Lugo is the only city in the world to be surrounded by completely intactRoman walls, which reach a height of 10 to 15 metres (33 to 49 feet) along a 2,117-metre (6,946 ft) circuit ringed with 71 towers. The walk along the top is continuous around the circuit and features ten gates. The 3rd century Roman walls, the only one of its kind in the world, are protected byUNESCO as aWorld Heritage Site. Thecity's historic bridge over theMiño is also essentially of Roman date. The city of Lugo is along theCamino Primitivo path of theCamino de Santiago.
The population of the city in 2018 was 98,026 inhabitants, which has been growing constantly since the first census in 1842, despite the fact that the rest of the province is losing population dramatically. The population of the city in 2014 was 98,560 inhabitants (45,948 men and 52,612 women). From INE (Instituto Nacional de Estadística).
By April 2020, the population had grown to 99,638.[5] Reaching 100,000 inhabitants is one of the goals of the city Mayor, Lara Méndez.
In 2010 there were 5,373 foreigners living in the city, representing 5.5% of the total population. The main nationalities areColombians (18%),Moroccans (12%) andBrazilians (11%).[6]
By language, according to 2008 data, 47.37% of the population speaks always or mainly inGalician, 52.63% speaks always or mainly inSpanish.[7]
Map of the municipality of Lugo and itsparroquias.
The town lies on a hill surrounded by the riversMiño, Rato and Chanca. The difference in altitude between the city centre and the river banks is considerable: the former being at an altitude of 465 meters above sea level, whilst the Miño River Walk is at an altitude of only 364 metres (1,194 feet). The municipality of Lugo is the second largest inGalicia, with 329.78 square kilometres (127.33 sq mi) and 59 parishes. The outline of the city was declared aBiosphere Reserve byUNESCO on 7 November 2002, this being the most important recognition at international level regarding the conservation of landscapes and habitats of this Atlantic European region.
The area has been divided into more than 54 villages:Adai, Bacurín, Bascuas, Bazar, Benade, Bocamaos, Bóveda, O Burgo, Calde, Camoira, Carballido, Coeo, Coeses, Cuíña, Esperante,Gondar, Labio, Lamas,Lugo, Mazoi, Meilán, Monte de Meda, Muxa, Ombreiro, Orbazai, O Outeiro das Camoiras, Pedreda, Pías, Piúgos, Poutomillos, Prógalo, Recimil, Ribas de Miño, Romeán, Rubiás, Saa, San Mamede dos Anxos, San Martiño de Piñeiro,San Pedro de Mera, San Román, San Salvador de Muxa, San Xoán de Pena, San Xoán do Alto, San Xoán do Campo, Santa Comba, Santa María de Alta, Santa Marta de Fixós, Santalla de Bóveda de Mera, Santo André de Castro, Soñar, Teixeiro, Tirimol, Torible, O Veral, Vilachá de Mera.
Lugo has a humidoceanic climate with drier summers,Cfb in theKöppen climate classification although it could also be classified as a mildMediterranean climate (Csb) depending on favoured summer precipitation threshold. Due to its remoteness from the Atlantic, its annual precipitation of 1,084 millimetres (42.7 in) can be considered low compared with areas of the Rias Baixas andSantiago de Compostela. The highest temperature recorded in history, 39.6 °C (103 °F), occurred in August 1961 and the lowest temperature was −13.2 °C (8.2 °F) in February 1983.[8] The city has an average of six days of snow per year, which is a contrast to coastal cities of Galicia which have not received snow in modern times.
Climate data for Lugo Airport 445 metres (1,460 ft) (1991–2020)
Overview of the Cathedral of Santa María in the city of Lugo.
Later conquered byPaullus Fabius Maximus and called Lucus Augusti[11] in 13 BC on the positioning of a Roman military camp,[nb 1] while the Roman Empire completed the conquest, in the North, of theIberian Peninsula. Situated in what was theRoman province ofHispania Tarraconensis, it was the chief town of the tribe of theCapori. Though small it was the most important Roman town in what becameGallaecia during the Roman period, the seat of aconventus, one of three in Gallaecia, and later became one of the two capitals of Gallaecia, and gave its name to theCallaïci Lucenses. It was centrally situated in a large gold mining region, which during the Roman period was very active. The Conventus Lucensis, according toPliny, began at the riverNavilubio, and contained 16 peoples; besides theCeltici andLebuni. Though these tribes were not powerful, and their names "barbarous" to Roman ears, there were among them 166,000 freemen.[12] The city stood on one of the upper branches of the Minius (modernMiño), on the road from Bracara to Asturica,[13] and had some famous baths, near the bridge across the Miño.
