast of Santiago Apostle. The week of 25 July in the neighborhood of El Puente.
• Remedies party. Romeria is celebrated on September 8 in the chapel of the Remedios.
• Wizard party. Traditional celebration of some Galician localities (especially Orensans) that has as main protagonists the chestnut and the new wine. In Orense it coincides with the festival of its patron San Martín de Tours, on November 11. To celebrate the day of the Magitus, it is customary to go to a mountain near the city and light a bonfire in which the pork, the chariots and the chestnuts will be roasted.

Theater

Orense is a provincial capital known at the regional level for its theater festivals, competitions that tend to be international and attract professional companies to the city for a few weeks.

• FITO or International Festival of Orense Theatre — It is held in October and has eight editions.
• The MITEU or International Exhibition of University Theatre — It is held in spring and already has twenty-one editions.
• The MOTI or Orense Theater Show — It is held at the end of the year and has thirteen editions.

Twin cities

The city of Ourense is twinned with: