Mayor’s Square

This square was the site of two crucial moments in the history of Ourense: the arrival of the first Franciscan friars and the exercise of power of the king through the appointed mayor.

ES Plaza del Corregidor | GL Praza do Correxidor

A square located East of the Cathedral. There, a statue of writer Otero Pedrayo seems to invite to contemplate the beautiful view of the apse, the dome and towers.

As the name suggests, the residence of the mayors appointed by the king was here. Some vestiges of it can still be found in modern buildings: an inscription from the 17th century and a coat of arms from the 16th century.

The place was for centuries the first location of the convent of the Franciscans, who settled in the city in 1238. All indications are that back then the friars had two houses and the church, but serious urban riots in the late 13th century started the fire that destroyed the monastery.

In the square you can also find the house of the Temes family (recognizable for their coat of arms, nowadays it is a school) and a Neo-Gothic chapel, designed by Antonio Crespo (1897).

 

Its important role in the history of the city has not prevented the square from becoming one of hot spots of Ourense’s nightlife.

The statue dedicated to Otero Pedrayo is the work of Buciños and dates from 1983. It was commissioned by the City Council, and was provisionally located in Alameda Park, until in 1988 it was moved to this place. Another illustrious author, Eduardo Blanco Amor, took here the protagonists of his novel A Esmorga, and no wonder: the square is still today the centre for nightlife in Ourense.