A walk through the Wall of Lugo

La Very Noble and Loyal City of Lugo It is the capital of the province of the same name, in Spain. It is one of the Spanish cities with Roman origins Since it was founded in 25 BC, it even predates Galicia, and if you visit it you will be able to see the remains that this town has left here.

One of the most special archaeological treasures of Lugo is its wall. The famous Lugo city wall It is a marvel and since 2000 it holds the title of Heritage. Now that a few days off for Easter are approaching, how about getting to know her?

Lugo

The city is on top of a hill between the course of the river Miño. It was founded by a group of Roman expeditionaries that arrived in the year 25 BC and then baptized with the name of Lucus Augusti. The idea was to annex the northwest of the peninsula and what was born first as a military fortress later, some twenty-five years later, expanded until it took the form of a city already with temples, hot springs, streets and others.

It was between the years 260 and 325 that the city is surrounded by an imposing wall of 2266 meters in circumference. The truth is that it is wonderful because It is the only Roman fortification in the world that has reached our entire days. Yes, full is its original dimensions.

You can get to Lugo by road, through the N-VI from Madrid to La Coruña and then use the train.

The Wall of Lugo

As we said above, the wall is very extensive and It is 2256 meters long. You have 85 mighty towers and it was born as a defense system between the original fort and its surroundings. Dispose of 10 doors in total that join the inner part with the outer part and its old walkway or walkway is today a popular street.

It is not that it has never been modified or altered throughout its very long history but luckily these changes did not change it substantially and in it you can still see the signature of the architect Viturbio: the width of the walls is 4, 20 meters and in some places it reaches seven meters; more than two kilometers in length and around 34 hectares in total.

Between segment and segment of wall, called curtains (between six meters and a peak and thirteen and a half meters), there is a tower and although it is known that originally there were more than 80, today there are 46 whole and of the others there are only better or worse remains preserved.

These towers are between eight, nine-odd meters high and up to more than 16. One of them has semi-circular windows that are more than one meter wide and high. Handsome. Among them there are 60 round towers and 11 square ones. Both the wall and the towers they are built with granite although there are slate slabs on doors and corners. The internal part is made of mortar, a compound of pebbles, stones and earth.

Originally the wall of Lugo had five gates (in Roman times), one for each main thoroughfare in the city, but between the mid-nineteenth century and the first twenty years of the twentieth century five more were opened. Of that total of ten doors, today there are four for vehicular traffic and six for pedestrians. The original wooden doors survived until the middle of the 70th century but by the XNUMXs of that century they disappeared.

What to visit in the Wall of Lugo

Their doors. Is the Fake Porta, ancient Boquete Gate, original Roman. It is 5 meters high and 65 meters wide. The San Francisco Gate It is more modern and was inaugurated by Isabel II of Spain in 1858. It was the prince's gate until in the 60s of the 12th century it was reformed making it wider. Today it is 5 meters high and 7 meters wide. people and cars pass by.

La Station Gate It was opened when the train arrived in Lugo in 1875. A short time later it became bigger, knocking down two towers. In 1921 it was demolished and the one you see today, eight meters high by 10 wide, was built. The Door of San Pedro It was in medieval times the Sancti Petri Gate and gave access to the road that led to Castile. Through here the famous Camino de Santiago enters Lugo, with its 4 meters high and 85 wide. It has two imposing towers on each side and has the coat of arms of the city.

La Porta of Santiago It is from Roman times, although in the XNUMXth century it was remodeled so that carriages could pass. Then it was also decorated with the image of Santiago Matamoros and for a long time it was exclusive to the religious. The Bishop Aguirre's Gate it was built to link the seminary with the cemetery in the late XNUMXth century. It involved the demolition of two towers with Roman tombstones.

La Porta Mina It is Roman and it is an almost original door. It is 3 meters wide and today provides access to the Miño River. It has two towers and a room for the guard. The Left Bishop's Gate is the famous Jail door because it allowed direct access to the jail, in 1888. Finally there is the Bishop Odoario's Gate and the New Door.

The Wall of Lugo also has stairs that allow access to the paseo de ronda, today a very touristy walk. The stairs are embedded in the walls and although they have not been preserved in their entirety, it can be seen that they were double. They appeared in the 60s of the XNUMXth century, covered with dirt and garbage, and it is thought that there was at least one staircase per tower. They did not touch the ground, but to reach the first step it was necessary to use a moving ladder, a security measure to be able to isolate the wall in case of attack.

Today there are six external stairs to the walls and a ramp. You can also see The moat, at a distance of five meters from the path of the towers, 20 meters wide and about four meters deep. Today it is not whole by any means, only vestiges remain, but archaeologists have been able to determine its measurements and establish that it was not a continuous pit but rather independent sections.

The city of Lugo proposes a tour of the walkway, the gates and the interior of the wall. To enjoy!


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