Vigo

For other meanings, see Vigo (disambiguation)

Vigo
Vigo as seen from the Monte do Castro
Flag
Nickname(s): A Cidade Olívica (The Olive City)
Situation of Vigo within Galicia
Vigo Situation of Vigo within Spain
Coordinates: 42°13′53″N 8°42′45″W / 42.231356°N 8.712447°W / 42.231356; -8.712447
Country	Spain
Autonomous Community	Galicia
Province	Pontevedra
Comarca	Vigo
Parroquias	List Santa María de Vigo Santiago de Vigo Freixeiro Castrelos Sárdoma Alcabre Navia Comesaña Coruxo Saiáns Oia Matamá Coia Candeán Cabral Teis Bembrive Beade Zamáns Valadares Lavadores
Government
- Type	Concello
- Mayor	Abel Caballero (PSdeG-PSOE)
Area
- City	109.1 km2 (42.1 sq mi)
Population (2008)INE
- City	295,703
- Metro	468,654
- Demonym	vigués (m); viguesa (f)
Time zone	CET (GMT +1) (UTC)
- Summer (DST)	CEST (GMT +2) (UTC)
Postcode	362--
Area code(s)	+34 986
Twin Cities
- Buenos Aires	Argentina
- Lorient	France
- Oporto[1]	Portugal
- Caracas	Venezuela
ISO 3166-2	ES-PO
Website	http://hoxe.vigo.org

Vigo (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈbiɣo]) is the largest city in Galicia, Spain, located in the province of Pontevedra.

It has a population of 295,703, with an extended metropolitan population of 468,654, making it the 14th-largest metropolitan area of Spain. Vigo is the largest city in Spain which is not a provincial capital.

Name

The urban area of Vigo is built over both a hill-fort (Castro) and a Roman settlement. It is generally accepted that the name Vigo is derived from the Latin word Vicus

History

During the Middle Ages the small village of Vigo was part of the territory of neighbouring towns, particularly Tui, and suffered several Viking attacks. However, the number of inhabitants was so small that, historically, Vigo was not considered to be a real village until around the 15th century, when the earliest records began.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the city was attacked several times. In 1585 and 1589 Francis Drake raided the city and temporarily occupied it, leaving many buildings burnt. Several decades later a Turkish fleet tried to attack the city. As a result the walls of the city were built in 1656 during the reign of Philip IV of Spain. They are still partially preserved.

During this time, and in spite of the attacks, the city of Vigo developed its earliest commerce, and was given several privileges by the kings of Spain.

Battle of Vigo Bay, 1702

In 1702 the Battle of Vigo Bay occurred, and in 1719, because a Spanish fleet which departed from Vigo attempted to invade Scotland in support of the Jacobites, the city was occupied for ten days by a British force.

In 1808 the French Army annexed Spain to the Napoleonic Empire, although Vigo remained unconquered until January, 1809. Vigo was also the first city of Galicia to be freed from French rule in what is now celebrated as the Reconquista (reconquest from French in the context of the Peninsular War) on 28 March each year.

The city grew very rapidly in the 19th and 20th centuries. This resulted in continuous urban planning changes, making Vigo less structured than other Galician towns.

World War II

The following German U-Boats are reported to have been sunk somewhere near the Port of Vigo: the U-523, sunk August 25 1943 (17 dead and 37 survivors), and the U-506, sunk at 15:50 hrs on July 12 1943 (48 dead and six survivors).

Main sights

This section requires expansion.

Vigo metropolitan area

The following villages are in the Vigo metropolitan area:

Vigo population progression

• Babío (1,214 p.)
• Saa (1,296 p.)
• Penís (1,079 p.)
• Fonte Escura (1,242 p.)
• Pereiró (4,284 p.)
• Ponte (1,564 p.)
• Freixeiro (2,456 p.)
• Mantelas (1,595 p.)
• Salgueira (1,268 p.)
• Bagunda (2,762 p.)
• Bouciña (1,823 p.)
• Barreiro (1,383 p.)
• Ceboleira (2,989 p.)
• Pardavila (4,128 p.)
• Garrida (1,245 p.)

• Population: 294,772 (2007)
• average age: 41.1 years (2005)
• Foreign population: 11,571 (2005)
• Births: 2,632 (2005)
• Deaths: 2,383 (2005)
• Migratory balance: +565 (2005)

Government and administrative divisions

Following the May 28, 2007 municipal elections the mayor of Vigo is Abel Caballero, PSOE^[2]. The city council (Galician: Concello) is governed by a coalition of PSOE and the Bloque Nacionalista Galego (9 and 5 councilors, respectively, to the Partido Popular's 13).

Parroquias

The city is been divided into 23 districts (Parroquias in Spanish and Galician). The districts are based mostly on historical divisions. Several of the city's districts are former towns annexed by the city of Vigo in the twentieth century that still maintain their own distinct character.

• Alcabre - 3,183
• Beade - 5,430
• Bembrive - 4,290
• Bouzas - 5,000
• Cabral - 6,772
• Candeán - 4,699
• Castrelos - 7,849
• Coia - 30,000
• Comesaña - 3,031
• Coruxo - 5,344
• Freixeiro - 5,928
• Lavadores - 16,667
• Matamá - 4,247
• Navia - 2,190
• Oia - 3,910
• Saiáns - 1,067

Beach of Wines, in Cíes Islands.

