A Granxa
This parish includes the summit and northern slope of Pico Sacro, covering 6.20 km2, with 109 inhabitants in four settlements: Ardilleiro Grande, Ardilleiro Pequeno, A Igrexa and Reboredo. The place names point to rich woodland, with plenty of conifers and oaks.
It is one of the parishes with the best-known and best-documented history. Linked to the traditions of Pico Sacro, its records go back to the 9th century and come from the old monasteries of San Lourenzo and San Sebastián.
Parish church of San Lourenzo da Granxa
Today this single-nave church with a rectangular plan reflects several building phases. The first is Romanesque (11th–12th centuries), to which the presbytery, main chapel and rubble altarpiece belong. The second dates from the first third of the 18th century, when, in the Baroque period, the west end was remodelled with a gallery, door and bell tower. The body of the church was rebuilt and extended several times: in 1901 the stairs, bell gable and gallery were rebuilt, and in 1918 the high altar was restored. During major restoration work in 1973, a column-reliquary tomb was discovered from the original 9th-century building, from the time of Bishop Sisnando.
Inside you can admire:
· Altarpieces: main altarpiece.
· Statues: St Lucy, Our Lady of the Rosary, St John the Baptist, St Anthony of Padua, St Barbara, Sacred Heart of Jesus, St Lawrence and Christ crucified.
Hermitage of San Sebastián, Pico Sacro
A beautiful single-nave chapel on the slope of the legendary Pico Sacro, very close to the summit. From the original building, the granite presbytery altar (11th century) and the rubble altarpiece survive. The Romanesque main chapel keeps a pair of columns in the style of Master Mateo supporting a triumphal arch. Repairs and alterations to the vaults and roof followed in the 19th and 20th centuries, when the porch was built and the stone arch rebuilt. In 1998 the Council restored the whole building and improved the access and several footpaths on the mountain.
· Statues: two wooden sculptures of St Sebastian.
PICO SACRO
Pico Sacro lies in the municipality of Boqueixón, between the parishes of Lestedo and A Granxa.
At 530 metres above sea level, it offers one of the widest panoramic views in Galicia.
Pico Sacro, the “Sacred Mountain”, is perhaps the place in Galicia with the most stories, real, mythological and legendary, and one of its most iconic and best-known mountains. Rising proudly over the valleys of the middle Ulla and the source of countless legends and folk tales, it was revered by local people before and after Christianity, and plays a key part in the legend of the transfer of the body of St James the Apostle.
A Granxa community centre
