THE VIKING FESTIVAL RETURNS TO NORMALITY BREAKING PUBLIC RECORD

Although the Viking Festival was present these last two years of the pandemic, it was in this 62nd edition that normality was recovered, and exceeding all expectations.

The mayor, Alberto García, emphasizes that no incident was recorded that could alter the development of the different scheduled activities and describes the organization and the public that was registered on these days as a resounding success. Some 6,000 people gathered at the Vikinsons concerts each day, and the Landing recorded the largest number of people in the festival’s history. In this week it is estimated that more than 130,000 people came to Catoira.

The local government appreciates the involvement of the different collaborating institutions and entities, as well as the City Council staff, the volunteers, the participating residents of Catoira, and the general public, who were able to enjoy this magnificent festival with responsibly.

CPI PROGRESO DE CATOIRA PARTICIPATES IN A NEW ERASMUS+ PROJECT WITH TURKEY AND FRANCE

The CPI Progreso educational center in Catoira is immersed in a new ERASMUS+ program. On this occasion, collaboration is established with a Turkish educational center, the Fevzipasa Ortaokulu, and another French one, the Collège Louis Anquetin.

This project is co-financed by the ERASMUS program of the European Union, through Key Action 2: Associations for cooperation.

“EU INTERCULTURAL PATHS2” is the title of the project and its theme covers the fields of inclusion and heritage education. This ERASMUS project, which will last 24 months, began in November 2021 and will end in November 2023.

As for the activities of the project, the stays in the different educational centers and the international contest on the elaboration of a video with the theme of the heritage of their locality stand out.

Between 2017 and 2019, the CPI’s first experience participating in an Erasmus+ program took place, when an exchange was established with an Irish center.

Catoira’s involvement in this program arose as a result of the contacts established by the mayor, Alberto García, after visits and negotiations in that country. The local government appreciates the effort and dedication of the management team and the teaching staff of the center, since these are very enriching experiences for the students.

 

 

THE ARDGLASS VIKINGS ASSOCIATION PARTICIPATES IN THE VIKING LANDING 2022 WITH A REPLICA OF A DRAKKAR FROM THE “VIKINGS” SERIES

This year a replica of a drakkar of those used in the series “Vikings” will participate in the Viking landing.
The photograph shows members of the Ardglass Vikings association with the mayor on a previous visit to this town.
This association already participated in the landing of the Viking Romaría in 2005.
An honor to have you here again!

THE COUNCIL OF CATOIRA EXPANDS THE CONTENTS OF THE “CACTO” WITH PANELS ON THE VISIGOTHAL STAGE AND THE SYMBOL OF XELMÍREZ

The Catoira City Council has just installed new exhibition resources in the Cultural Activation Center (CACTO) in the presence of Mayor Alberto García. It is an information panel on the Visigoth period, together with a replica of a coin stamped in Catoira, and another panel on the “rolled sign” that Archbishop Xelmírez used to authenticate his documents.

At the end of the 6th century, the Visigoths expelled the Swabians and turned Galicia into a Gothic province. At that stage there are indications of the presence of a mint in Catoira in which coins could be minted. Now you can see in the CACTUS the replica of a gold coin from the time of King Witericus (603-609) that bears the word CATORA inscribed on the reverse.

The panel above Xelmírez’s signature graphically reproduces the characteristic “rolled sign” used by the archbishop since 1115 as a symbol of authority in his documents.

 

SUMMER ACTIVITIES FOR GIRLS/BOYS FROM THE TOWN

The registration period for summer activities for girls/boys from the town is open.

There will be two modes:
• Recreational-educational activities: from 3 to 10 years.
• Sports activities: from 6 to 14 years old.

Recipients: girls/boys registered in this municipality who are between 3-14 years old*.
Normal hours: Monday to Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Extended hours: Monday to Friday from 09:00 to 14:00.

Place: public school and municipal sports pavilion.

Prices :
• Normal hours: 15 euros/month.
• Extended hours: 25 euros/month.

Period: June 1-24, 2022.

Registration: Department of social services of the town hall.

*with three years only girls/boys who were schooled in C.P.I. in the 2021/22 school year will be admitted.

