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<h5>European Route of Historic Gardens Association</h5>
G-55267553 Lloret de Mar Town Hall Plaça de la Vila s/n 117310 Lloret de Mar (Girona)

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The European Route of Historic Gardens

Soutomaior Castle

Access for disabled persons

Activities for the public

Associated museum

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Awards

Parking for buses

Parking for cars

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Design

Didactic workshops

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Garden coordinates

Style of historic garden

Type of historic garden

Guided visits

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Interpretation centre

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Location text

Pet access

Visitors reception centre

Restaurant / Coffee-Bar

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Unesco

General information 

Soutomaior Castle is located in the geographic center of the town hall of the same name. From the top, the Verdugo River dominates to the north; to the south, a small mountainous system; to the east and northwest, the tributaries of the Verdugo: Oitavén and Pequeno, and in the west, in the background, the Vigo estuary opens with the San Simón inlet, where the Verdugo river flows.

Natural environment

The botanical park dates back to the end of the 19th century, when the Marquis de la Vega de Armijo y de Mos decided to transform the castle into a neo-Gothic palace that the family would enjoy as a summer residence. The marquises made a great effort to beautify the environment by opening paths, clearing the forest and laying out the gardens. Here, in the castle that they renovated, his beloved niece, María Vinyals, was born, and she would inherit the property in the future.
In 1935, the Ostos and Ayala family acquired the property, and they took a special interest in caring for the park and brought diversity to the gardens by introducing new species.
<h3>Rehabilitation</h3>
In 1982 the castle and the estate were acquired by the Regional Government of Pontevedra, who carried out a great rehabilitation and opened the garden to the public, so that all people could enjoy its botanical wealth and it is where they began to create a collection of camellias. At that time there were a total of 19 centenary camellias (of which 18 are preserved), which stand out for being the oldest in Galicia. Only a year later, new specimens arrived from New Zealand, California, England or France were added.

Historical background

On our walk we can see the effort made in its dissemination and conservation. At every step we discover a new sensation. Species from different parts of the world have adapted to our land and coexist with native flora and fauna. All these trees are part of this historical landscape, some stand out for their large dimensions, others for their age, originality or beauty, but three do so especially and have earned a place in the Galician Cataloge of unique trees of the Xunta de Galicia: a Chilean araucaria (Araucaria araucana), a redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) and a cryptomeria (Cryptomeria japonica). At present, the 25 hectares of surface are destined to vineyard, native forest, fruit trees and botanical park.
<h3>Over 400 camellia specimens</h3>
In the garden of the Soutomaior castle we have more than 400 camellia specimens, 18 of them centenary. In 1982, the Regional Government acquired the castle, where it began to create a collection of camellias. At that time there were a total of 19 camellias (of which 18 are preserved), which stand out for being the oldest in Galicia. Only a year later, new specimens arrived from New Zealand, California, England or France were added.
<h3>International Camellia Garden of Excellence</h3>
Proof of the great botanical and cultural value of the garden is that it was the first in Spain to be recognized as an International Camellia Garden of Excellence by the International Camellia Society, within the framework of the International Camellia Congress held in China in 2012. It has also been the first in Spain to obtain the Historic Garden Observer certificate, in 2020.
These awards are a recognition of the effort made in its conservation and dissemination. The botanical park and the nearby plots have more than 400 camellia specimens, all of them with their corresponding identification poster, so that, in this way, any fan can know the species and the variety of each one of them. The protagonist of the garden is a camellia specimen made up of 18 trunks that grow from the very base of the tree and that form the largest circumference of the species in Galicia.

It is noted for its fragrant flowers, of simple shape, medium size and pink colour. This species is also valued for its seeds, which are used to make oils.
The castle collection has several specimens of C. sasanqua, which heralds the arrival of autumn, as it begins to flower at the end of summer.

Camelia Sasanqua

Camellia japonica Monumental camellia from the 19th century.
When the Pontevedra Provincial Council acquired the castle and its grounds, the botanical park had 19 camellia specimens, 18 of which are still preserved and are among the oldest in Galicia. Among them is the monumental camellia, the specimen of this species with the largest trunk perimeter in Galicia and a crown diameter of 15 metres.

