In theEarly Middle Ages, the small village of Vigo was part of the territory of Galician-speaking neighbouring towns, particularlyTui, and suffered severalViking raids. However, its number of inhabitants was so small that, historically, it was not considered a real town until around the 15th century, when the earliest records began.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the city was attacked several times.Francis Drake attacked the city twice – in 1585 he made asuccessful descent on the city gathering supplies and in 1589, during an unsuccessful attack by theEnglish Armada, Drake raided the city and temporarily occupied it, burning many buildings. Several decades later aOttoman fleet tried to attack the city. As a result, the city's walls were built in 1656 in the reign ofPhilip IV of Spain. They are still partially preserved.[4][5]
In 1808, theFrench Army annexed Spain to theNapoleonic Empire, although Vigo remained unconquered until January, 1809. Vigo was also the first city of Europe to be freed from French rule, in what is annually celebrated on March 28 as theReconquista (reconquest from the French in the context of thePeninsular War). In 1833, the city ofPontevedra was designated the provincial capital of theprovince of Pontevedra, within which lies Vigo.[5]
Vigo grew very rapidly in the 20th century, thanks to the fact that the Spanish government granted it a free trade zone in 1947 to encourage international trade and economic development in southern Galicia.
The municipal flag waving in the wind, featuring the olive tree.
Vigo's urban area is built on both a hill-fort (Castro) and aRoman settlement. It is generally accepted that the name Vigo is derived from theLatin wordvicus spacorum, meaning "small village".
The standard pronunciation of Vigo in bothGalician and Spanish is[ˈbiɣo].
Vigo has been given the nicknamecidade olívica (city of olives). It is said that, after the conflict betweenIsabel de Castilla andJuana la Beltraneja - where Galician nobility fought for the latter - the victor ordered all of Galicia'solive trees to be cut down, as they symbolized peace. The tree in Vigo however, could not be uprooted as it was planted insacred ground. The tree is represented in the city seal, and a descendant of it is still alive in Vigo's city centre.[6]
Vigo borders the municipalities ofRedondela to the northeast; to the east,Mos; to the south,O Porriño andGondomar; and to the southwest,Nigrán. On the opposite side of the bay are the municipalities ofCangas andMoaña.
Vigo has a transitional climate between theoceanic climate "Cfb" and thewarm-summer Mediterranean climate "Csb" according to theKöppen climate classification. Although Vigo is the rainiest city in Galicia, with its noticeable drying trend in the summer, Vigo's climate is more similar to the variant of the oceanic climate commonly seen in thePacific Northwest region of North America. The all-time record high for the city is 40.8 °C (105 °F) set on August 7, 2016.[7] Vigo is known for its extreme rainfall in winter. December 1978 saw 925.6 millimetres (36.44 in) fall at the weather station in a single month.[8][9] During that month on 7 December, 175 millimetres (6.9 in) fell on a single day.[10] Normal values for 1991–2020 was 1,695 millimetres (66.7 in) falling on just 126 days indicating heavy rain to be common.[11] The airport where values are taken is located further inland at a considerably higher elevation (261 metres (856 ft)) than the city itself located on the coastline in theRia de Vigo estuary, which is likely warmer year-round.
Climate data for Vigo (Vigo Airport 261m) (1991–2020). Extremes (1951–present)
As of 2024, the municipality of Vigo has a population of 295,523, of which 201,018 is in the core city,[14] with an extended metropolitan population of 545,892 in the southern part of theprovince of Pontevedra, making it Spain's 14th-largest metropolitan area.[15]
By language, as of 2013, 7.7% of the population spoke exclusively inGalician, and 51.39% in Spanish; 11.4% spoke in Galician more often than Spanish, and 29.6% more often in Spanish than Galician. This made Vigo the least Galician-speaking city in Galicia.[16]
The city council (Concello de Vigo) is the body responsible for the governance and administration of themunicipality, the lowest level of local government in Spain. The plenary of theconcello is formed by 27 elected municipal councillors, who in turn invest themayor. The council meets at the Casa do Concello at the Praza do Rei.
Vigo is divided into 18 parishes. Seventeen of these correspond to traditional ecclesiastical parishes, while the administrative parish of Vigo Centro encompasses the ecclesiastical parishes of Bouzas, Coia, Freixeiro, San Paio and San Xoan do Monte. Each parish is further subdivided intobarrios or neighbourhoods.
