| What is it? |
Portomarín is a town lost beneath the waters of the Belesar Reservoir! |
| What makes it beautiful? |
Portomarín was a fabulous wine-growing town that had been growing wine in the sunny valleys of Galicia for over 800 years, until one day in the 1950s, a representative of Franco’s government, highly interested in sustainable, hydroelectric energy, entered the town and told everyone they had to move. Their home was inconveniently sitting smack-dab in the middle of his future reservoir! That meant they had to bring in a renowned historical architect, named Pons Sorolla, to dismantle the Church of San Nicolás and move it, and several other important buildings, brick by brick, from the valley onto the hillside! From there, the new town of Portomarín came into existence, and the old town mostly washed away under the new Belesar Reservoir! However, the ruined walls can still be seen slumbering beneath the rippling water! |
| HOW CAN I HELP KEEP IT BEAUTIFUL? |
IT’S EASY!
- You can be a responsible visitor! That means respecting the signs and pathways and treating all structures and artifacts with respect! After all, they’ve endured a lot already to make it into the present! They’ll need our help to make it to the future!
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| How do I find it? |
Enter the town where C-535 crosses the river and intersects Estrada de Circunvalación!
From Barcelona: ~622mi (1002km) — 10.4hrs
From Madrid: ~317mi (511km) — 5.3hrs
From Sevilla: ~521mi (839km) — 8.7hrs
From Santiago de Compostela: ~58mi (94km) — 1hrs |
| When should I go? |
Whenever the mood strikes you! |
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