A Capela Town Council: monuments

Religious architecture in A Capela dates from XII to XIII century, being the most emblematic whole the Caaveiro Monastery. This monastery dates from XII century and it is placed in the same heart of the “Fragas do Eume”, in an unique scenery.

Another building of the same period is the “Santiago da Capela” parish church, in Pazo, with romance plan, where the bell cage tower has an special relevance. To get to that tower you have to climb an stone staircase in the outside, which became a spiral staircase inside the tower.

Dated from XIII century is the “Nosa Señora das Neves” chapel. It is a romance chapel, with rectangular plan with just one nave and with an added tower from XIX century of square plan and a church tower of four arches, crown with a half orange dome.

“San Braulio de Caaveiro” parish church. The apse dates from XIII century and the frontage from the XIX century. It has rectangular plan with just one nave, with symmetric frontage with a central church tower with two holes that finishes in pinnacles.

“Santa Mº de Cabalar” parish church. It has baroque style from XIX century. It has rectangular plan with just one nave, with symmetric frontage with a central church tower with two holes that finishes in pinnacles.

Monuments of religious types are the “cruceros” (crossing), as the ones of the Pazo, Cabalar and As Neves.

The Popular Architecture :

The popular architecture have an special relevance because to the buildings next to the houses, as “horreos” (an special kind of granaries), fountains, wells, “lavadoiros”, being, without any doubt, the most important the “horreos”. The more common are the “Mahía” ones, characterised for resting over sill mass, made in most cases of stoneworking, where the chambers, that have “tornarratos” (stones that forbidden the gnawing to climb up) running with slopes shapes, set down. Stone pillars divide the chinks and their sides are closed with wood balausters. The roof is a peaked roof made with healing stone, very common on the roofs of that area. It is usually decorated with crosses and pinnacles.

An special mention deserves water mills, which are present in every river that waters A Capela. Some of those mills can be still visited while working.

About the importance of the water on the inhabitants of A Capela life, the being of an interesting work of hydro engineering of huge size gives us a good example. It is placed on the Graña river and it is one of the little buildings of that kind in Galicia.