 Camelio monumental 

Camellia japonica 'Maria Vinyals'.
This is a double formal red flower with which the Camellia Garden with a woman's name was inaugurated in March 2020. This cultivar is a tribute to María Vinyals, a prominent social activist and pioneer of feminism in Spain, who also left her mark on history with work in various fields.

María Vinyals

Description

<ul>
<li>12th century The majestic Soutomaior Castle bears little resemblance to a military fortress that has its roots in the 12th century. Throughout its eventful history as a center of feudal power, the scene of battles, a noble summer residence and today a public monument that can be visited with a Camellia Garden of International Excellence, it has undergone several reconstructions and renovations to form its imposing and formidable architecture and current profile. The origin of the fortress dates back to the reign of Alfonso VII, when a military and defensive structure was built in a strategic place in Soutomaior. On one side, the enclosure is located near the coast but at the same time protected from maritime invasions by Normans, Turks or pirates as it stands on rocks, 119 meters above sea level at the bottom of the Vigo estuary. On the other hand, it allowed to control communications from north to south, and dominated the valley of the Verdugo river from its confluence with the Oitavén to the mouth. The soil on which it sits is also rich for cultivation, which, together with the location for strategic and defensive purposes, made it ideal for dominating the fiefdom.</li>
<li>15th century The castle evolved from a defense tower to a fortress with a double walled enclosure in the 15th century. His central figure at that stage was Pedro Álvarez de Sotomayor, better known as Pedro Madruga. The nobleman also held the title of Count of Camiña, Viscount of Tui and Marshal of Baiona, and there are investigations about his figure that suggest that it could be Christopher Columbus given the coincidences between the two about friends and rivals, as well as the toponymy linked to the Rías Baixas with which more than a hundred places in the New World were baptized. Pedro Madruga turned the Soutomaior fortress into his center of operations in the power struggles in Galicia at the time. He had disputes with the ecclesiastical hierarchy and with other Galician noble families, such as the Sarmiento family, and positioned himself in favor of the Beltraneja in the War of Succession. The castle had been destroyed during the Irmandiños peasant revolt, and the nobleman intervened to rebuild it, also adapting it to the use of firearms, which Pedro Madruga had just introduced in Galicia. The enclosure then lived its time of greatest splendor.</li>
<li>15th - 18th century In the following centuries the fortress experienced a long decline due in large part to family disputes. At the end of the 18th century, it would pass into the hands of Benito Fernando Correa, who placed his coat of arms at the main entrance.</li>
<li>19th century In the 19th century the Marquis de la Vega de Armijo would take over the property, and here a key change in the architecture of the castle would take place since the “Gallery of Ladies” was built. The enclosure would thus become half fortress, half neo-Gothic palace, and the family used it as a summer residence. The formidable park and castle gardens also date from that time, which replaced the cornfields. The oldest trees are chestnut trees, 800 years old, but it also has a fantastic botanical wealth, with large trees and an excellent collection of camellias. The marquis's niece, María Vinyals, was the next owner. Writer, polyglot and tireless in the defense of women, the noblewoman, known as the "Red Marchioness", was born and spent her childhood in the historic fortress of the Verdugo river valley. Throughout her life, she made friends with other prominent women of her time, such as Emilia Pardo Bazán or Carmen de Burgos. She turned the castle into a meeting place for artists from different disciplines and was also a great traveler. Although she saw a lot of the world, she never forgot her origins and she always confessed that she was in love with her land, about whose beauty she wrote, as well as about the fortress and the historical deeds around her. To María Vinyals we also owe the knowledge about the ghost of the castle, “O Alemanote”. This, in life a man born and educated in Heidelberg, would have been tutor to the nephew of a previous owner of the fortification. The legend tells that in the basements he would have installed a laboratory and discovered the formula to make the ultimate weapon that would decant World War I in favor of Germany. However, he would perish on a horse outing before putting it into practice. A journalist of the time who visited the castle, invited by Vinyals and Dr. Lluria, her husband, heard the story from the ghost himself, who appeared to him in one of the rooms, and fulfilled his request to destroy the formula.</li>
</ul>

