Feira Franca de Pontevedra | |
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Observed by | Pontevedra, Spain |
Observances | equestrian jousting, street entertainment, theatre, leather, wood and textile crafts, falconry shows, traditional river boats, wine transport, juggling |
Date | first Friday and Saturday in September |
Frequency | annual |
The Feira Franca is a medieval festival held in Pontevedra (Spain) on Friday afternoon and Saturday of the first weekend in September. It is set in the Middle Ages and includes a medieval market, a chivalry tournament, falconry shows, food stalls, street entertainment, juggling, music, workshops, leather, wood, textile and natural products crafts, and more. [1]
In 2013, it was declared a festival of tourist interest by the Galician Government. [2] Today, it brings together some 100,000 people [3] who dress up in period costumes to take part in the festivities. [4] [5]
The Feira Franca de Pontevedra takes place in the historic centre of the city, in the Alameda de Pontevedra, the Gran Vía de Montero Ríos, the Palm Trees Park and Queen Victoria Avenue, the Pontevedra Bullring and in the area around the Burgo Bridge and the Lérez River. [6] [7] [8]
The Feira Franca has its origins in the tax-free market, which began to take place in the city through a royal privilege established by King Henry IV in 1467, with the celebration of a month-long festival around 24 August in honour of Saint Bartholomew. In the medieval Fairs, the highest and lowest social classes met.
The first edition took place in 2000, [9] and has since attracted a large number of visitors. People wear medieval-inspired costumes and the old town centre undergoes a major aesthetic transformation. Locals and visitors are encouraged to join in the festivities with carts and horses in the streets, prisoners on the gallows or with Blacksmiths and other medieval characters.
For several years now, each fair has been dedicated to a theme. In 2006 it was dedicated to the Irmandiños, in 2007 to the sea and in 2008 to agriculture. In the tenth edition in 2009 the Fair was named Love, Mockery and Curses, in homage to the medieval songs made in the Galician language. In 2010 the theme was walkers, in 2011 old-time trade and in 2012 popular games. In 2013, it is devoted to Inventions, in 2014 to astronomy, in 2015 to alchemy, in 2016 to music, in 2017 to medieval bestiaries and in 2018 to legends. In 2019 the Feira Franca focused on the Lérez River. In 2022 the central theme was also the Lérez River [10] and in 2023 it was dedicated to numbers. [11]
Pontevedra's inhabitants and visitors come together during the festival to recreate the representative characters of Pontevedra's society in 1467 and the atmosphere of that medieval period. The different social classes are represented, such as ladies and knights, bishops of the clergy and peasants, as well as the different typical crafts through craftsmen, minstrels, troubadours, musicians, artists, merchants, fishing net weavers, linen weavers, potters, coopers, basket makers, blacksmiths, carpenters and lace weavers. [6]
The different historical and recreational activities recreate and evoke the medieval atmosphere of the city in the second half of the 15th century, when it was the most important city in Galicia. [12]
The festival opens with the proclamation on Friday afternoon of the town criers on horseback through the historic centre of the city. This is followed by parades of jesters, jugglers and troubadours. A key activity is the representation of the wine transport, which evokes the arrival of wine in the city from the Ribeiro area in the province of Ourense, which was exported to Spain and abroad from the city's medieval port. [6]
Other activities include medieval tournaments and jousting in the bullring, falconry, archery and fencing demonstrations, traditional music and dance performances, demonstrations of medieval crafts, games and shows, medieval food tasting at street stalls, meals for groups of diners in the street around large tables set up for this purpose in different parts of the historic centre of the city and in the Alameda de Pontevedra [6] and the exhibition of traditional boats between the Burgo Bridge and the Currents Bridge. [13]
The streets and squares are set and decorated with banners, pennants and coats of arms hanging from the façades and bands of cloth draped aerially over the streets, straw bales and other props and a medieval castle. Some of the gates of the old medieval city wall are also reconstructed in papier-mâché, such as the Alhóndiga or Santo Domingo gate, the Santa Clara or Rocheforte gate and the Trabancas gate. [14]
Pontevedra is a city in the autonomous community of Galicia, in northwestern Spain. It is the capital of both the Comarca and Province of Pontevedra, and the capital of the Rías Baixas. It is also the capital of its own municipality which is often considered an extension of the actual city.
