Vigo

 

(vē'gō) , city (1990 pop. 279,986), Pontevedra prov., NW Spain, in Galicia, on an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean. A naval base and one of the most active ports of Spain, it has the country's most important fishing fleet. It also has shipyards, canneries, petroleum and sugar refineries, and various light industries. In 1702 a Franco-Spanish fleet, escorting galleons loaded with American gold and precious stones, was destroyed in the Bay of Vigo by the British and the Dutch; several galleons were sunk, and it is believed that much of the treasure is still at the bottom of the bay. The port was captured by the British in 1719.

For other meanings, see Vigo (disambiguation)

Vigo
Flag Coat of Arms
Location
Location of Vigo in Spain and Pontevedra
Coordinates : 42°14′14.12″N 8°43′17.86″W / 42.2372556, -8.7216278Coordinates: 42°14′14.12″N 8°43′17.86″W / 42.2372556, -8.7216278. 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.

History

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.

World War II

The Following German U-Boats have been reported as sunk somewhere near the Port of Vigo:

• Unterseeboot 523 Sunk 25 Aug, 1943 in the North Atlantic west of Vigo. 17 dead and 37 survivors.
• Unterseeboot 506 Sunk at 15:50 hrs on 12 July, 1943 in the North Atlantic west of Vigo, Spain. 48 dead and six survivors.

Geography of Vigo

Climate

Monthly temperature and average precipitations (Peinador winter station)

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

Demography

Demographic evolution of Vigo between 1991 and 2005

1991	1996	2001	2004	2005
276,109	286,774	280,186	292,059	293,725

Vigo metropolitan area

The following villages are in the Vigo metropolitan area:

• 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: 293.725 (2005)
• average age: 41.1 years (2005)
• Foreign population: 11.571 (2005)
• Births: 2.632 (2005)
• Deaths: 2.383 (2005)
• Migratory balance: +565 (2005)

Organization of Vigo

Vigo is integrated in the Comarca de Vigo, that as well is integrated by the next municipalities:

• Vigo
• Redondela
• O Porriño
• Nigrán
• Baiona
• Gondomar
• Mos
• Fornelos de Montes
• Pazos de Borbén
• Salceda de Caselas
• Soutomaior.

Parishes of Vigo

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

Economics

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.

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.

Sailing in Vigo

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 Volvo Ocean Race that started from Vigo on November 12, 2005.

Cultural movements and the arts

"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.

Museums and Places to Visit

Vigo has a number of museums and noteworthy places to visit scattered throughout the city:

• Verbum - Casa das Palabras [2]

A museum exploring the world of the word (hearing, reading, alphabets, etc.), with many interactive exhibits.

• Museo do Mar de Galicia

Av. Atlantida, 160 . Vigo . C.P 36208 .

Tlf: 986247750 . Fax : 986247748

• Museo Municipal «Quiñones de León» [3]

Pazo de Lavandeira

• Museo de Arte Contemporánea (MARCO) [4]

Rúa do Príncipe, 54 . CP: 36202 .

Vigo . Telf: 986 11 39 00/11 . Fax: 986 11 39 01

Many of works of contemporary art displayed here are multimedia and large in size.

• Fundación Pedro Barrié de la Maza [5]

• Estación marítima

• Casa das Artes

• Museo Etnográfico Liste [6]

An ethnographic museum, focusing on regional folkways

• Casa Galega da Cultura ("House of Galician Culture")

• Cíes Islands

The Cíes Islands (42° 13′ 24″ N 8° 54′ 14″ O) are an archipelago in the coast of Pontevedra in Galicia (Spain), in the mouth of the Ría de Vigo. They belong to the parish of San Francisco de Afora, in the municipality of Vigo. They were declared Nature Reserve in 1980 and are included in the National Land-Marine Park of the Atlantic Islands of Galicia (Parque Nacional Marítimo-Terrestre das Illas Atlánticas de Galicia) created in 2002. In 2007 the british newspaper The Guardian has chosen the beach of the Monteagudo island as Nr. 1 of the Top 10 beaches of the world.

Miscellaneous

Ría de Vigo (Sight into the harbour, that takes its name from the city).

Ponte de Rande (The Rande Bridge is part of the highway that links both sides of the harbour and which runs North up to A Coruña).

See also

• Port of Vigo
• Rande Bridge
• University of Vigo
• Battle of Vigo Bay
• Redondela
• Cíes Islands
• Vigo-Peinador Airport

External links

• 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

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

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