Lugo

History

Overview of the Cathedral of Santa María in the city of Lugo.

The city was probably founded by Celtic inhabitants of the region and dedicated to Lugos,^[5] a pan-Celtic God of light, oaths and arts. Later conquered by Paulus Fabius Maximus and called Lucus Augusti^[6] in 13 BC on the positioning of a Roman military camp,^{[nb 1]} while the Roman Empire completed the conquest, in the North, of the Iberian Peninsula. Situated in what was the Roman province of Hispania Tarraconensis, it was the chief town of the tribe of the Capori. Though small it was the most important Roman town in what became Gallaecia during the Roman period, the seat of a conventus, one of three in Gallaecia, and later became one of the two capitals of Gallaecia, and gave its name to the Callaïci Lucenses. It was centrally situated in a large gold mining region, which during the Roman period was very active. The Conventus Lucensis, according to Pliny, began at the river Navilubio, and contained 16 peoples; besides the Celtici and Lebuni. Though these tribes were not powerful, and their names "barbarous" to Roman ears, there were among them 166,000 freemen.^[7] The city stood on one of the upper branches of the Minius (modern Minho), on the road from Bracara to Asturica,^[8] and had some famous baths, near from the bridge across the Minho.

Lucus was the seat of a bishopric by the later 5th century at the latest and remained an administrative center under the Suebi and Visigoths, before going into such a decline that the site was found to be deserted in the middle of the 8th century by Bishop Odoario, who set about reviving it. 10th century attempts at rebuilding its casas destructas (abandoned tenements) suggest that it remained a town only on paper: the seat of a bishopric, administered by a count, from which royal charters were issued. "Its commercial and industrial role was insignificant", Richard Fletcher wrote of 11th century Lugo.^[9]

During the Middle Ages Lugo, like Santiago de Compostela, was a center of pilgrimage, because the cathedral had the special privilege, it still retains today, of exposing to the public the consecrated host twenty-four hours a day. In the 18th century Lugo was granted the privilege of organizing the fairs of St. Froilán. During the Modern Age, Lugo had a certain supremacy, although other nearby towns such as Mondoñedo or Ribadeo disputed it. It was not until the division of the state into provinces in 1833 and the creation of provincial governments that Lugo has become the most important town from the province of Lugo, because of its capital status. This rise has been bolstered by the arrival of the first railroad to the city in 1875.

During the 20th century the city continued to grow as the administration and services center of the province. In 1936, when the Civil War broke out, the city became quickly under the Nationalists control. In the 1970s the city met important reforms, like the development of the Ceao Industrial Area (1979) and the complete restoration of the Roman walls.

Infanta Elena, the elder daughter of King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofía of Spain and fourth in the line of succession to the Spanish throne, has been Duchess of Lugo since 1995.

In 2000, the recognition of the Roman walls on UNESCO's World Heritage Site was an important event in the city.

Old Roman bridge over the Miño river.

Economy

Lugo is a city of services. The main activities are commercial, the administration (offices of the autonomous and central Governments) and educational and health services (the recently opened Hospital Universitario Lucus Augusti is the largest in Galicia).^[10] The steady increase of population of the city has coincided with the development of the major economic sectors of the municipality. Industry is scarce and almost exclusively dedicated to the processing of agricultural products (dairy, meat, timber ...).

There is a shopping center on the outskirts of the city (As Termas), with an Eroski hypermarket, cinemas, clothing stores like H&M, NewYorker or Cortefiel and many restaurants and fast food chains like McDonald's. A new shopping center (Abella) is under construction, which will host an E.Leclerc hypermarket.

The University of Santiago de Compostela has several faculties at its Lugo Campus, one of the most important being the Faculty of Veterinary sciences, one of the leading in its field in Spain.

The daily newspaper El Progreso,^[11] is published in the city. It's the most read newspaper in the province of Lugo.

There is a private aerodrome in the nearby town of Rozas, owned by the Spanish Ministry of Defence and administered by Real Aero Club de Lugo. In 2011, the Ministry of Defence transferred the installations to INTA, Spain's space agency, in order to convert it into a center of aeronautical research,^[12]

Main sights

Roman walls of Lugo

Lugo is the only city in the world to be surrounded by completely intact Roman walls, which reach a height of 10 to 15 metres along a 2117 m circuit ringed with 71 towers. The walk along the top is continuous round the circuit, and features ten gates. These 3rd century walls are protected by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. The bridge over the Minho is essentially of Roman date, though many repairs over the centuries have effaced its Roman character.

