The Posío Garden is an urban park that was originally created as a botanical park. It was created by the teachers of Physics, Chemistry and Natural History of the old Secondary School (now Otero Pedrayo Secondary School) in 1846 as a result of the development of an old communal field. Since then, he collected up to 200 species of trees and plants, which had been brought from the Botanical Garden of Madrid.
At the time, Leoncio Parejón requested permission from the Civil Governor to cultivate certain plants in the Campo Comunal del Posío for his botany classes, land that was used for wine cultivation. In March 1853, the municipal corporation carried out the conversion of the field into a place for school recreation. On 8th February 1854, the governor, Juan García Armero, informed the town council that he had approved the granting of a credit of 30,000 reales to reform the Posío Public Garden, providing it with separate paths of myrtle trees and side squares with exotic plants and flowers. From 1855-1856, with the collaboration of Governor Jiménez Cuenca and Mayor Ramón Baamonde, seeds, plants and flowers were shared with the Madrid Botanic Gardens and the polygonal layout of the space was begun.
In the southwest corner of the communal field was the hermitage of Santa María or Nuestra Señora del Posío, which formed part of a network of hermitages located at the entrance to the city. Its existence dates back to approximately 1357, as there are no earlier documentary references. The hermitage consisted of a building, a house for the hermit and a wall enclosing it. At the end of the 16th century, during the plague of 98, its main function was to house the sick while its grounds served as a cemetery.
On the other hand, the original botanical garden, according to the urban plan of 1868, was a rectangular enclosure divided into four landscaped sectors and a central tree-lined walkway. Today, the promenade is maintained in the same direction. In turn, at the central point of the park there was a kiosk with an octagonal base that was used as a greenhouse. This layout was modified when the garden was extended to the west, giving it a trapezoid shape, which it retains to this day. With this modification, the garden was divided into three areas at different heights, descending from east to west, reserving the upper area for the tallest trees (moreas, horse chestnuts and acacias) and a beautiful fountain from the Monastery of Oseira. This fountain can still be found today in the gardens of the Padre Feijoo Primary School. In the central sector was the promenade and in the lower part the botanical garden, with 250 species of plants and more than 150 trees, including a palm tree walkway transplanted in 1999.
Today, this enclosure retains the stone and wrought iron enclosures made up of vases. The three distinct areas of the park are preserved as described above to this day. The upper part is intended for young children with a playground and dense trees. The centre is still the central promenade with benches, lampposts and the cafeteria. Similarly, in this area large concert programmes are held, such as the Ourense Dance party. In the lower area we can find a garden with Canary palm trees, a lush rose garden, a fountain and a pond.