Information about A Fonsagrada
A Fonsagrada is the capital of the highest municipality of Galicia and also the largest municipality. The council is located in the central-eastern end of the province of Lugo, forming a mountainous set that constitutes a natural border with Asturias.
Given the characteristics of the mountain, it is natural that from any of its peaks it is possible to enjoy the most picturesque views and unparalleled panoramic views. It is one of the most beautiful municipalities in Galicia, where sports and outdoor activities find an ideal setting.
Its name comes from fontem sacratam (sacred source), due to the large number of springs and waterfalls found in this area.
What to see and do in A Fonsagrada
Ethnographic Museum of A Fonsagrada
The Ethnographic Museum was founded in 1984 by the inhabitants of Fonsagrada. It is now part of the town hall and primary and secondary schools. The museum exhibits pieces of Ethnography, Archaeology and Contemporary Art. The aim of the museum is to make known the ways of living and working in a mountain region that are about to be completely forgotten due to the evolution of time, while at the same time encouraging the visitor to reflect on the value of traditional and changing rural culture.
Church of Santa Maria
The church of Santa María is the parish church of the municipality. A Baroque style temple , dating from the XVI-XVII centuries, with a Latin cross plan, three naves and an apse and a slate roof.
It has a beautiful bell tower made of granite masonry, and consists of three bodies; the first is square with a window, the second has two arched spaces where the two bells are located, and the last has a small opening, also arched and crowned by a ball finial.
Montouto Hospital
The Royal Hospital of Montouto was founded in the 14th century, being built in its current location towards the end of the 17th century and remaining active until the beginning of the 20th century. It preserves one of its buildings and the ruins of several outbuildings that served as a shelter for the pilgrims who made the hard Primitive Way to Santiago de Compostela. Next to the old hospital there is a hermitage of modern construction and ancient ancestry in which a pilgrimage is celebrated. The Dolmen of Montouto, part of a megalithic necropolis, completes the complex.
Today the Hospital of Montouto is practically in ruins, of which only one building remains standing thanks to its reconstruction with masonry.
Seimeira of Vilagocende
It is impossible to talk about A Fonsagrada without mentioning this impressive waterfall, one of the largest in Galicia. Located just 6 km from the town centre, the Seimeira de Vilagocende is one of the most famous tourist spots in the municipality.
It is a great waterfall of 50 meters high located in an incomparable natural environment. To get there we must take the LU-721 road towards Vilagocende, where we can leave the car parked and take a beautiful path that leads us to the bravura of the water that appears in free fall, in a riparian forest with bidueiros, ameneiros and carballos.
Festivals and traditions
The carnival or Antroido is celebrated in Fonsagrada and its villages. In which the lights are turned off and large torches are lit and the pilgrims march in pilgrimage.
Also noteworthy is the “September Fair”, one of the largest and most traditional livestock fairs in the whole province of Lugo, however due to the abandonment of many small livestock farms in the nearby villages, lost its importance at the end of the twentieth century reaching in practice, disappearing some years.
The “Fair of the emigrant” celebrated at the beginning or middle of August has replaced in the calendar the importance of the fairs of September, a day of reunion is celebrated with the emigrants who never returned and who still return for vacations to their native Galicia.
