Ourense (; ) is a

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

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 ...

, in the southeastern part of the

autonomous community The autonomous communities () are the first-level administrative divisions of Spain, created in accordance with the Spanish Constitution of 1978, with the aim of guaranteeing limited autonomy to the nationalities and regions that make up Sp ...

of Galicia. It is bordered by the provinces 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 ...

to the west,

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 of Lugo. The municipality had a population of 100,060 in 2024, ...

to the north, León and Zamora, (which both belong to

Castile and León Castile and León is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwestern Spain. Castile and León is the largest autonomous community in Spain by area, covering 94,222 km2. It is, however, sparsely populated, with a pop ...

) to the east, and by

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 ...

to the south. With an area of 7,278 square kilometres, it is the only landlocked province in Galicia. The provincial capital,

Ourense Ourense (; ) is a city and the capital of the province of province of Ourense, Ourense, located in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, northwestern Spain. It is on the Camino Sanabrés path o ...

, is the largest population centre, with the rest of the province being predominantly rural.

Denomination

''Ourense'' (in Galician) is the official name adopted by Parliament in Spain, according to Law 2/1998.

Geography

Ourense is surrounded by

mountains A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher ...

on all sides. These mountains historically isolated the province from the more populated Galician coast. Until a highway was built in recent years linking Ourense with

Vigo Vigo (, ; ) is a city and Municipalities in Spain, municipality in the province of province of Pontevedra, Pontevedra, within the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, Spain. Located in the northwest ...

in the west and Benavente in the east, the only quick way for people to enter or leave the province was by railway. The principal river system is the Miño-Sil, the fertile valleys of which produce corn (maize) and grapes for wine. Due to the many rapids these rivers are not navigable, but they have been harnessed for hydroelectric power. The Sil flows through a deep canyon and has become a sought-after tourist site for its river cruises and views. The

Limia River The Lima River (Portuguese name; known as Limia in Spanish and Galician) runs west from the autonomous community of Galicia in Spain to Portugal, where it enters the Atlantic Ocean at Viana do Castelo, covering . Etymology and history The Rom ...

begins north of

Xinzo de Limia Xinzo de Limia () is a town and municipality in the province of Ourense, in the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain. It belongs to the comarca of A Limia. It lies on the important Autovia das Rias Baixas in the fertile valley of Antela, a ...

and flows south towards Portugal; the

Lindoso reservoir Alto Lindoso Dam () is a concrete double curvature arch dam on the Lima River. It is located in the municipality Ponte da Barca, in Viana do Castelo District, Portugal. The dam lies in Peneda-Gerês National Park close to the border with Spain. T ...

is on this river as it crosses the border into Portugal. The

Tâmega River Tâmega may refer to: * Tâmega River, in Spain and Portugal * Tâmega Subregion, Portugal * Guilherme Tâmega, six time world bodyboarding champion * List of ships of the Portuguese Navy#Destroyers, ''Tamega'', a Portuguese Navy destroyer {{dab, ...

, another important Portuguese river begins north of

Verín Verín is a town and municipality in the southeast of the province of Ourense, in the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain. The population of the municipality is about 14,433. It is located 70 kilometers east of the provincial capital of Our ...

. The mountainous terrain and isolation have kept the province economically challenged and encouraged much emigration to the rest of Spain and to the New World. There is some wine production along the Miño valley and near

. There is also considerable pig breeding and potato growing, especially around the area of Xinzo da Limia, in the drained lakebed of Antela, which until the 1960s was the largest fresh-water lake in Spain.

Protected areas

The province has several protected areas and some natural parks, including: * Baixa Limia-Serra do Xures, near the border with Portugal *Natural Park da Serra de Enciña da Lastra *O Invernadeiro

Demography

Of the province's population of 309,986 (2018), about 30 per cent in the capital, Ourense, with 105,000 inhabitants. There are 92 municipalities in Ourense. Other than the capital the most important are

O Barco de Valdeorras O Barco de Valdeorras is a municipality in the province of Ourense (province), Ourense, in the autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, Spain. It belongs to the Comarcas of Galicia, comarca of Valdeorras, serving as its capital. It is lo ...

Ribadavia Ribadavia is a town and municipality located in the southwest of the province of Ourense, in the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain. It belongs to the comarca of O Ribeiro. The urban area lies on the right bank of the Miño river and the la ...

Allariz Allariz is a town and municipality () in the province of Ourense, in the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain. It occupies the center of the western half of the province, connecting with the towns (''concellos'') of Taboadela, Paderne, Sand ...

A Rua A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, and others worldwide. Its name in English is '' a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes''. It is similar in shape to the Ancient ...

, O Carballiño,

Viana do Bolo Viana do Bolo is a municipality in the province of Ourense, in the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain. It belongs to the comarca of Viana. The ''Entrudio'' (carnival) of Viana do Bolo is its most famous celebration. It features the character ...

, and

. As of 2018, Ourense has the lowest birthrate of any Spanish province, posting a population growth rate of -2,993.

Population development

The historical population is given in the following chart: Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.7) id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1) ImageSize = width:600 height:auto barincrement:30 PlotArea = left:40 bottom:40 top:20 right:20 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:500 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal AlignBars = late ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:50 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:10 start:0 BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo PlotData= color:skyblue width:20 shift:(-50,-5) fontsize:M anchor:till bar:1877 from:0 till:398 text:397,976 bar:1887 from:0 till:415 text:415,237 bar:1900 from:0 till:420 text:419,665 bar:1910 from:0 till:446 text:446,342 bar:1920 from:0 till:466 text:466,398 bar:1930 from:0 till:476 text:476,336 bar:1940 from:0 till:495 text:494,966 bar:1950 from:0 till:494 text:494,283 bar:1960 from:0 till:488 text:488,241 bar:1970 from:0 till:441 text:441,260 bar:1980 from:0 till:430 text:430,159 bar:1990 from:0 till:353 text:353,491 bar:2000 from:0 till:338 text:338,446 bar:2010 from:0 till:329 text:328,697 bar:2020 from:0 till:307 text:306,650 TextData= pos:(35,20) fontsize:M text:"Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, INE"

Economy

Industries include chemical manufacture, milk production, water bottling near Verín, and clothing manufacture near the capital city of Ourense. One of the largest poultry processing companies is also located in the industrial zone near that city. The province has also four

wine regions Wines are produced in significant growing regions where vineyards are planted. Wine grapes berries mostly grow between the 30th and the 50th degrees of latitude, in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, typically in regions of Mediterranean ...

, out of five in the whole region of Galicia. Ribeiro, Ribeira Sacra,

Monterrei Monterrei, historically spelled Monterrey in Spanish and English, is a municipality in the province of Ourense, in the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain. It belongs to the comarca of Verín. Monterrei is well known for its castle, built i ...

and Valdeorras. Although not a major tourist center, tourism contributes somewhat to the economy. The river valleys attract holidaymakers, and there are several preserved medieval towns (

and

References

External links

Tourist infoPhotographs of Ourense
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ourense, Province of