23-576: 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. In 2013, it was declared
46-713: A festival of tourist interest by the Galician Government . Today, it brings together some 100,000 people who dress up in period costumes to take part in the festivities. 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
69-408: 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
92-473: A magnificent stone staircase was inaugurated, decorated with two large pillars six metres high, finished with effigies of stone lions supporting the city's coat of arms . In the 1950s, these pillars were greatly reduced to the height of the balustrade. The stone lions that crowned them were replaced by ciboria in the form of flower pots . In 2010, the pillars and lions were returned to their original position and design. The current El Cafetín , located on
115-459: A project for the Alameda de Pontevedra as part of the city's bourgeois expansion and officially presented it on 29 April 1879. In its early years, the Alameda was divided longitudinally into several parallel promenades, which, within a class society , were reserved for the use of each social category. The promenade closest to the present Gran Vía de Montero Ríos was reserved for nannies and maids,
138-430: A spacious promenade. There were 57 oaks and 91 acacias and views over the Pontevedra ria and the sea. The most elegant residents of the city used to stroll along it, especially on summer evenings, to breathe in the sea breeze. It was with the urban expansion of the late 19th century , which made the architect Alejandro Sesmero effective, that the process of shaping this emblematic area was completed. Sesmero designed
161-470: The Dominicans transformed the orchard of their convent into a place for walking. Two centuries later, in 1846, a retaining wall was built, the ground was levelled, trees were planted and the first stone benches were put in place. In 1847, part of this field corresponding to the present-day Alameda was closed off with stone walls. The Alameda had five wide alleys delimited by trees in a straight line and
184-405: The Gran Vía de Montero Ríos , it has an area of 21,000 m2. The western side of the Alameda is bounded by a viewpoint that ends in a stone staircase. This staircase is flanked by two six-metre high columns on which are placed the effigies of two stone lions bearing the city's coat of arms . On the circular walls that delimit this southern part there are mosaics of Tiles made by Carlos Sobrino. On
207-655: The Hórreos of Combarro, the chapel of Nuestra Señora de la Lanzada or the Plaza de la Leña in the old town , among others. The Alameda is bounded on its eastern side by the monument to the heroes of Puente Sampayo , designed by Julio González-Pola y García in 1911 to mark the first centenary of the Battle of Puente Sampayo against the French. The Alameda remains true to its original 19th century design and layout. It retains
230-619: 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
253-525: The historic centre of the city and in the Alameda de Pontevedra and the exhibition of traditional boats between the Burgo Bridge and the Currents Bridge . 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
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#1732771935440276-574: The Alameda side of the Gran Via de Montero Ríos is the bandstand . Carlos Sobrino created twenty-three tiles for the Alameda de Pontevedra with different landscapes and scenes, both rural and urban, painted in 1927 and made in Seville. These mosaics have been completely restored as part of the renovation work that was carried out in the park's surroundings in 2010. The scenes illustrate traditional customs and architecture: people in typical costumes,
299-597: The Feira Franca focused on the Lérez River. In 2022 the central theme was also the Lérez River and in 2023 it was dedicated to numbers . 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
322-559: The Pontevedrians, is an urban park located in the city centre of Pontevedra in Spain . It is the largest urban green space in the centre of Pontevedra city, together with the Palm Trees Park . The Alameda is located to the west of the old town , close to the old fishermen's quarter of A Moureira . The Alameda de Pontevedra took its present configuration at the end of the 19th century as part of an ambitious project to extend
345-459: The adjacent promenade for the middle class or artisans and the two remaining promenades next to the present café El Cafetín were reserved for the bourgeois and noble classes. In 1886 the architect Alejandro Sesmero was commissioned to design and budget the bandstand , as part of the urbanisation of the Alameda and Gran Vía. At the beginning of the 20th century, in 1904, the bandstand was inaugurated to host concerts by musicians or artists when
368-506: The area around the Burgo Bridge and the Lérez River. 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, and has since attracted
391-476: The city to land outside the old walls of Pontevedra . Before the development of this urban space as the Alameda, it was known as the Field of Truth (place of execution of convicted persons) and the Field of Wheels . It was here that ropes and rigging were made for fishing. After the construction of the convent of St. Dominic and because of its influence, it became known as the Field of St. Dominic . In 1648
414-410: 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. 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
437-465: The municipal band was created. The bandstand has a stone base and an iron and glass roof and in 1907 it was equipped with electric lights. Later, in 1927, the City Council commissioned the municipal architect, Emilio Salado, to draw up a project to embellish the western part of the Alameda with a privileged view of the sea. Salado carried out a project clearly influenced by Art Deco and in 1928
460-583: The north side of the Alameda, is reminiscent of an old café from the beginning of the 20th century, which was in fact just a small kiosk offering drinks and other related products. In 1987, El Cafetín was opened with its current aesthetic. The Alameda has an oblong or oval surface that runs from the vicinity of the Pontevedra City Hall in the Plaza de España in the direction of San Roque ( former Moureiras ). Lines of trees divide it longitudinally into several parallel promenades. Together with
483-900: 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. Pontevedra Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.133 via cp1102 cp1102, Varnish XID 539907429 Upstream caches: cp1102 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 05:32:15 GMT Alameda de Pontevedra The Alameda del arquitecto Sesmero (translated as Alameda of architect Sesmero ), popularly known as la Alameda by
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#1732771935440506-430: Was exported to Spain and abroad from the city's medieval port . 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
529-517: Was the most important city in Galicia. 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
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