Origins

The Ancient Foundation

The Gallaeci built massive hillforts across Ourense. Castro de San Cibrao de Las housed nearly 3,000 people — one of the largest in Galicia.

The Tin Route

Phoenician merchants sailed from Cadiz up the Atlantic coast seeking Galician tin for bronze. Their amphorae have been found at coastal castros.

Aquae Urentes

Rome founded Ourense as "Aquae Urentes" — scalding waters — around the thermal springs of As Burgas, and planted the first vineyards in the Ribeiro.

First Germanic Kingdom

The Suevi founded the first Germanic kingdom in western Europe right here in 409 AD. Ourense served as one of thirteen episcopal seats.

The Sixth Province

In 585 AD King Leovigild conquered the Suevi, absorbing Gallaecia as a sixth province — but Ourense's diocese and its people carried on unchanged.

The Rúa Jerusalén

Up to half of Ribadavia was Jewish, with its own synagogue, bakeries, and the street they called Jerusalén.

Knights & Pilgrims

Burgundian knights like Raymond and Henry reshaped Galicia and Portugal, while Cluniac monks and settlers transformed the Camino de Santiago into Europe's greatest pilgrimage road.