THE COUNCIL OF CATOIRA AND THE “MESA DAS VERBAS” PAY TRIBUTE TO BALDOMERO ISORNA

Last Saturday, Catoira hosted a conference organized by the group from Vilagarcia, “Mesa das verbas”, dedicated to the poet from Catoira, Baldomero Isorna Casal.

The day began in the morning at the Torres de Oeste site. In the Chapel of Santiago they recited some poems and recalled the figure of Faustino Rey Romero, also a poet, who together with Baldomero Isorna -both members of the Ateneo del Ullán- were the promoters of the celebration of the Viking Fest. They then took a guided tour of the Torres de Oeste Cultural Activation Center. In the afternoon, the mayor, Alberto García, presented the recital that took place in the Celso Emilio Ferreiro room. The rianxeiro Xesús Santos was in charge of making a semblance of the Catoirense poet.

In addition to some poems from “Campanas de palo” and “Voz en blanco”, Isorna’s two publications, compositions by some members of the Table were also recited.

ELAINE 2.0 numbers to our webbpages

Event 1: Cambridge, England October 17th and 18th, 2018

The event involved 84 citizens, whereof 46 national and 38 international participants. They were: 9 participants from the cities in Skåne Nordost (Sweden), 11 participants from the city of Vejle and  Köge (Denmark), 8 participants from the city of Catoira (Spain), 6 participants from Steinemark (Austria, ) 4 participants from Hannover (Germany) and 46 participants from the cities in Eastern England (United Kingdom).

Location / Dates: The event took place in Cambridge, England October 17th and 18th, 2018

Short description:

The purpose of this conference was to exchange learning and best practice examples with practitioners involved in the care of unaccompanied minors, and support both UK regional and European networking opportunities for attending delegates.

The conference was held over two days with an opening session on the evening of the 17th for the non-UK delegation and a full day conference on the 18th with both non-UK  and UK delegates Delegates came from a variety of professions including local government/municipality officers, social workers, non-government organisations, politicians, central government agencies, education and health.

Overall the East of England SMP consider this event to be a success. Feedback (formal and informal) has all been very positive with all participants rating the event as “excellent” or “good”. Regionally, we have seen practitioners in the field looking at their own practices and comparing these to practices in other EU member states. It has promoted opportunities for wider thinking and creating solutions. For example, UK practitioners have since fed back that they did not previously feel politically engaged in their work, however, since attending the conference; they report a better understanding of how political decisions are made and how this influences their work.

Event 2: Graz, Austria the 26th to the 28th of February 2019

The event involved 82 citizens, whereof 42 national and 40 international participants. They were: 9 participants from the cities in Skåne Nordost (Sweden), 10 participants from the city of Vejle and Köge (Denmark) 8 participants from the city of Catoira (Spain), 42 participants from Steinemark (Austria),  6 participants from Hannover (Germany) and 7 participants from the cities in Eastern England (United Kingdom).

Location / Dates: The event took place in Graz, Austria the 26th to the 28th of February 2019

Short description:

The Styrian Association of municipalities planed and coordinated this Austrian meeting in

cooperation with the department of culture, Europe and foreign relations of the government of

Styria. The meeting started on February 26th with the reception in the town hall of the city of Graz.

There the Styrian Association of municipalities as well as the integration council of the city of Graz

gave a brief introduction on their work.

On February 27th the international conference on “Building sustainable and inclusive

communities” with all international guests and participating mayors and community

representatives from Styria took place in Leibnitz. More than 80 interested participants listened to

a big variety of keynote speakers.

 

Event 3: Catoira, Spain the June 18th to 20th 2019

The event involved 100 citizens, whereof 70 national and 34 international participants. They were: 6 participants from the cities in Skåne Nordost (Sweden), 5 participants from the city of Vejle (Denmark), 4 participants from the city of Köge (Denmark) xx participants from the city of Catoira (Spain), 4 participants from Steinemark (Austria) 7 participants from Hannover (Germany) and 8 participants from the cities in Eastern England (United Kingdom).

Location / Dates: The event took place in Catoira, Spain, June 18th to 20th 2019.