• San Paio - 3,700
• San Xoán do Monte - 500
• Sárdoma -1,992
• Teis - 2,330
• Valadares - 5,468
• Zamáns - 780
• Vigo and Santiago de Vigo - 207,892

Geography

Climate

Vigo has an oceanic climate (Köppen Classification Cfb). The average annual temperature in Vigo is 15°C.^[4] Unlike many other Galician towns, Vigo experiences high summer temperatures and milder winters. This is due to its sheltered location, surrounded by mountains inland and the Illas Cíes out in the bay towards the sea.^[5]

Demographics

Economy

Port of Vigo View

Vigo is the leading industrial area in Galicia, with car factories, shipyards, and auxiliary industry. Situated in Vigo is Galicia's leading employer, PSA Peugeot Citroën, which in 2007 produced a total of 545,000 vehicles, of which more than 82% were sold outside Spain.

Vigo has the largest fishing port in Europe as well, and the home port of the world's largest fishing company, Pescanova. The headquarters of the European Fisheries Agency are placed in here.

Higher education

The University of Vigo is situated in a mountainous area outside the city. It is an important center for research, with a focus on study related to ocean-based industries. The University has other campuses in Pontevedra and Ourense. The campus of Vigo is a modern project of the architect Enric Miralles.

Culture

Arts and entertainment

Looking South from Monte das Figueiras (Monteagudo Island)

"A movida viguesa" was a hedonistic cultural movement that took place in Vigo during the '80s triggered by the explosion of liberties after the death of dictator Francisco Franco. The most important artists of this postmodern movement were musicians; particularly punk and new wave bands such as Siniestro Total, Golpes Bajos, Aerolineas Federales, Semen Up or Os Resentidos.

At the moment, the city still has notorious bands like Iván Ferreiro (ex-singer of Los Piratas) and Mon.

The locally produced award-winning feature movie Mondays In The Sun (original title Los lunes al sol) evocatively depicts the life of several men who have lost their work at the port. This film is not based on a single individual's experiences but on the perceived collective experiences of many local port workers.

Media

Vigo has two daily newspapers; the Faro de Vigo, the oldest newspaper in Spain still in circulation, and the Atántico Diario. It has one local television station Televigo which covers news and current events in the Vigo metropolitan area

Sport

Ponte de Rande. This bridge is part of the toll road that links both sides of the harbour and which runs north up to A Coruña.

shopping street at Vigo, Spain

Vigo has a number of football teams that compete at national and regional levels. The best known team is Celta Vigo, who up until 2005 played in Spain's Primera Division. They play their home games at Balaídos, which is Vigo's largest stadium and was used to host the Group 1 matches of the 1982 FIFA World Cup. Vigo also has a basketball team, Ciudad de Vigo Básquet, more commonly referred to today by its sponsorship name of Gestibérica Ciudad de Vigo. They currently compete in the Adecco LEB Plata league

Sailing

The Rías Baixas offer a privileged environment for the practice of the nautical sports. Institutions as the Real Club Nautico de Vigo (RCNV, founded in 1906) and the Liceo Marítimo de Bouzas (LMB, founded in 1907) are good examples of promotion of the nautical sports, especially sailing.

The RCNV organizes important events like the Atlantic Week, that in September 2006 received the World Championship of the Platu 25 class. The RCNV also organizes every year in August one of the races with more sailboats of the Iberian peninsula: the Regata Rías Baixas, that in the 2006 edition included the participation of 130 sailboats of different nationalities.

The LMB is a yacht club that agglutinates around 400 associates. The LMB has a long and intense activity in sailing and recreational fishing. The LMB organizes two important regattas of the Galician calendar of sail: the Regata Vila de Bouzas and a Regata de Solitarios y a Dos.

The Regata Vila de Bouzas honors the neighborhood where is located the LMB. The Regata de Solitarios y a Dos is sponsored by the firm Aister and is for crews of one and two members. It is a difficult race with two steps. One step consists of a race through the coastal inside the bay of Vigo and the other step is longer race around the Cies Islands (and/or Ons Islands). Likewise, the LMB has schools of sailing and fishing. Yearly it organizes a cephalopods fishing competition.

Notable people

• Antonio Fernández, painter
• Antonio M. Perez, CEO of Eastman Kodak
• Ángel Lemos, artist
• Cesáreo González, film producer
• Enrique Lorenzo Docampo, businessman
• Martín Codax, poet
• Antonio Ramilo Fernandez-Areal, businessman and former mayor of Vigo

See also

Spanish tallship Juan Sebastián Elcano in the port of Vigo

• Port of Vigo
• Rande Bridge
• University of Vigo
• Battle of Vigo Bay
• Redondela
• Cíes Islands
• Vigo-Peinador Airport
• Praia de Samil (Samil Beach)

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Vigo

• The official tourist website of all Galicia, including Santiago de Compostela
• City Council
• Photos
• Vigo photo
• Official city site
• University of Vigo
• Liceo Marítimo de Bouzas
• Museo Municipal «Quiñones de León»
• Museo Etnográfico Liste
• Verbum - Casa das Palabras
• Museo de Arte Contemporánea (MARCO)
• Pescanova
• Caixanova
• Vigo Map

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