Name: Chapel of the Shells of A Toxa
Rating: 2

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Spain

Galicia

Pontevedra

Litoral

O Grove

Chapel of the Shells of A Toxa

Discover

Places to see

Spain

Galicia

Pontevedra

Litoral

O Grove

Chapel of the Shells of A Toxa

Recommended by 10 hikers

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Location: O Grove, Litoral, Pontevedra, Galicia, Spain

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Best Hikes to Chapel of the Shells of A Toxa

4.2

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1. Combarro Beach – Old Spa of A Burga loop from Monte da Vila

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Intermediate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

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Intermediate

5.0

(1)

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2. Tired Donkey sculpture – Old Spa of A Burga loop from As Barqueiras

4.72km

01:12

10m

Easy hike. Great for any fitness level. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

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Easy

5.0

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hikers

3. Mussel Boat Tour in Galicia – Aldea de los Grobits loop from As Barqueiras

7.05km

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Easy hike. Great for any fitness level. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

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Easy

Tips

Steffen 🚲🥾🛼

June 17, 2023

Why is the Church covered in scallop shells? You should not leave without knowing that you have on your right the only chapel in the world covered with scallop shells. Originally when it was built in 1909 it was not. His story is the result of chance.

The façade where the altar is, is oriented to the South and the rains continually hit its walls, producing humidity and deteriorating the structure. At the end of the 40s of the 20th century, Raimundo Riestra Calderón, II Marqués de Riestra, summoned a bricklayer from the town of O Grove, named Anselmo Millán, with the intention of offering him a solution to this problem that he sees - They had been dragging for almost four decades. The man advised him that a traditional way to prevent the penetration of water was to imbricate scallop shells on the entire surface, making the water slide down all of them without wetting the interior. He thought it was a great idea and accepted the proposal. When they finished covering the façade, the Marquis liked it so much that, as manager of the Spa, he ordered the entire church to be covered with shells. It was slow work that took several years, beginning in the late 1940s and ending in the early 1950s.

And one last detail, if you were transported 120 years back in time to the same point where you are, you would not step on land but you would be floating in the water together with the Church. Almost all of this garden was an old salt mine that loses its origins in the remotest past. It was filled in at the beginning of the 20th century.

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Teufelchen New

July 20, 2023

The famous shell church was formerly dedicated to San Sebastián, but after the reform the Virgen del Carmen was used as the main image. In this chapel the famous San Caralampio is venerated, a 19th century martyr. III, who is the patron saint of skin diseases. The patronage and devotion to this special place of thermal water as a therapy to heal the skin in the thermal baths of this island A Toxa, therefore since ancient times people go to this chapel and ask for the protection of this saint.

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Konny

March 22, 2025

The beautiful chapel with its shell cladding is

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Elevation 60 m

Weather

Today

Friday 26 September

20°C

14°C

0 %

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Max wind speed: 5.0 km/h

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Take Me There

Location: O Grove, Litoral, Pontevedra, Galicia, Spain

Chapel of the Shells of A Toxa

1. Combarro Beach – Old Spa of A Burga loop from Monte da Vila

2. Tired Donkey sculpture – Old Spa of A Burga loop from As Barqueiras

3. Mussel Boat Tour in Galicia – Aldea de los Grobits loop from As Barqueiras

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