Salvaterra Fortress. Albariño Wine Museum

About this heritage

Salvaterra´s fortress and its imposing walls from which you can enjoy beautiful views of the town, is a construction originated in the middle ages. The fortress and its outbuildings formed a magnificent watchtower over the Miño river.

The historical complex occupies about 9.700 square metres and is made up of its sentry boxes, the Count´s house, the Doña Urraca Palace and the Virgin of the Olive chapel, this last one is located immediately at the castle walls.

Doña Urraca palace, is a two-storey building with symmetrical vaults connected by a spiral staircase with a double ramp, something unique in Spain.

The importance of wine in Tea´s county is reflected in the existence of a Albariño Wine Museum, as this area is one of the subareas of reference of the Albariño wine. This museum is located inside the Salvaterra Fortress and its equipment includes last generation museum elements, multisensorial and interactive applications, and other graphic resources that will guide us throughout our visit to the museum.

In the Tea´s County Museum of Wine Science, there is a review of the viticulture´s history throughout Galicia, the vine, vineyards.. and all the necessary work in the vineyard, such as pruning, harvesting or grafting. A “must” for lovers of quality wines in an incomparable environment.

To learn more

To understand the construction of this fortress dated from the 10th century, we must go back to the struggles between Doña Urraca and her sister Teresa of Portugal, or to that of the Count of Camiña, better known as Pedro Madruga, who used it as a border refuge in his disputes with Archbishop Fonseca.

In this context, the castle belonged to Portugal between 1642 and 1659 thanks to the betrayal perpetrated by the Portuguese Gregorio Lopes de Poxa against his friend Mr. Garcia Sarmiento, who had left him in charge of the fortification. Gregorio Lopes of Poxa would eventually give the castle to Rodrigo de Vasconcelos e Sousa, Count of Castelo Melhor in 1643.

This fortress, given its geographical location and because it was at the foot of the Miño river, also played a very important role during the Portuguese uprising in 1640, when Portuguese and Spanish troops clashed.

Salvaterra do Miño has much to offer its visitors, such as the Tea´s County Wine Festival, which is held on the last weekend of August and pays tribute to the prized Condado wine, which belongs to the Rías Baixas DO. White albariños, and white and red Condado.

A last note, you can make a visit of approximately one hour and a half, and walk through the villages of Monçao and Salvaterra do Miño sitting comfortably in the typical tourist car-train.

To know it better

Located on the Miño river´s banks, the Salvaterra do Miño fortress is a construction of about 9,700 square meters of the 10th or 11th century that forms a walled enclosure of rectangular plant. The wall is in perfect condition thanks to a recent restoration carried out by the Town Hall. Inside, we find the Dona Urraca caves, an architectural complex from the 17th century that has this name because it was the room of the monarch Dona Urraca during the battle she had with the Countess Teresa of Portugal. In addition, a spiral staircase, the Count's house and the chapel of the Virgin of the Olive are preserved. Currently, these facilities have been refurbished to form the Tea´s County Museum of Wine Science.

Salvaterra do Miño is a municipality in the southwest of Galicia, in Pontevedra´s province, very close to Portugal. It occupies some 61,79 square kilometres and has 9,800 inhabitants distributed in 17 parishes: Alxén, Arantei, Cabreira, Corzáns, Fiolledo, Fornelos, Leirado, Lira, Lourido, Meder, Oleiros, Pesqueiras, Porto, Salvaterra, Soutolobre, Uma and Vilacoba.

This town hall is a good choice to visit with the whole family, because we can enjoy its fortress, the Miño river, a fluvial walk seeing the Fillaboa island, its gastronomy and the considered the biggest public park in Galicia until now.