Parishes of Vigo
Place name
Population
Land area in km2
Map of Vigo
1
Alcabre
4,198
1.2
2
Beade
5,250
7
3
Bembrive
4,374
9
4
Cabral
6,654
9.1
5
Candéan
4,639
5
6
Castrelos
8,096
2
7
Comesaña
6,389
3
8
Coruxo
5,296
9
9
Lavadores
17,636
6
10
Matamá
3,569
4.67
11
Navia
6,269
2.45
12
Oia
3,935
4
13
Saiáns
1,150
1.82
14
Sárdoma
2,452
1.9
15
Teis
2,188
5
16
Valadares
5,457
11
17
Vigo Centro
201,018
14.54
18
Zamáns
840
7
The parishes of Bouzas, Lavadores and Teis were their own municipalities before they were incorporated into Vigo.[22]
Vigo is home to theCo-cathedral of Santa María and several museums, most of which were inaugurated between the late 1990s and early 2000s. Among them are the Museum of Contemporary Art (MARCO) and the Museum of the Sea. The oldest museum is the Quiñones de León Municipal Museum.
Samil Beach and Toralla island
Casco Vello (historic centre)
Porta do Sol, Policarpo Sanz and Alameda area (modern centre)
Naturnova Museum: Museum dedicated to the environment. Interactive contents.[23]
Museum of the Sea: Museum dedicated to the Sea, and to tinned food and to naval. Important building designed by famous architectsAldo Rossi andCesar Portela.
Façade of Church of Santa María de Castrelos in the parish of Castrelos.
The municipality of Vigo is one of the most important Roman centers ofPontevedra. Although within the city one will not find much Romanesque architecture, it can be seen a few kilometers away from the city center. In many of the municipality's neighborhoods and parishes a large number of Roman ruins remain. Such is the importance of the Roman remains in Vigo that many Spanish authors have come to coin the termRomanesque Vigo (románico vigués in Spanish). Vigo retains some interesting examples of Romanesque churches in southern Galicia:[26]
Throughout the municipality of Vigo there are 47 coves and beaches, including sandy areas with waves for water sports, wild coves, family beaches, nudist beaches and urban beaches.[27][28] Some of these coves and beaches have various facilities or services for their users, such as sports areas, showers, footbaths, public address system, promenade, Red Cross lifeguard and rescue post, areas adapted for people with disabilities, etc.
In June 2020, the Association for Environmental and Consumer Education (ADEAC) awarded theblue flag distinction to the following 10 beaches in Vigo: Argazada, Canido, Carril, Fontaíña, Muíños de Fortiñón, Punta, Rodas,Samil, Tombo do Gato and Vao.[29]
Vigo is served by Vigo-Peinador Airport (VGO/LEVX). Located 12 kilometres to the east of the city of Vigo, straddling halfway the municipalities of Vigo,Redondela andMos, it offers domestic and international destinations.
Vigo is characterized by a diversified economy linked to the fishing sector, industry, trade, tourism and services. It is often considered withA Coruña one of the economic and industrial engines of Galicia.[32]
Vigo is the home port of many of the world's largest fishing companies, such asPescanova andIberconsa and the most important centre of the Galician canned and processed fish industries.
The fishing sector in Vigo generates more than 32,000 direct and indirect jobs and a turnover of more than 1 billion euros per year. More than 660 fishing vessels are registered in the port of Vigo, making it one of the main ports for the marketing of fresh fish for human consumption in the world, with around 800,000 tonnes per year.[32][33]
Vigo regularly hosts congresses and trade fairs related to industrial fishing, such as the World Tuna Conference (biannually), Conxemar (annually), or the World Fishing Exhibition (which was held periodically from 1973 to 2009).
Vigo is one of the leading industrial areas in Galicia, with a car factory, shipyards, and auxiliary industry in both automotive and marine sectors. Situated in Vigo since 1958, theStellantis Plant is one of the largest employers in the region. In 2007, it produced a total of 545,000 vehicles, of which more than 82% were sold outside Spain.[citation needed] Biotech[34] and other advanced industries play an important role on Vigo's economy.
The publishing industry in Galician is prominent in the city, with Editorial Galaxia and Editorial Xerais.