Chronology

The imposing fortress now has an ambitious museum space that shows in an entertaining and didactic way, with the use of audiovisual and other leading media, information about its history, the illustrious people who inhabited it, its importance in Galicia and its integration into the beautiful landscaped surroundings.
The exhibition project focuses on ten axes: the presence of the fortress in the environment from its origin; the value of the location for the control of the territory; the destruction by the Irmandiños; the role of a legendary figure like Pedro Madruga; strength as a center of power; the hypothesis of the Galician origin of Christopher Columbus; the lineage of the Sotomayor; the transformation of the castle into a residential palace; the passionate figure of the writer and defender of women Maria Vinyals; and the architectural reforms carried out throughout the life of the castle.
<h3>Avant-garde museumization techniques</h3>
The tour, which begins once the drawbridge has been passed and lasts for an estimated 45 minutes, will be carried out using the most avant-garde museumization techniques, with seven audiovisuals, 3d recreations, video mapping and magic boxes. In addition, the visit will alternate with didactic content to test the ingenuity, mainly of the little ones.
The magic boxes are one of the great attractions of this entertaining and enjoyable itinerary through the fortress. Through a play of lights and mirrors, they bring the viewer closer to the life forms of some of the characters linked to the castle's history.
The video mapping, one of the most surprising resources of the entire exhibition, is located in the Torre de Homenaje, and tells the story of Pedro Álvarez de Sotomayor, known as Pedro Madruga, the legendary nobleman linked to the fortress, about whom there is also the theory that he could be the real Christopher Columbus. In one of the rooms, keys are provided about the navigator's possible connection with the Sotomayor lineage.
Audiovisuals, high-resolution photographs, current and historical, facsimiles of historical documents, chronological landmarks, a model on which different elements of the natural and cultural landscape are projected in a zenith way, and three on different historical moments of the castle, will transport us in a sensory journey through different eras for almost a thousand years.

Museum

General

© Emigus-PSML

© PSML

Park of Montserrate

Lloret de Mar Town Council

Aranjuez Real Sitio y Villa

Aranjuez Cultural Landscape Foundation

Ayuntamiento de Orihuela

Junta de Castill y Leon

Ayuntamiento de Bejar

Consell de Mallorca

Museum of King Jan III’s Palace at Wilanów

Villa Bardini

Parc Samà

Storico Giardino Garzoni Collodi

Royal Palace of Gödöllő

José do Canto Botanical Garden

Zugdidi Botanical Garden

Van Buuren Museum & Garden

Giardino di Boboli

Villae Tivoli

Museo Storico e il Parco del Castello di Miramare

Hungarian garden heritage foundation

Mainau

Gardens of the Royal Castle in Warsaw

Herrenhauser Gardens

Reggia di Caserta

Direzione regionale musei della Toscana

Patronato de la Alhambra y Generalife

Municipal Park of Naoussa

Natural Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation Georgia

National Garden

Xunta de Galicia

Galicia

Sofievka

National Museum in Warsaw

Our members

© Luis Duarte-PSML

© Nuno Oliveira-PSM

Park of Pena

Jardins do Palácio Nacional Queluz

Paisaje Cultural de Aranjuez

Parc Samà, Cambrils (Spain)

Finca Raixa

Alhambra and Generalife Gardens

Santa Clotilde Gardens

Serralves Park, Porto (Portugal)

Serralves Park

Batumi Botanical Garden

National Botanical Garden of Georgia

Tsinandali Alexander Chavchavadze Museum and Garden

Herrenhausen Gardens

Historical Museum & Park of Miramare Castle

Reggia Di Caserta

Villa d’Este

Boboli Gardens 

Historic Garzoni Garden

Gardens of the Royal Castle in Warsaw, (Poland)

Gardens Of The Royal Castle In Warsaw

Mainau Island

Van Buuren Gardens

Sofievka Park, Uman (Ukraine)

