A city of northwest Spain on the Bay of Vigo, an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean. Vigo is a naval base and major shipping and fishing center. Population: 295,000.
|
Results for Vigo
|
On this page:
|
A city of northwest Spain on the Bay of Vigo, an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean. Vigo is a naval base and major shipping and fishing center. Population: 295,000.
| Vigo | |||||
|
|||||
| Location | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Location of Vigo in Spain and Pontevedra |
|||||
| Coordinates : Coordinates: . Time zone : CET (GMT +1) - summer : CEST (GMT +2) |
|||||
| General information | |||||
| Native name | Vigo (Galician) | ||||
| Spanish name | Vigo | ||||
| Nickname | La Ciudad Olvica (The Olive City) | ||||
| Postal code | 36xxx | ||||
| Website | http://www.vigo.org/ | ||||
| Administration | |||||
| Country | Spain | ||||
| Autonomous Community | Galicia | ||||
| Province | Pontevedra | ||||
| Comarca | Val do Fragoso | ||||
| Mayor | Abel Caballero (PSOE) | ||||
| Geography | |||||
| Land Area | 109,1 km² | ||||
| Altitude | 0 m AMSL | ||||
| Population | |||||
| Population | 293.255 (2007) | ||||
| Density | 2.687,95 hab./km² (2007) | ||||
Vigo is one of the most important cities of Galicia, Spain, located in the province of Pontevedra.
According to the 2005 census, the population of the city of Vigo proper was 293,725, and the population of the entire metropolitan area was estimated to be 420,672, ranking Vigo as the 14th-largest metropolitan area of Spain. The city is well known for its fishing industry, food, cultural and night life, and football (soccer) team Celta de Vigo.
Vigo has a long history. The urban area of Vigo is built over both a hill-fort (Castro) and a Roman settlement. In fact, it is generally accepted that the name Vigo comes from the latin word Vicus. During Middle Ages the small village of Vigo was part of the territory of neighbouring towns, mainly Tui, and suffered several Viking attacks.
However, the number of inhabitants was so small that, historically, Vigo is not considered to be a real village until around the 15th century, when the earliest records began.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the city was attacked several times. In 1585 and 1589 Francis Drake raided the city and temporally 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 Felipe IV. 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 from the kings of Spain.
In 1702 the Battle of Rande occurred, and in 1719, because a Spanish fleet which departed from Vigo attempted to invade Scotland, the city was temporarily seized by an English fleet.
| Pontevedra Province Population c. 1900 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| District | population | ||
| City of Vigo | 23,259 | ||
| City of Pontevedra | 22,330 | ||
| Towns, Villages and Hamlets | 411,673 | ||
| All the Province (Total): | 457,262 | ||
| (Encyclopædia Britannica, 1911) [1] | |||
In 1808 the French Army annexed Spain into 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 every 28th of March as the Reconquista (reconquest).
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.
The Following German U-Boats have been reported as sunk somewhere near the Port of Vigo:
| Month | January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Temperature °C | 10 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 17.3 | 19.4 | 19.4 | 18.0 | 14.6 | 11.3 | 9.2 |
| Precipitations mm. | 255 | 219 | 145 | 148 | 141 | 73 | 43 | 40 | 113 | 215 | 228 | 298 |
| 1991 | 1996 | 2001 | 2004 | 2005 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 276,109 | 286,774 | 280,186 | 292,059 | 293,725 |
The following villages are in the Vigo metropolitan area:
Vigo is integrated in the Comarca de Vigo, that as well is integrated by the next municipalities:
| Parish | Inhabitants |
| 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 |
| 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 |
Vigo is the leading industrial area in Galicia, with automotive plants, shipyards, and auxiliary industry. Situated in Vigo is Galicia's leading employer, PSA Peugeot Citroën, which in 2003 produced a total of 473,000 vehicles, of which more than 88% were sold outside Spain.
Vigo is the largest fishing port in Europe, and the home port of the world's largest fishing company, Pescanova. Vigo has been chosen to be, in the near future, the headquarters of the European Fisheries Agency.
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.
The Rias Baixas offer a privileged environment for the practice of the nautical sports. Institutions as the Real Club Nautico de Vigo (founded in 1906) and the Liceo Marítimo de Bouzas (founded in 1907) are good examples of promotion of the nautical sports, especially sailing.
The Real Club Nautico de Vigo organizes important events like the Atlantic Week, that in September of 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 Rias Baixas, that in the 2006 edition included the participation of 130 sailboats of different nationalities.
The Liceo Marítimo de Bouzas 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.
The push and enthusiasm of the local sailors did not pass unnoticed to the organization of the regatta
"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.
Vigo has a number of museums and noteworthy places to visit scattered throughout the city:
| Cities in Galicia | |
|---|---|
| Santiago de Compostela · A Coruña · Vigo · Pontevedra · Ferrol · Lugo · Ourense | |
| Municipalities in Pontevedra | |
|---|---|
| Agolada · Arbo · Baiona · Barro · Bueu · Caldas de Reis · Cambados · Campo Lameiro · Cangas · A Cañiza · Catoira · Cerdedo · Cotobade · Covelo · Crecente · Cuntis · Dozón · A Estrada · Forcarei · Fornelos de Montes · Gondomar · O Grove · A Guarda · A Illa de Arousa · Lalín · A Lama · Marín · Meaño · Meis · Moaña · Mondariz · Mondariz - Balneario · Moraña · Mos · As Neves · Nigrán · Oia · Pazos de Borbén · Poio · Ponte Caldelas · Ponteareas · Pontecesures · Pontevedra · O Porriño · Portas · Redondela · Ribadumia · Rodeiro · O Rosal · Salceda de Caselas · Salvaterra de Miño · Sanxenxo · Silleda · Soutomaior · Tomiño · Tui · Valga · Vigo · Vila de Cruces · Vilaboa · Vilagarcía de Arousa · Vilanova de Arousa | |
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
Join the WikiAnswers Q&A community. Post a question or answer questions about "Vigo" at WikiAnswers.
Copyrights:
![]() | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more | |
![]() | Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/ Read more | |
![]() | Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Vigo". Read more |
Mentioned In: