Vigo- Historical

The city of Vigo, located in the south of Galicia, Spain, was founded during the age of the Roman Empire. The Romans called it „Vicus“, which means village or town in Latin. The most important part of the city during the Middle Ages was the quarter Berbés, which is now the city centre. 

Medieval was a hard time for Vigo: About the year 1000, the city was destroyed by the Moors and not resettled until 1170. Attacking Normans caused more problems and in the 14th century, the plague killed nearly the whole population. But Vigo profited very much during the siglo del oro and became a rich city. But this was not the end of the destruction...

- Under the leadership of Sir Francis Drake, british soldiers destroyed Vigo in 1589.

- In 1619, the city was attacked by turkish pirates.

-In 1702, the British came back and looted another time.

- In 1808, french soldiers during the empire of Napoleon tried to overwhelm Vigo- the citizens made them move away just three months later.

So one could say that the actual existence of Vigo is a miracle. The city was destroyed and rebuild so often, but the citizens never gave it up. No surprise: In 1840 there were just about 5000 people living in Vigo- compared to about 300.000 in the 21th century. 

Another point: The franquismo. Facist Spain claimed to be neutral in World War II, but in fact the franquists allowed german submarines to use the habour. This endet in 1942, maybe because Germany was aabout to lose the war. Important to mention is also that Vigo was one oft he most important cultural centres during the post- franquist era. Today it is the biggest city of Galicia, best known for its habour, the beaches and the local football club RC Celta de Vigo. The creativity oft he movida can be seen on many places.

So in fact, Vigo is not a city with an long and proudful history- it was usually destroyed by different people and rebuilt later. The celtic heritage oft he pre-roman era is mostly disapperead. But what is unusual and impressing is the pertinacity oft he citizens: They never gave up Vigo, doesn´t matter what happened. After so much bad luck and destruction, the city still exists. And the Faro de Vigo is the oldest newspaper in Spain- another thing to be proud of.