Short description: The conference in Catoira, Spain in June 2019 was the 3rd international conference in the ELAINE 2 project, funded by the Europe for Citizens programme. The aim of the Spanish conference was to focus on gender dimensions on integration and migration.

The conference was planned and facilitated by AYUNTAMIENTO DE CATOIRA.

 

 

Event 4: Vejle, Denmark October 21st-23rd 2019

The event involved 76 citizens, whereof 43 national and 33 international participants. They were: 8 participants from the cities in Skåne Nordost (Sweden), 43 participants from the city of Vejle and Köge (Denmark), 5 participants from the city of Catoira (Spain), 6 participants from Steinemark (Austria,) 6 participants from Hannover (Germany) and 8 participants from the cities in Eastern England (United Kingdom).

Location / Dates: The event took place in Vejle, Denmark October 21st-23rd 2019

Short description:

The conference in Vejle, Denmark in October 2019 was the 4th international conference in the ELAINE 2 project, funded by the Europe for Citizens programme. The aim of the Danish conference was to focus on the cultural values and norms in play in integration matters, plus giving inspiration on how to create communities and a sense of we.

The conference was planned and facilitated by the Danish partner, VIFIN (resource center for integration) in Vejle Municipality, with inputs from Køge Municipality and the other partners of the project.

 

Event 5: Hannover, Germany, 17-19 March 2020 (Cancelled because of Corona)

Location / Dates: Hannover, Germany, 17-19 March 2020

 

Event 6 – Final conference, Corona edition, online from Kristianstad Sweden, May 5th -6th 2021

 

The event involved 62 citizens, Where of 18 national and 44 international participants. They were: 18 participants from the cities in Skåne Nordost (Sweden),9 participants from the city of Vejle and Köge (Denmark) 7 participants from the city of Catoira (Spain), 8 participants from Steinemark (Austria), 8 participants from Hannover (Germany) and 12 participants from the cities in Eastern England (United Kingdom).

Location / Dates: The event took place in online from Kristianstad Sweden May 5th 2021.

Short description:

The conference was a summing up of the conference with a corona twist. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a worldwide increase in morbidity and mortality. Despite

the widely adopted message that the virus ‘does not discriminate’, preliminary evidence

suggests that the interaction between COVID-19 and the social environment does, pointing to

higher morbidity and mortality among low socioeconomic status and minority groups in some

countries. During this talk professor Rostila will show empirical evidence on disparities in

COVID-19 morbidity and mortality in Sweden and show whether migrants lower socioeconomic

status and disadvantaged living conditions contributes to such disparities.

 

Event 7 – Extra Core group meeting, Online August 19th and 20th 2021

Participants:

Austria, 1 representant

Denmark, 1 representant

Spain, 2 representatives

Sweden, 3 representatives

UK, 2 representatives

 

Short description: We held a two-day extra Core group meeting to talk about future coopeations.

 

 

THE PRESIDENT OF THE DESTINATION VIKING ASSOCIATION ATTENDS IN CATOIRA THE TECHNICAL SEMINAR “THE VIKINGS AND THE WINE IN GALICIA”

On Wednesday 10th November, Catoira holds the thematic session “The vikings and the wine in Galicia”. The event will take place in Celso Emilio Ferreiro room, at the Town Hall of Catoira. It includes the presentation of Eduardo Morales book “The vikings in Galicia”. The president of the Destination Viking Association (DVA) Ole Madsen will attend this event, invited by the mayor Alberto García.

This event marks the beginning of a project that the Catoira Council has planned to carry out next year, and which includes the holding of a seminar on the links between the Vikings Route and the Camino de Santiago cultural itineraries, as well as a study to trace a Viking route between Catoira and Santiago de Compostela. The seminar will take place during the first week of August 2022, coinciding with the celebration of the Viking Pilgrimage and the Albariño Festival, both celebrations recognized as festivals of International Tourist Interest. One of the objectives of this project, which has the support of the Xunta de Galicia, is to take advantage of the relationships between these routes to promote the internationalization of the two celebrations.

