Muxía () is a coastal town and municipality in the

province of A Coruña The province of A Coruña (; es, La Coruña ; historical en, link=no, Corunna) is the northwesternmost province of Spain, and one of the four provinces which constitute the autonomous community of Galicia. This province is surrounded by the At ...

in the autonomous community of Galicia in northwestern

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. It belongs to the

comarca A ''comarca'' (, or , or ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a "march, ...

Fisterra Fisterra (; es, Finisterre) is a municipality in the province of A Coruña, in the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain. It belongs to the comarca of Fisterra. Fisterra is on Cape Finisterre, the final destination for many pilgrims on the Wa ...

. It is one of the final destinations for pilgrims on the Way of St. James after visiting the shrine of the

apostle An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...

Saint James the Great James the Great, also known as James, son of Zebedee, Saint James the Great, Saint James the Greater, Saint James the Elder, or Saint Jacob (Aramaic ܝܥܩܘܒ ܒܪ ܙܒܕܝ, Arabic يعقوب, Hebrew בן זבדי , '' Yaʿăqōḇ'', Latin '' ...

Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, as the destination of the Way of S ...

Muxía is known for its beaches. It has an active fishing industry. Muxía is part of the ' Costa da Morte' or 'Costa de la Muerte' (i.e., the "Coast of Death"). The Costa Da Morte was given this name because of the large number of shipwrecks along its rocky shore. The Costa Da Morte is one of the three regions of the Costa del Marisco, or "The Seafood Coast." Muxía is 3 kilometers from a famous

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monastery that is now used as a church, the Church of San Xulián de Moraime. The name of the town, "Muxía", refers to the monks who established this monastery. Another famous church in the area is the Santuario da Virxe da Barca which stands on a rocky ridge above the surf. There are several locations along the Costa da Morte that have a " pedra de abalar", (i.e., an "oscillating stone"), or

rocking stone Rocking stones (also known as logan stones or logans) are large stones that are so finely balanced that the application of just a small force causes them to rock. Typically, rocking stones are residual corestones formed initially by spheroidal ...

. One of these is in Muxía, the "Pedra da Barca". These are large stones that are balanced on a point, so that they can be moved back and forth easily, or even wiggle in response to the wind. These were used at one time to determine the guilt or innocence of those accused of serious crimes. There was a serious oil spill involving the oil tanker "Prestige" along the Muxía part of the coast in November, 2002, leaking about 70,000 gallons of oil into the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

History

In the 5th century and 6th century, Galicia was part of the Germanic Suevi kingdom. The

Moors The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct or ...

replaced the Germanic rulers, who were displaced in the 8th or 9th century by the king of

Asturias Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: ''Principao d'Asturias''), is an autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensiv ...

. The monastery near Muxía was named "Mosteiro de Moraime" to honor the saint, San Xiao de Moraime, and was established in the early 12th century. Not long after, in 1105, it was attacked and destroyed by

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

pirates, and later by

Saxons The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

. Alfonso Raimúndez, the future King and

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

Alfonso VII of León and Castile, had lived in the area when he was younger and was educated by Pedro Froilaz de Traba. Although he was only 14 at the time, Alfonso restored the monastery with a donation in 1119. The nearby church dedicated to "Nosa Senora da Barca", the " Santuario da Virxe da Barca" was originally a pre-Christian Celtic shrine and sacred spot. This part of Spain was resistant to conversion to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

, and was only converted in the 12th century. The Christians built a

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...

age on this location at first, and later the present church in the 17th century. On December 25, 2013, the Santuario da Virxe da Barca was destroyed by a fire caused by lightning. Legend has it that St. James the Greater was trying to Christianize the local inhabitants and was having no luck and was discouraged. The

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

appeared to St. James to comfort him. The Celtic stones near the church are now said to be remains of the Virgin Mary's stone boat. Muxía was purchased by King Carlos of Castile (the Holy Roman Emperor

Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infa ...

) in the 16th century so he could have a more convenient port, and thus improve his kingdom's commerce and connections with

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, where his cousin was

Mary I Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, and as "Bloody Mary" by her Protestant opponents, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain from January 1556 until her death in 1558. She ...

. Muxía was destroyed in the 19th century by

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

´s forces.

Demography

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INE Archiv
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Gallery

File:Illa do Castelo, Touriñán.jpg, Castelo Island, Touriñán File:A Ferida escultura en Muxía 05.jpg, Sculpture "A Ferida" (The Wound) by Alberto Bañuelos File:San Xulián de Moraime.Muxía.Galicia 278.jpg, San Xulián de Moraime, Muxía File:Porta no Santuario da Virxe da Barca, Muxía.jpg, Doorway of the ancient Sanctuary of Virxe da Barca "A Ferida" by Alberto Bañuelos is a sculpture that symbolizes the wound that has been done to the sea by the spilling of 66,000 tons of oil when the

Prestige Prestige refers to a good reputation or high esteem; in earlier usage, ''prestige'' meant "showiness". (19th c.) Prestige may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Films * ''Prestige'' (film), a 1932 American film directed by Tay Garnet ...

tanker broke apart off the coast of Muxia on November 13, 2002. The sculpture is 11 meters high, and weights over 400 tons.

References

External links

pictures from the Prestige oil spill

A tourist article

Another tourist article

* encyclopedia entry for Galicia, Columbia University Press * ttp://www.soios.com/soios/historia/trebas/menxaos.php Historia de Galicia de don Benito Vicetto, tomo I, Ferrol 1865.
Muxía, the wound
trailer for documentary about impact of the Prestige oil spill on Muxía {{DEFAULTSORT:Muxia Tourism in Galicia (Spain) Municipalities in the Province of A Coruña