Turismo Viveiro

Easter in Viveiro is considered the best in Galicia and the north of Spain; it stands out due to its rich heritage of images and because it has been celebrated for many years. It dates back to the 13th century when the mendicant orders of the Franciscans and Dominicans settled in the city, and developed an entire biblical pedagogy whose purpose was to spread the Passion of Christ in a simple way to get their message to the people of the town.

 

The Brotherhoods which have been formed throughout the centuries have made it their responsibility to organize all these events.  The most ancient ones are the Venerable Franciscan Third Order and the Illustrious and Venerable Brotherhood of Saint Rosario, of a Dominican origin.  Throughout centuries, both of these were responsible for hosting Viveiro's Easter events, until in 1944, the Brotherhood of Saint Christ of Mercy was founded and formed by industrialists and businessmen who decided, with the support of the Reverend Priest Francisco Fraga Fernández,  to revitalize the Easter events.  Three new brotherhoods were formed from this one: the Brotherhood ‘Hermandad del Prendimiento’ (1947) for students and workers; the Brotherhood of the Seven Words (1951), they organized the Seven Words’ Sermon and the Sisterhood of Santa Cruz (1953), formed solely by women. We can now add two more recent brotherhoods: the Brotherhood of “O Nazareno dos de Fóra” formed in 1989 by people from Viveiro that live abroad and the Brotherhood of the Clemency founded in 2006 in honour of Saint Ecce Hommo.

 

Easter in Viveiro has been declared National Tourist Interest in 1988 and in April 2013 it was recognised and declared as a Fiesta of International Tourist Interest.