La Merca: Discover Churches, Mills and Mountains

Culture

San Mamede de Urrós in La Merca was built in 1640 on the site of an older church that had already been consecrated in 1147. The floor plan is rectangular, the nave has a single aisle and is covered by a gabled roof. The presbytery is higher; its roof, by contrast, is hipped. A two-storey bell gable rises from the church, with its round arch flanked by lateral pinnacles and crowned by a stone cross. The façade features a doorway with a blocked-up arch and an oculus with an inwardly funnelled opening.

The date 1640 and the reference to the consecration in 1147 therefore represent two different construction periods: the present church building and the older church on whose site it was erected. On the bell gable, the round arch, pinnacles and cross are arranged as interconnected elements; on the façade, the blocked-up arch is opposite the funnelled oculus.

An altar-related archaeological piece was also found in San Mamede de Urrós. It has a recess for holding a reliquary box associated with the consecration. Taín is considered a village of great cultural and historical interest. The Reitoral de San Mamede de Urrós rectory is a rectangular building made of irregular granite masonry and has a three-sided pitched roof.

Muíños da Nieves is an industrial-residential complex with a longitudinally arranged mill containing four millstones. Muíño das Regueiras is a mill building on the Regueiras stream. It has two millstones and two “infernos” carved into the rock.

The mills mentioned therefore illustrate different architectural contexts: Muíños da Nieves combines the longitudinally arranged mill with an industrial-residential complex, while Muíño das Regueiras is located directly on the Regueiras stream and has its two “infernos” carved into the rock.

The Provincial Archaeological Museum is located in the area around Urriós. The Manuel Márquez. Galería de Arte is also nearby. The Museo Arqueolóxico is located there as well. The historic site of Ponte Vella is likewise in the area around Urriós.

Nature

Monte Castrelo reaches a height of 655 metres and has several granite outcrops on its hill. The mountain Monte Calvo is located in the area around Urriós. In the wider regional surroundings of Urriós are the mountains Sierra Moura and Monte San Trocao.

The Botánico de Montealegre garden is also part of the wider regional surroundings of Urriós. The name Urrós is explained as a pre-Roman place name; it contains the root “*Orr-”, meaning “valley between mountains”.

Other places

You can find more places for planning your trip under Viana Do Bolo, O Carballiño, A Peroxa, Esgos, Seixalbo, Vilariño, Corvillón and Carballeda De Avia.

Things to do

The “Allariz - Molinos de Taín” route first leads to the village of Taín, where the car is parked. The vehicle remains there before the descent to the mills; the path down to the mills then begins. The itinerary thus connects the starting point in the village with the subsequent descent to the two mills described.

For the higher-level travel overview: Ourense.