Ourense
The golden city.
Millions of years ago, the waters of the river Miño, which had been forming a pool for a long time, hollowed an outlet... A wide valley was formed throughout the years. It was here that the Romans found a good place to settle the capital of the golden land... From that initial valley called ‘Auria’ emerged the present-day city of Ourense.
Historians do not agree about the origin of Ourense's birth: the river, the bridge, the 'Burgas' (thermal waters), gold... or the four elements. As the Romans looked for gold and found it in this land, they built the old bridge to cross the river and enjoyed the hot water coming from the springs...
And here, the golden city and capital of the lands of gold called Auria was born on the banks of the river Miño around the 'Burgas'.

No matter where its name comes from the Warm See of the Germans, from the Or Ens (hot water) of the Celtic or from the Roman Auria (city of gold or shiny place). Ourense, which is thought to have been founded by the Greek hero Amphiloco, was important for the Romans because of the river, the bridge and the springs.
Those were the origins of the first city. The river and the bridge serve us as the starting point to visit what Cunqueiro called 'The Golden Country of Ourense'.
The river Miño, the great Galician River, enriched by the river Sil, gets in Ourense the irregular volumes of the rivers Loña and Barbaña... The south of the Miño and the East of the Barbaña were the best places so that the Romans could lead their legions to the North. A great bridge should be built so that the troops stationed in Chaves or Braga could reach their distant objectives.
About the year 100 of our era, perhaps in the time of Trajan, was erected the most majestic Roman Bridge of all that are preserved in Galicia.
It was rebuilt in 1228 by Bishop Don Lorenzo so that pilgrims could walk to Compostela and was later repaired on several occasions. It is 370 metres long, 5 metres wide and its central arch - today 37 metres high- was the one that had a greater light in the whole Roman Empire. It had a castle, chains, ramps... and today it is one of the greatest jewels in Ourense...
A popular strophe says:


Tres cosas hay en Ourense
Que no las hay en España:
El Santo Cristo, El Puente,
Y la Burga hirviendo el agua.
We leave the modern area of the Railway Station behind, which appeared when the railway arrived in Ourense.

When in March 1881 the locomotive Miño arrived in Ourense, it announced the creation of a modern city that definitively crossed the river to expand.
We cross the river along the old bridge (A Ponte Vella) and go to the historical Ourense. The old stones from the Roman time lead us to the city that reached the River Miño in the middle of the XIX century. It was in 1863 by building the road Villacastín - Vigo that the Roman Bridge linked the urban structure of Ourense.

The city, spreading out at intervals, approached the river and made up the present - day large city.

There is evidence of the great movement of the city since today there are four great bridges that cross the river.
At the end of the old bridge, on the left, we can see the Alameda del Crucero. Today it has almost disappeared being replaced by the Courthouse. The 'cruceiro' (stonecross) has been moved to Plazuela de la Magdalena (Magdalena Square).
On the right, we find Nuesta Señora de los Remedios Chapel, which was founded in 1522 by Francisco Méndez Montoto.
In the past, this was a dangerous place for pilgrims because of malefactors. Since the chapel was founded, it was called del Desafío as it was the place the people of Ourense chose to fight a duel. From the 17th century onwards it was called Campo de los Remedios.
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