Magdalene Square

ES Plaza de la Magdalena | GL Praza da Madalena

The origin of its shape is maybe due to the fact that this place was intended to be a cloister. Its name comes from a chapel no longer existing, owned by the Count of Amarante, in the site where the square connects with Wheat Square.

The place, an old fruit and vegetable market, used to be a cemetery, as the medieval tombstones on the side may remind us, standing against by the Church of Holy Mary, Mother of God. It is centered by a Baroque calvary, one of the most beautiful in the city, which came here from its original site, near the Old Bridge.

The square was the old cemetery for canons and still retains that serene atmosphere. It is one of the most beautiful squares in the city.

At the base of this beautiful calvary you can read the inscription: “For the city and its fields this calvary was made being the mayor Bernardo Patricio de Arce y Obregon. 1718”. Made of granite, the cross has the figures of Christ and Our Lady of Sorrows. Four medallions surround the Virgin with the symbols of the evangelists. It rests on a three-step square plant.

The use of boulders as pavement, repeated in several squares, may attract the attention of the visitors. This is due to their abundance in the local substrate, which made them the traditional flagstones of Ourense, later recovered in the 20th century.