The Burgo Bridge(Puente del Burgo) is a medieval bridge, built over an older bridge of Roman origin, which crosses the Lérez River in the city of Pontevedra, Spain. It is on the route of the Portuguese Way to the north of the historic centre of Pontevedra and to the south of the Burgo neighbourhood. Between the arches above the pillars are carved the famous stone pilgrim's shells.
The Currents Bridge, is a tied-arch bridge that crosses the Lérez River in the city of Pontevedra, Spain. It was inaugurated in 2012 and connects Uruguay Avenue and Domingo Fontán Street.
The Covo Island, better known as the Island of Sculptures or Illa das Esculturas in Galician, is a park and island located near the mouth of the Lérez River, in Pontevedra, Spain. It has an area of 70,000 m² and is connected to both banks of the river by footbridges and pedestrian bridges. It is the largest and most important open-air museum in Galicia and one of the most important in Spain.
The Casa de las Campanas is one of the three oldest buildings in the city of Pontevedra in Spain, and perhaps the oldest civil building. It is located in Don Filiberto street, at number 11, in the old town.
The Pontevedra Auditorium and Convention Centre is a building that hosts conventions, exhibitions, concerts, plays and ballet and dance performances in Pontevedra (Spain). It is located in the northern part of the city, next to the Lérez river and the Tirantes bridge and was designed by the architect Manuel de las Casas.
The Lérez beach is a Galician beach located in the municipality of Pontevedra in the province of Pontevedra, Spain. It is a semi-urban river beach with a length of 100 metres.
The Natural Park of the Marismas de Alba, the Alba Marsh or the Xunqueira de Alba, is a natural park and wetland in the city of Pontevedra in Spain, and one of the few Marshes in the Ria de Pontevedra. It is a park used as a place for walking, cycling and observing the fauna and flora.
The Praza da Ferrería is a large square located on the edge of the old town of Pontevedra (Spain), inside the old city walls. It is the main square of the old town and has an area of about 2,000 m2. It includes the small squares of the Estrella on the north side, the Orense square on the south side and the Casto Sampedro square on the east side, making a total of almost 5,000 m2.
Monte Porreiro is a residential area in the city of Pontevedra (Spain). It is the seat of the National University of Distance Education in the province of Pontevedra. The neighbourhood has a health centre, a school and a high school and a parish church since the end of the 20th century, its patron saint being the Good Shepherd. There are also green areas, the most important being the Belvedere Park.
The walls of Pontevedra were a fortification of the city of Pontevedra (Spain), which disappeared for the most part towards the end of the 19th century, although some remains are still visible, the most important being the crenellated section in Arzobispo Malvar Street. This complete section, approximately 40 metres long, can be accessed from the gardens of the two buildings on the west side of Santa María Avenue.
The Plaza de la Verdura is a square of medieval origin located in the heart of the historic centre of Pontevedra (Spain). It is one of the liveliest medieval squares in the city.
The Central Market of Pontevedra is a covered market located in Pontevedra, Spain. It is located at the north-eastern edge of the historic centre, close to the Burgo Bridge. It overlooks the banks of the Lérez river and was inaugurated in 1948.
The paseo marítimo of Pontevedra is a pedestrian way along the seafront facing the ria of Pontevedra, in Pontevedra, Spain. This coastal public space is built in the urban and semi-urban area of the city and defines its encounter with the sea and the Lérez river.
The historic centre of Pontevedra (Spain) is the oldest part of the city. It is the second most important old town in Galicia after Santiago de Compostela, and was declared a historic-artistic complex on 23 February 1951.
O Burgo is a neighbourhood in the city of Pontevedra (Spain). It is one of the oldest neighbourhoods in the city and is crossed by the Portuguese Way. On its right-hand side is the A Xunqueira area with important educational and cultural facilities.
The Plaza de la Peregrina is an 18th-century square located in the city centre of Pontevedra (Spain), on the edge of the historic centre.
The Santiago Bridge crosses the Lérez River in the city of Pontevedra (Spain), where the N-550 road runs alongside it. It connects the city centre with the A Xunqueira area and the O Burgo district.
A Moureira is the old seafarers' and fishermen's quarter of the city of Pontevedra (Spain), where the Seamen's Guild lived, near the Lérez river, the Pontevedra ria and the Gafos river. Nowadays, it is part of the city centre.
The Plaza del Muelle or Praza do Peirao is a square of medieval origin located at the northern edge of the historic centre of Pontevedra (Spain), very close to the Burgo Bridge and the old port neighbourhood A Moureira.