ThePort of Vigo covers a length of more than 20 km and offers more than 9 km of docks. The largest port traffic is general freight, highlightingcontainer traffic,RO-RO ofvehicles (the second in Spain in Ro-Ro traffic for new vehicles), naturalstone andgranite (the first of Spain in granite traffic),wood and preservedfood.
The main campus of theUniversity of Vigo is located on top of one of the mountains that surrounds the town, in the parish ofZamáns.[35] The local transportation serviceVitrasa runs a shuttle service connecting the campus with the town. The majority of the students of the university come from Vigo itself and from other towns and villages in Galicia and can choose from a wide range of studies, with a focus on ocean studies and engineering.
The University of Vigo was founded in 1990 as split from theUniversity of Santiago de Compostela and has two additional campuses located inPontevedra andOurense. The Zamáns Campus features several buildings that constitute excellent examples of modern architecture that blends in with the shape of the mountain in which it is located. These buildings were projected by the likes ofEnric Miralles, Alfonso Penelas, Pilar Díez y Alberto Noguerol César Portela, Gabriel Santos Zas and César Padrón.[36][37]
Vigo has two daily newspapers; theFaro de Vigo, the oldest newspaper in Spain still in circulation, and theAtlántico Diario, a little local newspaper. There also exist a local edition of the Galician main headline newspaper "La Voz de Galicia". Vigo was also the main location of historic newspaper such as the weekly newspaper "A Nosa Terra", which was published inGalician and is now defunct.
Vigo also has a TV local station: "Televigo". Although not very popular, it is known thanks to the town mayor,Abel Caballero, who has a show in which he answers to questions and inquiries submitted by the citizens.
Radio coverage includesRNE —the Spanish public radio network—,Radio Galega —a Galician government-supported radio in Galician language—, and some private-owned stations ("Radio Vigo - Cadena Ser", "Radio Voz Vigo", "Radio ECCA", and so on).
Around the 2000s, several online news websites emerged (for example, "riadevigo.com") besides of the traditional media homepages. Vigo also participated in the Europeanwide free newspapers rush led by "Metro" and some free journals were published in the 1990s and 2000s: "20 minutos", "Gaceta Universitaria", "Redacción Xove", etcetera. "España Exterior" is also printed in Vigo.
The locally produced award-winning feature movieMondays In The Sun (original titleLos lunes al sol) depicts the life of several men who have lost their work at thePort of Vigo. This film is not based on a single individual's experiences but on the perceived collective experiences of many local port workers.
Celta de Vigo players during a fixture versus Espanyol
The women's basketball teamCelta de Vigo Baloncesto is based in Vigo. They have won theLiga Femenina de Baloncesto, the top tier of Spanish women's basketball, five times, most recently in 2000. In the 2011–12 season, and following a number of economic problems, the team was relegated to the second division.
TheRías Baixas offer an excellent environment for nautical sports. Institutions such as theReal 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 organises important events like Atlantic Week, which in September 2006 included the World Championship of the Platu 25 class. Every August, the RCNV also organises one of the largest sailboat races in the Iberian peninsula: theRegata Rías Baixas. In 2006 more than 130 different boats participated.
The Liceo Maritimo de Bouzas (LMB) is a yacht club which counts around 400 associates. The LMB has a long and intense history of sailing and recreational fishing.[39] The LMB organizes two important regattas in the Galician sailing calendar: theRegata Vila de Bouzas and aRegata de Solitarios y a Dos.[40]
TheRegata Vila de Bouzas honours the neighbourhood where the LMB is located. TheRegata de Solitarios y a Dos is for crews of one and two members. It is a difficult race with two stages; the first consists of a race through the coastal bay of Vigo while the second stage is a longer race around theCies Islands (and/or Ons Islands).
Vigo Bay is one of the settings forJules Verne's 1870 novelTwenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas. The book's protagonist,Captain Nemo, draws his wealth and the funding for his submarineNautilus from the cargoes of the galleons sunk by the British during theBattle of Vigo Bay in 1702. They are depicted as still having their treasure and as being easily accessible to divers.[42]
In the novel and the movieDas Boot, set during World War II, the German submarineU-96 stops in Vigo under cover of darkness to resupply (in secret, as Spain is neutral) from a German cargo ship stationed there for this purpose.
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