Lucus was the seat of abishopric by the later 5th century at the latest and remained an administrative center under theSuebi andVisigoths, before going into such a decline that the site was found to be deserted in the middle of the 8th century by Bishop Odoario, who set about reviving it. 10th-century attempts at rebuilding itscasas destructas (abandoned tenements) suggest that it remained a town only on paper: the seat of a bishopric, administered by a count, from which royal charters were issued. "Its commercial and industrial role was insignificant", Richard Fletcher wrote of 11th century Lugo.[14]
During the Middle Ages Lugo, likeSantiago de Compostela, was a center of pilgrimage, because the cathedral had the special privilege, which it still retains today, of exposing to the public the consecrated host twenty-four hours a day. However, Santiago De Compostela was a larger site of Pilgrimages. Most people who went on Pilgrimages would take a stop in Lugo and continue on. The walls were a small center for pilgrims to enamor at. In the 18th century Lugo was granted the privilege of organizing the fairs of St. Froilán. During the Modern Age, Lugo had a certain supremacy, although other nearby towns such asMondoñedo orRibadeo disputed it. It was not until the division of the state into provinces in 1833 and the creation of provincial governments that Lugo has become the most important town in the province of Lugo, because of its capital status. This rise has been bolstered by the arrival of the first railroad to the city in 1875.
During the 20th century the city continued to grow as the administration and services center of the province. In 1936, when theCivil War broke out, the city came quickly under theNationalists' control. In the 1970s the city undertook important reforms, like the development of the Ceao Industrial Area (1979) and the complete restoration of theRoman walls.
Lugo is a city of services. The main activities are commercial, the administration (offices of the autonomous and central Governments) and educational and health services (the recently openedHospital Universitario Lucus Augusti is the largest in Galicia).[15] The steady increase of population of the city has coincided with the development of the major economic sectors of the municipality. Industry is scarce and almost exclusively dedicated to the processing of agricultural products (dairy, meat, timber ...).
TheUniversity of Santiago de Compostela has several faculties at its Lugo Campus, one of the most important being the Faculty ofVeterinary sciences, one of the leading in its field in Spain.
There is a privateaerodrome in the nearby town of Rozas, owned by the SpanishMinistry of Defence and administered by Real Aero Club de Lugo. In 2011, the Ministry of Defence transferred the installations toINTA, Spain'sspace agency, in order to convert it into a center of aeronautical research,[17]
Lugo is the only city in the world to be surrounded by completely intactRoman walls, which reach a height of 10 to 15 metres along a 2117 m circuit ringed with 71 towers. The walk along the top is continuous round the circuit, and features ten gates. These 3rd century walls are protected byUNESCO as aWorld Heritage Site. The bridge over the Miño is essentially of Roman date, though many repairs over the centuries have effaced its Roman character.
Other sources suggest that the nameLucus Augusti comes from the Latin wordLucus, which means "sacred grove", or "sacred forest", as the city was founded on the place of a small grove.
Besides the walls, sights include:
theCathedral, dedicated to St. Mary, built about 1129, though the actual main façade and towers date only from 1769. Its elegant stalls were carved by Francisco Mouro in 1624. This cathedral enjoys the privilege of having the Blessed Sacrament perpetually exposed, a fact commemorated in the armorial bearings of the town.
Convent and church of St. Francis, in Gothic style, with remains of the sober cloister. It currently houses theMuseo Provincial, which shows a display ofGalician art and other building of the 18th century
Church of St. Dominic
City Hall (Casa do Concello in Galician), a large Baroque structure with a mid-18th century façade. Annexed is a clock tower, originally from the 16th century, but rebuilt later.
Rosalía de Castro Park, a 23 ha park in the city center. It has a small pond in the middle and contains many species of trees, like threesequoias.
Museo Interactivo de Historia de Lugo (MIHL), an interactive museum about the history of the city, made byNieto Sobejano Arquitectos.
Two important festivals take place in Lugo:
Saint Froilan festivity, which lasts from 4–12 October, dedicated to the city's patron saint. It's aFiesta of National Tourist Interest and it's very popular to eatpolbo á feira in one of the many stands near Rosalía de Castro park.
Arde Lucus, festival celebrated in the last weeks of June which revives theRoman andcastro past of the city, and which emerged to commemorate the declaration of the city's Roman wall as aWorld Heritage Site in 2000. In its latest editions it has reached nearly half a million visitors.
The most popular and known professional team of the city is the basketball teamCB Breogán, currently playing inLiga ACB, the first division inSpain, the team has played many seasons inLiga ACB the top Spanish basketball league. The team occupies the 9th position in the historical ranking of that league.
Futsal is also popular in Lugo, represented byAzkar Lugo, which plays in Second División de Futsal, the Spanish second division.
^Richard A. Fletcher, 1984.Saint James's Catapult: The Life and Times of Diego Gelmírez of Santiago de Compostela (Oxford University Press) (on-line text, ch. 1)
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Lugo".Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
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