The Meirande Museum, interpretation center of the Battle of Rande, is anchored, like a ship, in the Ría de Vigo, in the Redondela parish of Cedeira, inland from the Rande Bridge, which joins the two banks of the Ría de Vigo in the so-called Rande Strait.
The Battle of Rande
In 1702, Spanish galleons that had transported gold from the Americas, escorted by French ships, allies of the Spanish crown on this occasion, sought refuge at the end of the Vigo estuary, where they also unloaded most of the treasure they were bringing from the American continent.
They were trying to escape from a powerful Anglo-Dutch fleet, which had tried to surprise them on their way to Seville, the port where the cargoes from the New World were headed, and which caused the change of plans and the Spanish transport to finally disembark in the Ría de Vigo.
The superiority of the attacking ships and their superiority in numbers and performance of the warships meant a quick victory for the English and Dutch attackers, which put an end to the defense of the Rande Castle and the Spanish fleet (partly sunk by the Spaniards themselves). But the attackers were unable to get their hands on the magnificent treasure that the ships were supposed to be carrying and the Anglo-Dutch raiders sacked Redondela and the island of San Simón, being repulsed in the walled Vigo.
The Meirande Museum
In the parish of Rande, belonging to the municipality of Redondela, is located the Meirande Museum, a modern building built respecting the industrial memory of the Ría, inside an old desalting factory, known as “the German’s factory”.
The “German” was the enigmatic industrialist Otto Gerdtzen Boyé, who maintained his salting and canning activities until the mid-fifties of the last century.
What can we see at the Meirande Museum?
The Meirande Museum consists of four interpretive areas dedicated to:
- The Battle of Rande.
- The Treasure of Rande.
- The canning factory or “the German”.
- Flora and fauna of the environment and the Vigo estuary.
The complete visit and the recreations of the scenarios allow us to get a very accurate idea of both the historical events that took place on this coast and the historical context and circumstances that conditioned each one of them. It also allows the imagination to run wild, but always on the basis of accredited historical facts.
How to visit the Meirande Museum?
The visit to the Meirande Museum is free of charge. For school or group visits, it is necessary to contact the museum in advance by phone at 986 458 891 or by email at museomeirande@redondela.gal.
Visiting hours for the museum are as follows:
- Saturdays and Sundays from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm and from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm.
- Tuesday to Friday, afternoons from 16:00 to 19:00 hours.
- Monday closed.
If you can not move, you should know that the Meirande Museum has an accessible virtual tour, we leave you the link.
Services available at the Meirande Museum:
- Rest areas distributed throughout the halls and outside the museum.
- Accessible and adapted public toilets.
- Spaces available for cultural activities (contact the museum) and concerts.
- Mooring area for ships arriving by sea.
- In addition, the museum has videos, brochures, images and graphic resources that you can consult in its multimedia gallery.
The Meirande Museum from the sea
The museum has a pontoon and enough draft for the Pirates of Nabia ships to dock there. Understanding the history of the Vigo estuaryThe Meirande Museum, of which the Meirande Museum is part, is easier if it is done within the geographical, industrial and historical context, navigating the waters, crossing the Rande Strait, and entering the Ensenada de San Simón to the archipelago of the same name.
Piratas de Nabia organizes combined tours departing from Moaña and Vigo. that allow you to sail between rafts, discover the canning industry and coastal shipyards, admire the civil architecture of the Rande Bridge, visit the Meirande Museum and immerse yourself in historical and literary facts that combine the fantastic universe of Jules Verne, with the lazaretto or the concentration camp of San Simon, the gold of Rande, Drake’s pirate raids or the compositions of the medieval Galician troubadours.
To consult upcoming visits, access the online ticket reservation link.
