Betanzos

Santuario de Nuestra Señora de Los Remedios

It is believed that there was another religious building located in the same place much older that also served to worship Our Lady of Los Remedios. It is located right next to the municipal cemetery and is also known by the name of Santuario de Nuestra Señora del Camino.

Its construction took about forty years (from 1562 to 1601) and legend has it that this particular area was chosen because D. Rodrigo Bermudez de Osorio, a neighbor of Betanzos, said that a light dazzled him right there, this being an unmistakable sign to take the construction work there.

INFORMATION OF INTEREST

Telephone: 981 771 108

Palacio de los condes de Taboada

This palace dates from the nineteenth century but since in the twentieth century underwent a major remodeling few original elements are preserved. Its lines are much simpler than the rest of the stately buildings of Betanzos because it is an urban palace, thus adapting to the environment and urban structures of the area. The piece that stands out the most is the coat of arms of the Taboada family, which is located just above the entrance door.

Palacio de Lanzós

Built between 1620 and 1625, it is located at the top of the castro of Unta, just opposite the church of Santiago. Of its facade highlights the balcony held by three canzorros and the door with a split pediment. The coat of arms identifying the first Count of Maceda also stands out.

From its exterior we can highlight its great tower, which underwent several changes and modifications over the centuries. Currently there is a roof that covers and protects it but formerly there were only some battlements and some arrow slits that were later plugged.

Palacio de Bendaña

This impressive 15th century palace is located in the famous Constitution Square. It was remodeled in later centuries, both in the sixteenth and seventeenth. It currently houses the headquarters of the Treasury, reaching our days from the primitive building some pointed arches.

Museo de las Mariñas

This museum located in the former convent of Santo Domingo was inaugurated in 1983 and reopened in 1995 after being closed for several years due to a remodeling of the building. It has a large collection of elements on the mark left by the Romans in Galicia and the Mariñas region.

HOURS

Monday to Friday from 10:00 to 13:00 and from 16:00 to 20:00Saturdays from 10:30 to 13:00Sundays closed

INFORMATION OF INTEREST

E-mail: museomarinas@gmail.comTeléfono: 981 773 693

Convento de las Madres Agustinas

Built between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, it was inhabited by the Augustinian nuns since 1681. Of its primitive construction it conserves the cloister, made by the method of ashlar masonry and two reliefs referring to the Annunciation.

On its main facade you can admire the coat of arms of the medieval town of Betanzos as well as the imperial coat of arms. The current church, compared to the original convent, has much simpler lines, predominantly masonry walls.

Las Murallas

There is evidence that Betanzos was surrounded by large walls as early as the thirteenth century to protect this medieval town. Today only the gates that gave access to the city are preserved, making Betanzos the place that preserves more medieval gates throughout Galicia. They are built following the ashlar method and were declared a historic-artistic site in 1970.

Among all of them we can highlight the Porta Nova, with ogival shape and from the 15th century. Of the rest also stand out the arch of Ponte Bella that leads to the medieval bridge, the door of Christ of the Ribeira, in one of the oldest areas of the city, and the door of the Villa, which does not remain standing but the three coats of arms that decorated it are preserved, currently on the facade of a house.

Iglesia y convento de Santo Domingo

This large 16th century church is one of the most important in the city. It was built over a previous chapel and the works lasted several years, extending in time until the eighteenth century. Most of the church is made of masonry, except for the main chapel which is made of ashlar.

Iglesia de Santiago

This beautiful 15th century church was built by order of the knight Fernán Pérez Andrade over another much older one. It is formed by a basilical plant composed of three naves, being all this sheltered under a wooden roof with a coffered ceiling of the late nineteenth century. As for its style, we can say that it is a clear example of transition between Romanesque and Gothic.

Iglesia de Santa María del Azogue

The temple of Santa María del Azogue dates from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, being designed and built by Fernán Pérez de Andrade on another primitive church of the Romanesque period. It consists of three naves, being the largest the central one and counting all of them with ribbed vaults.

