Moeche Castle
A castle on an oceanic crust
Moeche Castle sits within the valley of the same name. This is a flat-bottomed valley created by Alpine tectonic activity, which houses the continuation of the ancient oceanic crust known as the 'Moeche Ophiolite'. It is made up of green schists and serpentinites which, 395 million years ago, formed the lithosphere of the ocean that disappeared during the formation of Pangea.
The medieval castle of Moeche is a privileged vantage point from which to observe the history of this valley. From the battlements, the landscape reveals how geology is the true architect of this territory, a petrified ocean on which a fortress was built for surveillance and defence.
The Moeche Ophiolite contains low-grade copper pyrite deposits that have been mined in the past. Some of the old mines are part of Galicia's industrial mining heritage and are very impressive, but they are not open to the public.
