page_title: Pontevedra
section_title: Picturesque medieval squares
hierarchical_section_title: Pontevedra / Landmarks / Picturesque medieval squares
caption_attribution_description: English: Estatua de Valle-Inclán na praza de Méndez Núñez de Pontevedra
context_page_description: Pontevedra is a Spanish city in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. It is the capital of both the Comarca and Province of Pontevedra, and of the Rias Baixas in Galicia. It is also the capital of its own municipality which is, in fact, often considered as an extension of the actual city.
  The city is best known for its urban planning, pedestrianisation and the charm of its historic centre. In recent years, it has been awarded several international awards for its urban quality and quality of life, accessibility and urban mobility policy, like the international European INTERMODES Urban Mobility Award in 2013, the 2014 Dubai International Best Practices Award for Sustainable Development awarded by UN-Habitat in partnership with Dubai Municipality and the "Excellence Prize" of the Center for Active Design in New York City in 2015, among others. Pontevedra's car free center helped transform it into one of the most accessible European cities, leading to various European and American studies on its exemplary urban planning been carried out in recent years.
context_section_description: The medieval squares of the old town of Pontevedra and those of its first urban expansion stand out as small rooms with regular and geometric proportions. Many of them evoke with their trade names the activities that took place centuries ago: Plaza of firewood, vegetables, the stone quarry, the blacksmith's, the quay...
  Plaza de la Herrería 
  
  Blacksmith's square is the main square of the city; it is the most popular because of the daily crowds. With arches in two of its ends, with the gardens of the Plaza of Orense and the Herrería fountain at the corner of the church and convent of St. Francis. It is lined with camellias typical of the Rias Baixas. It owes its name to the blacksmiths who, in the 15th century, tempered the iron in the ovens and forges of its arcades for the weapons and paving stones that the Catholic Monarchs had asked them to manufacture. It was the place where the Feira Franca was held, granted to the city by King Henry IV. Here you will find the historic Carabela coffee shop, and other traditional coffees such as Savoy and San Francisco.
  Plaza de la Peregrina 
  
  In the heart of the pedestrian centre of Pontevedra, the Pilgrim Virgin Square is the city's main meeting point. It is presided over by the Church of the Pilgrim Virgin and was located outside the walls, very close to the Trabancas gate of the old Pontevedra wall. This is where the pillory where the prisoners were executed was located.
  Teucer square 
  With perfect geometric dimensions and framed by orange trees, it is surrounded by noble buildings, with the 18th century Gago and Montenegro Palace standing out on the north side, where the great coat of arms of 1716 is to be seen on the façade. On the east side, overlooking Royal Street, there is a stone fountain with night lighting.
  Plaza de la Leña 
  
  The Firewood Square is the most representative and picturesque typical Galician square in Galicia. With a calvary in its centre and popular houses with arcades on one side and the Baroque houses of the Pontevedra Museum on the other. It owes its name to the firewood that was sold here in the past to heat Pontevedra's kitchens.
  Plaza de la Verdura 
  
  Regularly proportioned, on the Vegetables square there are houses with coats of arms and a 19th-century forge fountain. This is where the House of Light is located, which commemorates the fact that Pontevedra was the first Galician city to have electricity in the 19th century. Today it is the headquarters of the Pontevedra Tourist Office. The square is very lively, to which the atmosphere of the many Galician taverns and tapas bars contributes.
  Praza da Pedreira 
  
  The Stone Quarry square is so called because of the stone-cutting activities developed here by stonemasons for the city's works and constructions. Also called Plaza of Mugartegui, because of the baroque mansion in its center.
  Plaza de Méndez Núñez 
  
  In the centre of the old town, there is the 15th century house with a stone coat of arms (showing the arms of the Lemos, Taboada and Bugarín) of Cru and Montenegro, which crosses Don Gonzalo Street with its pointed arch. In its centre is a bronze statue of Valle-Inclán, the work of the sculptor César Lombera. The sculpture is in this square because it was there that the writer used to meet other intellectuals when he lived in Pontevedra.
  Plaza de Curros Enríquez 
  
  Triangular square where you can admire the French attic of the house on the north side and one of the 19th century forge fountains.
  Plaza del Muelle 
  
  The Quay Square is the name given to the docks of the medieval port of Pontevedra. There is a stone fountain in its centre and a 1930s house on the south side which now belongs to the official school of quantity surveyors.
  Plaza de las Cinco Calles 
  
  It is so called because it is where the two parts of Isabel II Street and Baron, Charino and San Nicolás Streets meet. Filled with tapas bars. It is worth noting the stone calvary of 1773, decorated at its base with a very expressive representation of the time when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, and of the house in which the writer Valle-I
caption: Valle-Inclán on Méndez Núñez square
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