Galician Chestnut Trees: Legend and Lifeblood

Castiñeiro is the Galician name for a chestnut tree. It was believed that the Romans were responsible for bringing these trees to Spain, but recent research suggests that they spread throughout the north east of the Iberian Peninsula over 20,000 years ago.

Either way, it was the Romans who encouraged their growth and took them all over Spain.

There are some wild chestnut trees in the forests, but the biggest chestnut groves are plantations, usually just outside villages, where they were used for their fruit, the chestnut.

For centuries, chestnuts were an important element of people's diet in this region. In fact, when the potato was brought to Europe from the Americas, in Galicia it was nicknamed the earth chestnut.

Chestnuts still play an important role in the local economy. They are sold raw, dried, as a flour, as a cream, or candied (in a confection known as marron glacé).

Both the tree and the fruit appear in proverbs, legends, and festivals such as the Magosto festival. This is held in the fall, and involves local residents from every village and neighborhood gathering together to eat roasted chestnuts.

The tree is highly prized for the quality of its wood, which is traditionally used in construction. Those found in the forest known as Fraga de Catasós, in Lalín, were originally grown for this purpose. They are now among the tallest chestnut trees in Europe.

The chestnut tree lives longer than almost any other tree in Europe. There are some in Galicia that may be over 500 years old. The biggest one is in Pumbariños in Manzaneda, with a trunk whose diameter is almost 40 feet.

The chestnut tree lives longer than almost any other tree in Europe. There are some in Galicia that may be over 500 years old. The extraordinary St. Euphemia chestnut tree is in Baños de Molgas, not far from the Silver Way. Its trunk is around 32 feet in diameter.

Pilgrims can touch the bark of the magnificent chestnut trees that line the roads of the Camino; ancient trees that have grown over time to resemble noble old men. The chestnut tree in Ramil (Triacastela) on the Camino Frances, is full of hollows and thick branches that look as though they are embracing the trees.

In Baamonde (in the municipality of Begonte) stands a chestnut tree with a unique history. Fifty years ago, the sculptor Víctor Corral hid in the trunk to prevent it being felled for the widening of the road.

He carved a small shrine to the Virgin of the Rosary, from which the tree earned its nickname (Castiñeiro da Capela, or the Chapel Chestnut Tree). The artist went on to add more carvings, making this tree something of a landmark on the Northern Way.