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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Some highlights about Soutomaior Castle, in Pontevedra (Spain)
Garden of International Excellence awarded by the International Camellia Society
Rúa do Rial, s/n, 36691 Soutomaior
Pontevedra, Galicia, Spain
Coordinates: 42.32895, -8.56772
Open in Google Maps
Summer (May-September)
Winter (October-April)
Closed: January 1 and 6, December 24, 25 and 31
Web: castelodesoutomaior.com
Email: castelodesoutomaior@depo.es
Phone: + 34 886 209 500 / + 34 986 804 100
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.
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.
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.
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.