Sofievka Park

Municipal Park of Naoussa - Lake

Municipal Park of Naoussa - Flower beds

Municipal Park of Naoussa - Park from above

Municipal Park of Naoussa - Spring

Municipal Park of Naoussa Balcony

Municipal Park of Naoussa - Pebble pave

Municipal Park of Naoussa - Statue heroes

Municipal Park of Naoussa - Natural stone faucet

Municipal Park of Naoussa - Winter

Municipal Park of Naoussa - Main entrance

Municipal Park of Naoussa Folklore boules dancing

Municipal Park of Naoussa - Historic busts

Municipal Park of Naoussa - General city view and park

National Gardens of Athens

Esterházy Palace

Kamieniec Palace

Home

Palace garden in Nieborów, aerial view of the palace and the forecourt, Sylwester Cichal,

Palace garden in Nieborów, aerial view of the linden alley and the regular garden, Sylwester Cichal

Palace garden in Nieborów, boxwood mazes, Sylwester Cichal

Palace garden in Nieborów, Monika Antczak

Palace garden in Nieborów, aerial view of the linden alley, Sylwester Cichal

Palace garden in Nieborów, the linden alley, Dariusz Piwowarski

Hornbeam espalier in the garden in Nieborów, Monika Bajkowska

Palace and garden complex in Nieborów, Dariusz Bógdał

Palace garden in Nieborów, view of the palace from the linden alley, Sylwester Cichal

Palace garden in Nieborów, ornamental parterres, Sylwester Cichal

Palace garden in Nieborów, ornamental parterres and boxwood mazes, Sylwester Cichal

Old orangery in Nieborów, aerial view, Dariusz Bógdał

Old orangery in Nieborów, Dariusz Piwowarski

Garden cabinets in the regular garden in Nieborów, Katarzyna Piotrowska

Kitchen garden in Nieborów, Katarzyna Piotrowska

Vineyard in the kitchen garden in Nieborów, Agnieszka Chmielewska

Linden alley in Nieborów, Monika Antczak

Garden cabinet with the eagle column, garden in Nieborów, Dariusz Piwowarski

Garden canal in Nieborów, Monika Antczak

Alley by the canal in Nieborów, Monika Antczak,

Canal in the garden in Nieborów, Monika Bajkowsk

Plane trees in the palace garden in Nieborów, Xenia Modrzejewska-Mrozowska

Old orchard in Nieborów, Katarzyna Żak-Zatorska

Orchard in winter, Nieborów, Sylwester Borusiak vel Boruta

Exhibition: conservation works in the Nieborów palace garden, Sylwester Cichal

Nieborów palace garden

Palace Garden in Nieborów

Burgrave’s House in Arkadia, Monika Antczak

 Temple of Diana in Arkadia, view across the pond, Włodzimierz Pietrzyk

Greek Arc in Arkadia, Sylwia Salamądra

Gothic House in Arkadia, Dariusz Piwowarski

Sentimental garden in Arkadia, aerial view, Dariusz Bógdał

Sphinx sculpture by the Temple of Diana in Arkadia, Włodzimierz Pietrzyk

Sentimental Park in Arcadia

High Priest’s Shrine in Arkadia, Xenia Modrzejewska-Mrozowska

Gothic House and the Sybil’s Grotto in Arkadia, Dariusz Piwowarski

Temple of Diana in Arkadia, aerial view, Dariusz Bógdał

Aqueduct in Arkadia, Monika Antczak

Greek Arc in Arkadia, Dariusz Piwowarski

Tomb on Poplar Island in Arkadia, Sylwester Cichal

Pond in Arkadia, Xenia Modrzejewska-Mrozowska

Pond with an island in Arkadia, Dariusz Piwowarski

Sheep in Arkadia, Monika Antczak

Sentimental Park in Arkadia

Alameda Park

Pazo de Lourizán

Pazo de Mariñán

Pazo de Oca

Pazo de Rubianes

Pazo de Santa Cruz de Rivadulla

Manoir de Santa Cruz de Rivadulla

Pazo Quinteiro da Cruz 

Pazo Quiñones de León

LABPACT-SERP / Universitat de Barcelona

Eduard Petzold European Centre for Garden Art

AJH Associaçao Portuguesa dos Jardins Históricos

Cracow University of Technology Landscape Architecture Institute

Universidad de Girona Campus Patrimoni Cultural i Natural Parc Científic i Tecnològic 