Moaña is a municipality located in Galicia, Spain in 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 2018, it had a population of 19,448 inhabitants. It is one of the five municipalities with Bueu, Cangas do Morrazo, Marin and Vilaboa that forms the peninsula of O Morrazo. This peninsula separates the Ria of Vigo from the Ria of Pontevedra. The coast of Moaña has several beaches and the area combines tourism with traditional seafood production. The surrounding sea contains sea farms where

mussels Mussel () is the common name used for members of several families of bivalve molluscs, from saltwater and freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other edible clams, whic ...

oysters Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of Seawater, salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in Marine (ocean), marine or Brackish water, brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly Calcification, calcified, a ...

and other species are cultivated and it is an idyllic place for practicing sea sports activities. The Strait of Rande, where the

Rande Bridge The Rande Bridge (, ) is a cable-stayed bridge 9 kilometres from the city of Vigo and 18 kilometres from the city of Pontevedra, in the Province of Pontevedra, Spain. It spans Vigo bay across the Rande Strait, linking the municipalities of Redonde ...

now connects Moaña with the municipality of Redondela, was the scene of the

Battle of Vigo Bay The Battle of Vigo Bay, also known as the Battle of Rande (; ), was a naval engagement fought on 23 October 1702 during the opening years of the War of the Spanish Succession. The engagement followed an Anglo-Dutch attempt to capture the Spanish ...

(or Battle of Rande). Moaña has developed a significant cultural life with the highlights of this being the Interceltic Festival of Morrazo, the Week of Carnival and numerous other local feasts. Social movements were relevant in Moaña in the first half of the 20th century where the presence of the CNT (National Confederation of Labour) was significant. In fact, the current local pub/bar for retired people was the head office of this syndicate in Moaña during the

Second Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of democratic government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931 after the deposition of Alfonso XIII, King Alfonso XIII. ...

History

The first reports of human occupation of these lands belong to the

Acheulean Acheulean (; also Acheulian and Mode II), from the French after the type site of Saint-Acheul, is an archaeological industry of stone tool manufacture characterized by the distinctive oval and pear-shaped "hand axes" associated with ''Homo ...

period (75,000 BC). In the parishes of Domaio, O Carme,

Meira Meira is a municipality in the Galician province of Lugo Lugo (, ) is a city in northwestern Spain in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia. It is the capital of the Lugo (province), province ...

and Tiran are also found flint tools and the remains of settlements dating from the

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

to the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. Elements of the

Beaker culture The Bell Beaker culture, also known as the Bell Beaker complex or Bell Beaker phenomenon, is an archaeological culture named after the inverted-bell Beaker (archaeology), beaker drinking vessel used at the beginning of the European Bronze Age, ...

outside funeral environments were documented for the first time in Galicia in the area of A Fontela (Domaio). Tools and weapons of copper and bronze were found in Meira, Domaio and Tiran, where some relevant petroglyphs can be visited. The

Castro culture Castro culture (, , , , meaning "culture of the hillforts") is the archaeological term for the material culture of the northwestern regions of the Iberian Peninsula (present-day northern and central Portugal together with the Spanish regions of ...

is widely represented in the municipality with strong indications of

romanization In linguistics, romanization is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Latin script, Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and tra ...

. In the

, Moaña was under the jurisdiction of the bishop of Iria Flavia and

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 ...

. In the 7th century

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 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

attacks caused a loss of population throughout the Morrazo, but from the 12th century, took place a new resurgence of the population, after Archbishop

Diego Gelmírez Diego Gelmírez or Xelmírez (; c. 1069 – c. 1140) was the second bishop (from 1100) and first archbishop (from 1120) of the Catholic Archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, modern Spain. He is a prominent figure in the history of ...

established a plan to defend the coast. From these dates are the churches of San Martino and San Xoán of Tiran. From the 14th century, families like the Meira, the Valadares or Soutomaior took control of the town. Noteworthy is the episode of the destruction of Meira Tower during the Irmandiño Wars (1467–1469). The introduction of

maize Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...

in the 17th century, changed local economy. Then 90% of arable land is utilized for the cultivation of this plant. As consequence, there is a raising of water mills along the rivers in the district. Fishing has been a key activity in the local economy during all that time. The arrival of entrepreneurs from

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

in the 17th century established the fish canning industry, generating a population and economic growth quite remarkable. In 1702 comes the Battle of Rande where British and Netherland forces take and plunder Domaio, Meira and Tiran. One hundred years later (1809) battles are fought in this land against the French invaders.

Climate

Moaña has a mild

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

. Temperatures are not extreme, having an annual average of 15 °C. Precipitation ranges between 1300 and 1500 mm per year.

Economy

The economy of Moaña has always been related to the sea. This relationship covers all the economic sectors. The activities of the primary sector complement industrial and services industries, which are also based on the maritime activities. The primary sector (mainly fishing) contains 24.4% of the working population (2006 data). 39% of the working population work within the secondary sector. This sector's main activities are building,

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are shipbuilding, built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Compared to shipyards, which are sometimes m ...

activities and the canning of seafood. The services sector has 37% of the working population with shopping and tourism being the main activities. Tourism amenities within the area include a golf camp and three pleasure harbors.

