Celanova is a municipality in the province of Ourense, 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 of Terra de Celanova. Situated near the border with

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, the municipality is bordered by Ramirás, Cartelle, A Merca, A Bola, Verea and Quintela de Leirado. The Arnoia river crosses the southern limits of the township. The municipality has 6,020 inhabitants. The provincial capital Ourense is located 23 km away on

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights of way. In the United States, it is also used as an equivalent term to controlled-access highway, or ...

N-540 (Ourense to Portugal via Lindoso). The Monastery of San Salvador de Celanova is the most important building in a well-preserved historical center. It was founded by St. Rudesind (San Rosendo) in 936. The nave is considered the most perfect Galician

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

church. In the

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of the monastery can be found the pre-Romanesque chapel of San Miguel, one of the oldest in Spain. The town preserves ancient streets, with several houses that display coats of arms. One of these

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word ''manse'' originally defined a property l ...

s was the birthplace of the great poet of the Galician Rexurdimento (Rebirth), Manuel Curros Enríquez. Nearby can be found the castro (pre-Roman citadel) of Castromao. The visitor can still see the circular dwellings and defensive walls built by the Romans. A few kilometres from the town lies the village of Vilanova dos Infantes with a medieval tower from the 14th century. It belonged to the Counts of Monterrey. Close to this perfectly restored village is the sanctuary of La Virgen del Cristal, in which can be seen a strange transparent stone, perhaps a

meteorite A meteorite is a rock (geology), rock that originated in outer space and has fallen to the surface of a planet or Natural satellite, moon. When the original object enters the atmosphere, various factors such as friction, pressure, and chemical ...

, containing what some believe to be the image of the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Celanova is twinned with: *

Guadix Guadix (, ) is a city and municipalities of Spain, municipality in southern Spain, in the Granada (province), province of Granada. The city lies at an altitude of 913 metres, in the centre of the Hoya of Guadix, a high plain at the northern footh ...

, Andalusia, Spain * Rubí, Catalonia, Spain * Santo Tirso,

References

{{authority control Municipalities in the Province of Ourense

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

See also

References