Lordemani

For over ten centuries, Galicia has had a great relation with the Viking people. The different waves of Vikings on the Galician coasts has brought about that today that essence can still be appreciated in celebrations such as Catoira (Pontevedra), the twin of the Danish city of Fredrikssund.

Known for their strength and for being invincible warriors the Vikings arrived in Galicia attracted by the gold and wealth left behind by the Romans as a legacy.
In the year 844 the Vikings sieged Galicia for the first time, this being the first of four incursions which took place up until two hundred years later.

In the year 1028 the Viking troops led by “Ulf the Galician” attacked the towns which were in their path by the Arousa Estuary until they were turned back by the army of Bishop Cresconio de Compostela, who ordered the building of what today is known as Torres del Oeste (The Western Towers).
This fortress would impede the Lordemani from crossing the river in search of riches from Santiago and Iria Flavia.

One of the fundamental towns in the Viking history of Galicia is undoubtedly Catoira, a sea village which for centuries suffered from the constant sieges of the Lordemani.
As a reminder of the continuous Viking attacks, since 1960 every year in the first Sunday of August Catoira celebrates a Viking landing. Sailing in replicas of the drakars of the XI century the invaders arrive on the coast to attack the torres del Oeste.

More than 10 centuries after Lordemani of Frederikssund (Denmark), who celebrate the Vikingespil every month of June, and the inhabitants of Catoira gather in this area of the Galician coast to celebrate the historic past which unites them.

Danes and Spaniards joined by history and now by the bonds of friendship after more than 25 years of joint celebrations show us once again that racial, cultural or language differences are not an obstacle for the understanding and cooperation between these people, in an era when separatisms and discriminatory treatment towards race or religion have increased in first world countries.

Lordemani is a sample of culture and of the common character of two people who without reaching verbal understanding are capable of coexisting and of creating lasting bonds of friendship by setting aside differences or quarrels from the past.