Hydrology

Beaches

The whole south limit of Moaña is coast. There are a series of rocky cliffs and beaches from the strait of Rande to the municipality of Cangas. Cliffs are short of height and there are some small beaches at their bottom. Large beaches are formed in the inlets. The most popular are: *A Xunqueira Beach, located in the city centre. It is surrounded by a park and sportive premises. *O Con Beach, located between the main dock of Moaña and Cortés cape. Good quality of sand. Fully equipped

Blue Flag beach The Blue Flag is a certification by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) that a beach, marina, or sustainable boating tourism operator meets its standards. The Blue Flag is a trademark owned by FEE, which is a Not-for-profit organi ...

. *Canabal Beach or Germans' Beach, located in the parish of Tirán, it is a very quiet place. Urban legend says that during the Second World War some German soldiers lived there. *Domaio Beach, located next to the dock of Domaio. *Meira Beach, located next to A Xunqueira beach, between Saint Bartolome's Island and the coast of the parish of Meira. *Raven's Nest Beach (Praia do Niño do corvo), small beach located at the bottom of a short clift in the coast of Tirán. *A Borna Beach, located in the parish of Domaio. *Videira Beach, located in the parish of Tirán.

Rivers

There are several rivers and loads of streams, highlighting: *A Fraga's River or Thieve's River It starts in Xaxán Mountain and it flows into the A Xunqueira beach. It is the largest in the entire municipality. It contains several small deep pools and waterfalls. There are 31 restored

watermills A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...

integrated in a ''Watermill’s Route''. Three of those are still in active. *Freixa's River *Hell's River *Miñouba River, It starts in the Faro Mountain in the parish of Domaio. It has the famous Moura's deep pool. *Ravine's River

Monuments and places of interest

*Country House of O Rosal (Pazo do Rosal), interesting example of civil architecture in second half of 18th century. In the chapel is buried the rear admiral

Casto Méndez Núñez Casto Secundino María Méndez Núñez (1 July 1824 – 21 August 1869) was a Spanish Navy officer. He served in the First Italian War of Independence in Italy in 1849, the Spanish-Moro Conflict in the Philippines in 1861, and the Domi ...

. *

Dolmen A dolmen, () or portal tomb, is a type of single-chamber Megalith#Tombs, megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the Late Neolithic period (4000 ...

of Chan Da Arquiña, within its boundaries is the highest point of Morrazo, Mount Faro, 622m high. Near the top is a recreational environment in which it is located this important megalithic monument with more than 5,000 years old. It consists of a polygonal chamber composed of eleven upright stones and a corridor. It was built facing east. Excavations found a complete funerary equipment consisting of stone tools and pottery fragments. *Moaña Leisure Harbour, where to practice sea sport activities like sailing or sport fishing. * Image:entrada_beque.jpg, O Beque Reception Image:mesas_terraza_beque1.jpg, O Beque Terrace Image:piscina_beque.jpg, O Beque Swimming Pool Image:bancos_madera_exterior_beque.jpg, O Beque Picnic Area *Saint Martin's Church (Igrexa de San Martiño), built in the 12th century, It is one of the best examples of the romanesque art in Galicia. *Saint John of Tiran's Church, little church built on the period of transition from the late romanesque to the gothic art of the 13th century. *Saint Eurlalia of Meira's Church , baroque church. Image:Moaña iglesia de San Martiño 1.JPG, Saint Martins Image:Moaña iglesia de San Pedro de Domaio.JPG, Saint Peter of Domaio Image:Moaña iglesia de San Xuan de Tirán.JPG, Saint John of Tirán *Water Mill Route, where thirty one mills have been restored and integrated into this walk. It runs for 6 km through the river's bank which is covered by a lush Atlantic forest well preserved. Three of the water mills are still active. Image:Water Mill in A Fraga.jpg, ''Water Mill’s Route'' Image:A Fraga Water Mill2.JPG, Water Mill Image:Riodafraga.jpg, Fraga Stream

Sports

Rowing is one of the most popular sports. There are two active

rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically a ...

clubs, S.D. Samertolameu (Meira) and S.D. Tirán, who compete in the highest category. In 1960, a crew made up of the best rowers from both clubs, under the name of ''Moaña'', won the Rowing Championship of Spain. After that, the S.D. Tirán won three more times this competition in 1961, 1996 and 1997.

Sister cities

* San Martín de Trevejo

Parishes

* Domaio *

* Moaña * Tirán

Notable people from Moaña

, Spanish rear admiral *

Santiago Castroviejo Santiago Castroviejo y Bolíbar (abbreviation Castrov.; 27 August 1946 in Tirán, Moaña – 30 September 2009 in Madrid) was a Spanish botanist. He is credited with identifying and naming 63 species in the IPNI (International Plant Names Index) ...

, botanist * Anxo Lorenzo, piper * Jonathan Aspas, football player *

Iago Aspas Iago Aspas Juncal (; born 1 August 1987) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a striker for La Liga club Celta, which he captains. He has spent most of his career with Celta, appearing in 524 official games across 16 seasons and ...

, football player * Dani Rivas, motorcycle racer

Picture gallery

File:PRAIA DO CON Anos 20 foto A.C. NÓS.jpg , O Con Beach in 1920 Image:Moaña fuente de Berdocedo.JPG , Public Fountain Image:Moaña plaza do concello.JPG , City Hall Image:Moaña vista meira y domaio.jpg , General View