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Soutomaior Castle, a palace for science

2020-11-12T18:00:50.376Z


The Pontevedra fortress and its historic garden, with centenary trees and 25 species of camellias, on a Galician scientific tourism route


The interior of the Vigo estuary hides a castle that surprises for the beauty and conservation of its structure, but especially for the botanical park that embraces it.

Vineyards, camellias and unique trees coexist with this fortress, one of the few that survived the medieval wars in Galicia.

This place, the Soutomaior castle, located about 15 kilometers south of Pontevedra, has just been distinguished as a scientific tourism destination, a seal granted by the Observer platform, which highlights its historical garden and the scientific and informative activities that they have here place.

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It may be surprising that a castle has become a destination for scientific tourism, but knowing its history and its rich vegetation is explained.

Half fortress, half neo-Gothic palace, the conservation of this space is excellent, due in part to a small time trap: although its drawbridge and other architectural elements suggest remote times, part of its structure belongs to the 19th century.

Of course, its history dates back to the 12th century, when King Alfonso VII gave Mr. Paio Méndez Sorrede a soto

(souto,

in Galician).

Sorrede then boasts of having the

largest

souto

in the area, giving rise to the name by which the castle is known today, to the Pontevedra municipality where it is located and which also became a surname.

Later, in the 15th century, Pedro Álvarez de Soutomaior, known as

Pedro Madruga,

one of the most important characters in Galician history, became lord of the castle.

This nobleman was one of the great protagonists of the Irmandiñas wars, a series of peasant revolts in the second half of the 15th century against feudal exploitation that led to the destruction of most of the fortresses of the time.

Madruga, who was a bastard son and had a strained relationship with the Church, took advantage of this war to regroup the nobles, defeat the Irmandiños and establish himself as a key figure.

Legend has it that Pedro Madruga had a second life as Christopher Columbus and that in Soutomaior great treasures of the Americas were kept.

enlarge photo COVA FDEZ.

In the 19th century, the castle changed from a fortress to a palace thanks to the fact that Antonio Aguilar y Correa, Marquis of Vega de Armijo, who would become president of the Council of Ministers during the reign of Alfonso XIII, established his residence here.

Add to the architecture a beautiful gallery, which today is the castle's flagship, and begins a lush garden.

Here will also live his niece, María Vinyals, known as the

Red Marchioness

for her progressive ideas, especially focused on the feminist movement.

Also her second husband, Dr. Lluria, who would establish the first sanatorium in Galicia, dedicated to urological diseases.

In the 1980s, the Diputación de Pontevedra took over both the castle and its 25 hectares of land, making them accessible to the public, on their own or with guided tours (schedules and rates at castelodesoutomaior.com).

Its gardens are home to some of the most unique trees in the community, adding scientific and scenic value to the place.

Thus, one can contemplate an

araucaria araucana

- Patagonian pine, native to Chile - which is between 120 and 150 years old;

a redwood of the same age;

a

cryptomeria

or japonic cedar with a cavity at its base that can accommodate a standing man;

an ocote or Mexican pine, a pinsapo and a camellia with 18 trunks, the largest in the region.

Three Observer-marked destinations

The dunes of Corrubedo, near Ribeira (A Coruña).

David García Eirín getty images

The enclaves recognized by the Observer platform stand out for their scientific links.

In addition to Soutomaior, Galicia has some more examples.

Cova del Rei Cintolo.

Located in Mondoñedo (Lugo), it is the largest limestone cave in the community, with 6,500 meters in length and 75 in height.

The water flows forming lakes in its interior and is appreciated by cavers since it preserves its naturalness.

It is accessed only with a guide (+34 982 50 71 77).

Corrubedo.

This natural park and dune complex in Ribeira (A Coruña) stands out for the biodiversity of its ecosystem, formed by a process that began 15,000 years ago and has not stopped yet.

The Atlantic currents form a sandy cordon that, together with the wetlands, protect a great diversity of plants and animals, especially migratory birds.

Sierra de Manzaneda.

These gentle mountains that touch 1,800 meters in Ourense have their origin in the Primary Era.

The glaciers that were erected here left their traces in the cirques of As Lamas or San Lázaro.

The sierra offers walks among golden eagles, waterfalls and endemic plants.

Very floral orchards

The International Camellia Society named Soutomaior a Garden of International Excellence thanks to the more than 400 specimens of 25 different species that it treasures.

It is not the only space in the Rías Baixas with this certificate.

The climate has turned Galicia into an international benchmark for camellias.

Species native to China and Japan, they arrived in Galician lands in the 18th century to adorn the pazos and stately homes and were adapted in such a way that they have been adopted as if it were an autochthonous plant.

They bloom in winter, making them a highlight for walks between December and February, although some species begin to show their colors as early as November.

The

pazo de Lourizán

, next to the city of Pontevedra;

that of

Quiñones de León

, in Vigo, or the

pazo de Oca

, located in A Estrada and known as the Galician Versalles, are part of this elegant international route that immerses the traveler in majestic walks.

Soutomaior's floral richness is protected by the Areeiro Phytopathological Station, a research center specialized in pest control and in maintaining the diversity of fruit and ornamental trees.

They have several ongoing projects to study the behavior and adaptation of some species, as well as a germplasm bank, aimed at guaranteeing the conservation of the genetic biodiversity of plants and trees.

All these historical, botanical, research and dissemination conditions, through guided tours and participation in scientific publications, have led the castle to be recognized with the seal of quality in Scientific Tourism by Observer.

This platform promotes a tourist culture that is respectful of natural spaces, with special attention to the dissemination of scientific knowledge.

Its auditors have taken into account more than a hundred requirements, among which are sustainable management, scientific projects associated with space, biosafety protocols or information available to the traveler.

In addition, this seal is accompanied by a specific training of the tourist guides of the place and the creation of scientific and sustainable tourism content around the castle.

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Faith of errors

In a previous version of the article it was mentioned that the redwood in the garden of the Soutomaior castle reaches 137 meters in height, when in reality it has a height of 41.5 meters and is located 137 meters above sea level .

Source: elparis

All news articles on 2020-11-12

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