Santo Domingo ruins in Pontevedra

This is what remains of the Dominican church and convent of Pontevedra, next to the Alameda, and the oldest of the six buildings that make up the Pontevedra Museum. Its Gothic chevet of five apses is exceptional in Galician Gothic, and inside are displayed tombs, tombstones and coats of arms.

Its history

The convent was founded around 1282, but what survives, the head of the church, part of the south wall and the entrance to the chapter house, comes from the works that began in 1383. It was closed on 8 December 1836 with the exclaustration and during the 19th century it had the most varied uses: asylum, women's prison, workhouse, Civil Guard barracks, infant school or conscripts' office.

In 1846, because of its poor state, the town council began to demolish it and reuse the stone, among other things to pave streets. There were further demolitions in 1880 and 1886, halted by some of the townspeople, led by José Casal y Lois and the Provincial Monuments Commission. Saved from demolition, in 1894 it was given to the newly created Archaeological Society of Pontevedra to house its museum, and on 14 August 1895 it was declared a National Monument: the first in Galicia, together with the collegiate church of Santa María a Real do Sar, in Santiago. In 1937, after the death of Casto Sampedro and the disappearance of the Society, it passed with all its holdings to the Pontevedra Museum.

What you see

Besides the remains of the convent's architecture and sculpture, there is a display of funerary sculpture, with tombs of nobles and guild gravestones, and the museum's heraldry collection. You can see it in half an hour.

Hours and how to get there

It opens from 15 March to 31 October, Tuesday to Saturday 10:00 to 14:00 and 16:00 to 19:30, and Sundays and public holidays 11:00 to 14:00; on Mondays it is closed. From 1 November to 14 March it is closed, although groups can arrange visits depending on the weather and the availability of the education department, at [email protected] or on 986 804 100, extension 42416, Monday to Friday 8:30 to 14:30. Arranged groups get a guided tour of about 30 minutes. Admission is free.

It is at Avenida de Montero Ríos 1, beside the Alameda. The museum has no car park of its own and suggests, among others, the paid ones at Praza de España and Santa Clara and the free one at the Pazo da Cultura; Pontevedra is easy to get around on foot.

Combine it with the Pontevedra Museum, in the Castelao and Sarmiento buildings, which is open all year. If you stay in the city, the Parador de Pontevedra is in a 16th-century pazo in the old town.