Caldas de Reis is a municipality in the north of the province of
Pontevedra
Pontevedra (, ) is a city in the autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, in northwestern Spain. It is the capital of both the ''Pontevedra (comarca), Comarca'' and Province of Pontevedra, and the capital of the Rías Baixas. It is als ...
, in the autonomous community of
Galicia,
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
. It belongs to the
comarca
A ''comarca'' (, , , ) 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, mark ...
of
Caldas.
History
In
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...
's Tables, the town Caldas de Reis (in
Galician language
Galician ( , ), also known as Galego (), is a Iberian Romance languages, Western Ibero-Romance language. Around 2.4 million people have at least some degree of competence in the language, mainly in Galicia (Spain), Galicia, an Autonomo ...
) appears as ''Aquae calidae'' () and in the ''
Itinerarium Antonini'' as ''Aquae Celenae''.
Lucas de Tuy calls it ''Caldas de Rege''. F. Pérez calls it Cilenos or Celenae.
[F. Pérez, v. ''Cilenos'', i]
''Dictionnaire d'Histoire et de Géographie ecclésiastiques''
vol. XII, Paris 1953, col. 830
A bishop of this see named Ortigius was at the
first Council of Toledo
The First Council of Toledo was held at Toledo, Spain, in September of 400. The council was assembled under Archbishop Patronus with its primary purpose to condemn the Priscillian heresy, to receive back Priscillians, and uphold the Nicene Creed. ...
at the end of the 4th century. Of two bishops consecrated later, named respectively Pastor and Siagrius, one appears to have been for this diocese.
[
In the mid-6th century, the bishop's seat was transferred to Iria Flavia, now the Archdiocese of ]Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela, simply Santiago, or Compostela, in the province of Province of A Coruña, A Coruña, is the capital of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city ...
. Thus, no longer a residential bishopric, Caldas de Reis is today listed by the Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
as a titular see
A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbi ...
.[''Annuario Pontificio 2013'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013 ), p. 864]
The town is the second to last stop on the Portuguese Way path of the Camino de Santiago
The Camino de Santiago (, ; ), or the Way of St. James in English, is a network of pilgrims' ways or pilgrimages leading to the shrine of the apostle James in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain, where tra ...
before it reaches Santiago de Compostella
Santiago de Compostela, simply Santiago, or Compostela, in the province of A Coruña, 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 Cathedra ...
.
Hot springs
Caldas de Reis is known for its hot springs such as those at Acuña Thermal Spa and Dávila Thermal Spa. The mineral content at Acuña is high in bicarbonate, fluoride, lithium, nitrogen, silica, sodium, sulphur, and radioactive elements. The hot water emerges from the thermal springs at 42 °C.
References
Municipalities in the Province of Pontevedra
Hot springs of Spain
Springs of Spain
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