Vigo
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- For other meanings, see Vigo (disambiguation)
History
Vigo has a long history. The urban area of Vigo is built over both a Celtic village (Castro) and a Roman settlement. In fact, it is generally accepted that the name of Vigo comes from the latin word Vicus. During Middle Ages the small village of Vigo was part of the territory of neighbouring towns, mainly Tuy, 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 temporally seizured by an English fleet.
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.
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 nearest future, the headquarter of the European Fisheries Agency.
Demography
| 1991 | 1996 | 2001 | 2004 | 2005 |
| 276,109 | 286,774 | 280,186 | 292,059 | 293,725 |
Higher education
University of Vigo, which earlier was a branch of University of Santiago de Compostela, is situated in a mountainous area outside the city.
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 notorius bands like Ivan Ferreiro 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
Vigo has a number of museums scattered throughout the city:- Museo do Mar de Galicia
- Av. Atlantida, 160 . Vigo . C.P 36208 .
- Tlf: 986247750 . Fax : 986247748
- Museo Municipal «Quiñones de León»
- Museo Etnográfico Liste
- Estación marítima
- Verbum - Casa das Palabras
- Museo de Arte Contemporánea (MARCO)
- Casa das Artes
- Casa Galega da Cultura ("House of Galician Culture")
Miscellaneous
See also
- Port of Vigo
- Rande Bridge
- University of Vigo
- Battle of Vigo Bay
- Redondela
- Allen Technologies Vigo Software
External links
- [The official tourist website of all Galicia, including Santiago de Compostela]
- [City Council]
- [Photos]
- [Vigo photo]
- [Official city site]
- [University of Vigo]
- [Pescanova]
- [Caixanova]
| Galician cities |
|
|---|---|
| Santiago de Compostela | A Coruña | Vigo | |
| Pontevedra | [Ferrol, Spain|Ferrol] | Lugo | Ourense | |
| [http://encycl.opentopia.com/ edit ] | Roman Catholic Church - The five Dioceses of Galicia. |
| ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Diocese of Orense | Diocese of Tui-Vigo | Archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela | Diocese of Ferrol-Mondoñedo | Diocese of Lugo | ||||||||||||
| [http://encycl.opentopia.com/ edit ] | Municipalities of 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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