Program:

  • 10:30 Welcome from the mayor of Catoira, Alberto García
  • 10:45 Presentation by Eduardo Morales: «The Vikings in Galicia». Former Chancellor of the Spanish Embassy in Denmark, archaeologist and researcher, author of numerous articles and publications on Scandinavian culture and the Vikings.
  • 11:30 Presentation of Ole Madsen: Destination Viking Association. Director of the Archaeological Museum of the University of Stavanger (Norway).
  • 12:00 Jorge Vila Fernández: presentation on Albariño wine. Sommelier and director of the Galicia Wine Academy.
  • 12:30 Albariño wine tasting.
  • 13:00 Closing by the territorial delegate of the Xunta de Galicia in Pontevedra.

This presentation event is open to all residents who want to attend.

We also remember that the municipal public library has copies of the book.

The CACTO receives a great welcome from the visitors

After three weeks of opening to the public, the Torres de Oeste Cultural Activation Center (CACTO), is exceeding expectations in terms of the number of visits and evaluations. During this period, the exhibition facilities were visited by more than 500 people.

People who come to the center especially appreciate the possibility of knowing how the Viking Pilgrimage takes place. The visit allows an approach to the footprint of the Nordic peoples and to the Pilgrimage that is held every summer in Catoira, as a festival of international tourist interest, with a large-format video-production in the basement, which allows you to relive the Viking landing in the first place person.

The CACTO was born as an interpretation center for Torres de Oeste. An approach to the history of this enclave: an island at the mouth of the Ulla river that constituted the access door and protection border from the ocean to the interior of Galicia and the lands of Compostela “Torres de Oeste, key and seal of Galicia “.

With this look, a journey is made from the past of prehistory in the environment, the primitive commercial maritime traffic in the Castro culture and continued during the Roman Empire, when we already found the identification of “Turris Augusti” at the mouth of the Ulla river. In the high Middle Ages, the enclave took on a new role, with the reconstruction and reinforcement of the fortification, already named “Castellum Honesti”, to face the incursions of new threats from the sea: the “men from the north” in search of riches in Jakobusland – as Galicia was called -. Beyond the stage of Viking raids, the Galician coasts suffered from the Almorabid pirates approached by sea from the south of the peninsula. In this context, the figure of Diego Xelmírez emerges, who lived as a child in the Torres de Oeste castle itself, and who later, as archbishop of Santiago, gave a boost to the defenses of the Arousa estuary, in the Castelo de West, and promoted the construction, in the shipyards of the river Ulla, of the first fleet of galleys of the Christian kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula, to defend and successfully combat the incursions on the coasts of the Galician estuaries.

The center has information panels, an exhibition of replicas that contextualize different stages in the history of the Towers, and various audiovisual units that allow an interactive and immersive insight into the contents of the exhibition. On the upper floor there is a space for cultural activity dedicated to presentations and workshops for school visits. Meanwhile, this space is used as an exhibition extension with a look at the cultural heritage of the City Council of Catoira.

Concello de Catoira announces the cancellation of the Romaría Vikinga

The local government of Catoira informed this morning about the decision to cancel the Romaría Vikinga 2020.

Due to the regulations issued by the Xunta de Galicia, which generate great uncertainty regarding the possibility of celebrating, from July 1, parties, festivals and other popular events, such as what is organized every year in this municipality of Catoira on the occasion of the Romaría Vikinga, the Government of Catoira decided to cancel the celebration scheduled for the first week of August. The organization and programming of an event of this nature, in which thousands of people participate, must be carried out sufficiently in advance with the minimum and required security and preventive measures necessary to face the health crisis caused by COVID-19, so the logical and sensible thing is to suspend this year the celebration of the aforementioned Romaría Vikinga, a decision that the Municipal Government takes for the mentioned reasons and in the exercise of an enforceable sense of responsibility. On the other hand, Catoira Council lacks the financial, material and personal resources necessary to enforce the regulations that could have been derived from a future protocol of action for this type of activity with a large attendance of people.

Since this year marked the 60th anniversary of the festival, and in order to offer symbolic programming to the local public, the Government is working on the organization of some small events, with very limited capacity.

The decisions made have already been communicated to the other political parties of the Corporation. The Popular Party showed its agreement and support for these measures.

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