Other sources suggest that the name Lucus Augusti comes from the Latin word Lucus, which means "sacred grove", or "sacred forest", as the city was founded on the place of a small grove.

Besides the walls, sights include:

• the Cathedral, dedicated to St. Mary, built about 1129, though the actual main façade and towers date only from 1769. Its elegant stalls were carved by Francisco Mouro in 1624. This cathedral enjoys the privilege of having the Blessed Sacrament perpetually exposed, a fact commemorated in the armorial bearings of the town.
• Convent and church of St. Francis, in Gothic style, with remains of the sober cloister. It currently houses the Museo Provincial, which shows a display of Galician art and other building of the 18th century
• Church of St. Dominic
• City Hall (Casa do Concello in Galician), a large Baroque structure with a mid-18th century façade. Annexed is a clock tower, originally from the 16th century, but rebuilt later.
• Palace of the arts (Círculo das Artes)
• The Roman Bridge over river Minho.
• Rosalía de Castro Park, a 23 ha park in the city center. It has a small pond in the middle and contains many species of trees, like three sequoias.

Two important festivals take place in Lugo:

• Saint Froilan festivity, which lasts from 4–12 October, dedicated to the city's patron saint. It's a Fiesta of National Tourist Interest and it's very popular to eat polbo á feira in one of the many stands near Rosalía de Castro park.
• Arde Lucus, festival celebrated 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 its latest editions it has reached nearly half a million visitors.

Sports

The most popular and known professional team of the city is the basketball team CB Breogán, currently playing in LEB league, the second division in Spain, although it has played many seasons in Liga ACB the top Spanish basketball league. The team occupies the 9th position in the historical ranking of that league.

Futsal is also popular in Lugo, represented by Azkar Lugo, which plays in Spanish first division.

The football team of Lugo is CD Lugo, currently playing in Spanish Segunda División.

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Lugo is twinned with

• Dinan, France
• Viana do Castelo, Portugal
• Qinhuangdao, People's Republic of China

See also

• Diocese of Lugo
• List of Spanish cities
• List of municipalities in Lugo

Notes

References

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton. 
•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Smith, William, ed. (1854–1857). "^{article name needed}". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. London: John Murray. 

External links

• Media related to Lugo at Wikimedia Commons

Cities in Galicia Santiago de Compostela A Coruña Vigo Pontevedra Ferrol Lugo Ourense

Municipalities in the province of Lugo Abadín Alfoz Antas de Ulla Baleira Baralla Barreiros Becerreá Begonte Bóveda Burela Carballedo Castro de Rei Castroverde Cervantes Cervo Chantada O Corgo Cospeito Folgoso do Courel A Fonsagrada Foz Friol Guitiriz Guntín O Incio Láncara Lourenzá Lugo Meira Mondoñedo Monforte de Lemos Monterroso Muras Navia de Suarna Negueira de Muñiz As Nogais Ourol Outeiro de Rei Palas de Rei Pantón Paradela O Páramo A Pastoriza Pedrafita do Cebreiro A Pobra do Brollón Pol A Pontenova Portomarín Quiroga Rábade Ribadeo Ribas de Sil Ribeira de Piquín Riotorto Samos Sarria O Saviñao Sober Taboada Trabada Triacastela O Valadouro O Vicedo Vilalba Viveiro Xermade Xove

Capitals of provinces of Spain A Coruña Albacete Alicante Almería Ávila Badajoz Barcelona Bilbao Burgos Cáceres Cádiz Castellón de la Plana Ciudad Real Córdoba Cuenca Donostia-San Sebastián Girona Granada Guadalajara Huelva Huesca Jaén Logroño Las Palmas León Lleida Lugo Madrid Málaga Murcia Ourense Oviedo Palencia Palma Pamplona Pontevedra Salamanca Santander Santa Cruz Segovia Seville Soria Tarragona Teruel Toledo Valencia Valladolid Vitoria-Gasteiz Zamora Zaragoza