Audioguide

Belesar Reservoir

When it opened in 1963, it was the biggest dam in Spain, measuring 500 m long and 29 m high. 2,500 workers working for five years on day and night shifts and 735,000 m³ of concrete were needed to complete this huge project.

It forms a 50 km long tail, holds 65,500 cubic metres of water and covers some 1900 hectares. When it was built, it was necessary to move the village of Portomarín to a higher altitude and the major buildings, such as the churches of St. John and St. Nicholas, were dismantled stone by stone.

Its construction, which was controversial, led to great changes in the local way of life, landscape and even climate.