"Casa do Patrón" Ethnographic Museum

The “Casa do Patrón” Ethnographic Museum is a cultural space dedicated to preserving and promoting traditional Galician culture, located in Doade (Lalín) in a rural environment that combines history, nature and heritage. With more than 2,000 square metres of exhibition space distributed across three buildings, the museum houses over 4,000 objects that reflect everyday life, traditional trades and customs in Galicia over the last three centuries. Its fourteen themed rooms include reconstructions of a former school, a tavern, a traditional forge, a bread oven and displays of traditional crafts that are now disappearing, showing how family and community life was organised in the past. The museum also incorporates the archaeological heritage of the area, with a room dedicated to the remains of the O Penedo hillfort, whose excavation and consolidation allow visitors to understand the residential and defensive structures of an Iron Age settlement. In addition, Casa do Patrón keeps traditional practices alive through annual projects that recreate historical activities such as grain harvesting, threshing (malla), the traditional pig slaughter and the magosto chestnut festival, helping to transmit knowledge and customs between generations. The museum also offers a participatory and educational experience, with workshops on bread making, cheese making, basketry, traditional songs, hiking and recycling. The museum’s surroundings are complemented by the “Entre os Ríos” recreational area, where several restored traditional watermills are preserved and remain in operation. There is also a restaurant service offering home-style meals by reservation. Altogether, the site is an important reference point for discovering traditional Galician culture, combining tangible and intangible heritage, education and cultural tourism.