Blacksmiths’ Square

Praza do Ferro s/n, 32005

An old market of farm tools, it is the natural entrance to "Os Viños", the traditional area of tapas bars and taverns in Ourense.

ES Plaza del Hierro | GL Praza do Ferro

A crossroads rather than a square, for centuries a market of farming tools, ironmongery and pots was held here, a custom that ended up giving name to this corner. Here ends Santo Domingo street, a bustling commercial street, and “Os Viños” begins, the area with tapas bars par excellence of Ourense.

Almost of triangular plant, a beautiful fountain stands out in the centre. Before the ecclesiastical Confiscation, it used to decorate the courtyard of the monastery of San Esteban de Ribas de Sil (today a national parador). In it we may find mermaids, caryatids and, as we look higher, Eros with two eagles on his head.

In the West, the square is eclosed by arcades and buildings from the 15th century and, opposite it, the magnificent palace built at the early 16th century by Juan Fernández de Boan y Landecho, whose coat of arms was displayed on the façade.

An old market of farm tools, it is considered one of the cultural centres of Galicia by the large number of intellectuals who lived or were born here.

The square is considered one of the cultural centres of Galicia, since many of the great writers and scholars of Galician culture were born or lived in the surroundings: Vicente Risco, Otero Pedrayo, Florentino López Cuevillas, Xoaquín Lorenzo “Xocas” and Eduardo Blanco Amor.