A magical and mysterious walk along the route of the abandoned paper mills of Lousame

The route of the abandoned paper mills in the

of Lousame (A Coruña) runs through a lush riverside forest of alder, ash, oak, laurel and holly that crosses a narrow, stony and slippery path for fishermen attached to the streams. the trout rivers of San Xusto and Vilacoba.

The humidity of the site is felt by those who enter the forest, the stones and the trunks of the trees.

The roots of the latter are added to the songs as natural obstacles that must be avoided along the path that runs through this jungle and changing environment.

It is a humid and mysterious walk that goes back to a very productive time in this area of ​​the municipality of Lousame, in the surroundings of the Muros Noia estuary in A Coruña.

Dual toponymy to satisfy the two main towns of the estuary, Muros and Noia.

Two medieval and marine towns.

The first is located at the gates of the Atlantic and the second, at the mouth of the Vilacoba in the estuary.

River through which this 25-kilometre route passes with little light and coolness accompanied by the sound of water.

Water that, thanks to its good quality and the proximity of Santiago de Compostela and the commercial ports, promoted the construction of paper mills at the end of the 19th century.

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An exciting route through Spanish heritage in danger of disappearing

The paper mills, with the passage of time, have become forgotten ruins lined with ivy, moss and lichen, which the ferns seem to fan.

It is as if nature were swallowing them little by little.

That is why they cannot be seen at first sight, despite being, some of them, constructions with thick walls up to 20 meters high and others as many wide.

A four-story building.

They are like stone ghosts that suddenly appear.

Founded in 1863 by Domingo Fontán, the Fontán paper factory is the largest of the seven that make up this route.

It is located on the banks of the Vilacoba River and stamped paper for official State documents was manufactured there.

What remains standing is a large block of stone,

extracted from a castro that is nearby and where some local settlers settled before the Romans arrived.

Said wall has windows, necessary for the facilities to be ventilated and to dry the paper that was manufactured.

Inside, today vegetation grows upwards, taking advantage of the fact that the old gabled roof that had expired a long time ago.

The image is that of roots, trunks and branches struggling to gain a foothold in a space that man built and that nature has recovered.

A woman walks through the remains of the abandoned Fontán paper mill, on the banks of the Vilacoba river.

BENEDICT NATIVITY

The only paper mill that is still operating is that of Brandía, which is the oldest of all, although it does so on the outskirts of the city of Santiago de Compostela.

When he moved, he stopped benefiting from the good quality of the water from the Vilacoba River, the same that the other disappeared paper mills on this route took advantage of;

To Galineira,

a two-story building in which the ground floor has semicircular arcades that may have supported a balcony;

that of Maceiriñas, Labarta and Soutorredondo.

To all these mysterious and romantic ruins that follow one another along the itinerary are added the remains of mills, canals and bridges, constructions related to the manufacture of paper, as well as waterfalls, pools, petroglyphs, forts, villages and the monastery of San Xusto de Toxosoutos. (or Toxos Outos), which can be the starting point of the route.

This religious construction was built on a Romanesque hermitage.

What remains today is the church with the bell tower and two small annex buildings that have been restored and serve as tourist accommodation.

Very close to this architectural complex are the waterfalls (

) of the San Xusto river and, a little further away, the ruins of the old Boña paper mill.

Bridge over the San Xusto river in Lousame, near the Muros Noia estuary.

BENEDICT NATIVITY

These paper mills and the neighboring San Finx mines became the economic engine of the area.

These mines were exploited by a concession requested by the British Sir Thomas Winter Burbury upon his arrival in the Noia area at the end of the 19th century.

Tin and tungsten were extracted from them, a mineral that was in great demand during World War II, especially by the United States, England and Germany.

Around the work in the mine the population grew and went from 4,000 to 6,500 inhabitants in 1955. A time that coincides with a large migratory movement of Galicians to America due to the lack of job opportunities in Galicia.

An important part of that population were women, who also worked in the mines.

Women who performed all kinds of tasks: domestic service, loading wagons, separating minerals,

bring water to the houses and factories (there was still no running water), transport firewood for the ovens and dryers, and look for tin and tungsten in the bush.

In addition to the women who worked in the mines, we had to add those who lived in the surrounding area with their families, raising children and doing domestic chores.

Façade of the Fontán factory where the large number of windows that facilitated the drying of paper can be seen.

BENEDICT NATIVITY

Currently, the ruins of the old paper mills and the San Finx mines, which ceased their activity at the end of the eighties, are a reference point for the industrial and geological heritage of the municipality of Lousame.

A tourist attraction that is added to sardine fishing, shellfishing of mussels, razor clams and cockles, and canneries, as poles of economic development in the area of ​​influence of the Muros Noia estuary.

A kind of miniature jungle in which nature has covered these phantasmagorical and romantic ruins with green that give life to a route where the sound of water is almost always heard.

Practical Guide

• Tambre fishery.

  Hotel located on the banks of the Tambre River, near its mouth in the Muros Noia estuary.

  It consists of a set of five stone buildings built in 1929, when it was built as a hydroelectric power station, and has a swimming pool and the La Central restaurant, where you can taste traditional Galician cuisine. 

• Larino Lighthouse

  .

  Lighthouse located between the town of Muros and Fisterra, in the municipality of Carnota, converted into a unique hotel and tavern-type restaurant.

  The entire complex has references to the world of lighthouses, lighthouse keepers and the sea.

  His tavern is named El Ariete, in honor of the people of Carnotas who did everything possible to save the shipwrecked

  Ariete

  ship .

  In it, in addition to tasting dishes that taste of the Costa da Morte, you can see the Ancoradoiro beach.  

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