Iglesia de San Francisco

Remodeled in the middle of the 14th century, this temple of Latin cross plan has a main nave and three chapels. One of its most important elements is the tomb of the knights, which houses remains from the fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. In its beginnings it housed an order of Franciscans, not preserving any vestige of that time.

The main door is decorated with a multitude of archivolts, full of geometric and vegetal motifs. The tympanum depicts the Adoration of the Kings and their reception by St. Francis.

From the outside of the temple we can distinguish several heights, such as the cruceiro, the main chapel and the rest of the chapels of rectangular shape.

MASS SCHEDULE

Holidays throughout the year at 18:30

Centro Internacional de la Estampa Contemporánea

This foundation, created in 1997, aims to promote the use and dissemination of visual and graphic arts. With this objective in mind, it carries out various teaching and exhibition activities, as well as organizing workshops and courses throughout the year. It is located in what is known as Casa Nuñez, a modernist building built in 1923 and designed by the architect Rafael González Villar.

HOURS

Winter Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00 to 14:00 and from 16:00 to 20:00Summer Every day from 10:00 to 14:00 and from 17:00 to 21:00

Summer

INFORMATION OF INTEREST

Web: www.fundacionciec.comE-mail: ciec@fundacionciec.comTeléfono: 981 772 964

Casas Góticas

The town of Betanzos is famous for hiding among its streets hundreds of historic buildings representative of Galician architecture.

Among them all, the houses on Cerca street stand out, and specifically the one located at number 5, documented as the oldest of them all. It was built in the late fifteenth century by Lope Garcia de Vilousaz and is located on a staircase. It highlights its main door with an ogee arch and the decoration of its sides, being represented the two coats of arms of the family.

It is also worth mentioning another of these houses, number 9. Built in the 16th century it stands out again for its main door, where we can also appreciate the emblazoned family coat of arms.

Casa del Pueblo

This modernist house was designed by the architect Rodriguez Villar in 1918. With respect to its structure can be distinguished three bodies, being on the first floor where we find more decorative plastic elements. In its construction they used different materials such as tile, wood, cement of different textures, etc.

Ayuntamiento

The town hall of the town of Betanzos stands out for being a neoclassical building of the eighteenth century, designed by the architect Ventura Rodriguez. The space is spread over three floors, each with large green windows and a balcony on the second floor. On the main facade you can admire the royal arms of Spain, the Kingdom of Galicia and Betanzos, as well as four Ionic capitals that simulate holding the roof.

INFORMATION OF INTEREST

Web: www.betanzos.netTeléfono: 981 770 011

Parque del Pasatiempo

The Pasatiempo Park is one of the most emblematic places of the medieval town of Betanzos. Its construction was carried out in the last decade of the 19th century by one of the García Naveira brothers, philanthropists who emigrated to America and upon their return invested large sums of their capital in beautifying the city. Thus, they decided to build this theme park, where they captured representative elements of their travels around the world so that all Brigantines could learn from their experiences abroad. Over the years, new elements were added, thanks to the brothers’ acquisition of adjoining land, covering in its beginnings just over 90,000 square meters.

Already since its opening it served as an example and inspiration for many other theme parks, being one of the forerunners in its genre. During the first decades of the twentieth century lived its peak period, appearing reviews about it in numerous magazines and travel guides. But in the years following the Civil War it suffered a strong deterioration, not being restored until the acquisition of the park by the city council in the late eighties. Unfortunately, many of the original pieces were destroyed or stolen, but today we can still walk among all its vegetation and fountains, such as Cupid, Agriculture, the pond of the Retiro, the grotto of the Recoleta and so on.

Thus, through its numerous passages and tunnels, allegory of access to the unknown and mysterious, we will reach the upper level, presided over by a grandiose carved sculpture of a colossal lion.

Torre Municipal

The Clock Tower, one of the symbols of Betanzos, is located in the Plaza de la Constitución, specifically where years ago there was another tower attached to the church of Santiago.

This building dates from the 16th century and is shaped like a hexagonal prism on a square base. On the roof, the dog-headed gargoyles and three openings that provide light to the stairs of the tower stand out. Just below, on the second floor, are the coats of arms of the city and the clock, just above the door.