History_of_Vigo_Guide_ENGLISH

Historical Guide to the City of Vigo

Concello de Vigo Praza do Rei , 1 36206 Vigo Tlf.: (+34) 986 810 100 www.turismodevigo.org

HISTORY OF VIGO The Mythical Foundation of Vigo

Its Prehistoric and Roman remains testify to the fact that Vigo is an ancient city. It was an important settlement for the Castro culture and by the first century AD had become a small port for fishing and commerce that formed part of the intricate commercial network of the Roman Empire. However, somewhat paradoxically, it is regarded as a city without history, a modern city, as a result of its accelerated growth in the twentieth century. This is part of the price that must be paid for not having a founding myth, for lacking heroes and gods that fought before history, in contrast to cities such as Rome or Borges’ Buenos Aires.

Vigo had to rise from the waters of the Atlantic and owes everything to the ocean. Indeed, its deities are related to the sea, but it would be impossible to forget the forge and the branding iron, symbols of its industrial spirit. In terms of Roman mythology, Vigo would be the result of a struggle between Neptune, the god of the waters, and Vulcan, the blacksmith god of fire; a struggle to win the patronage of the city and the honour of its inhabitants.

5

Later on, at the height of the Middle Ages, a bard appeared who would tell of the city’s mythic past: the great mediaeval troubadour, Martín Códax. He composed songs about Vigo—“Waves of the sea of Vigo…” and “Whoever knows how to love a friend, come with me to the sea at Vigo, and we shall bathe in the waves!…”—irrevocably binding poetry, music, love and the sea of Vigo, all of which brings us to Venus, the goddess of love and beauty, to our own Olympus in the Cíes Islands—formerly islands of the gods—for the delight of all mortals.

And with these three gods, we grew, cutting our path through the ages and the seas.

Great floating masses of metal set sail from the port at the start of the twentieth century, when Vigo was Spain’s gateway to the Americas, and today great floating masses of metal return, packed with tourists. Such have things changed in the space of a century. Vigo is a city founded on the partnership of fire, water and beauty, which has forgotten its mythical past, but remembers where it is going on a daily basis. Our city is one of travellers who have found their port, just like Captain Nemo—who Jules Verne situates in the ria with his Nautilus—many inhabitants of Vigo arrive in the city and decide to stay. There can be no better message to visitors, who can discover us today.

7

RECOMMENDED ATTRACTIONS: Qui帽ones de Le贸n Museum and O Castro Site Recommended tour: Mount O Castro in 100 Minutes

1

Prehistory

Vigo and its region have been inhabited since ancient times. In spite of the fact that no Palaeolithic site has been discovered, in its formidable archaeological collection, the Quiñones de León Museum holds around fifty examples of sculpted quartz and quartzite tools that have been dated to the Stone Age.

A number of hand-axes, some of which are votive, have been discovered from the Neolithic Age. There are also numerous funerary constructions—tumuli or “mámoas”—from the period, scattered across the region’s mountains, of which the Casa dos Mouros, on the way up to the A Madroa park, is a particularly fine example.

Similarly, petroglyphs are also abundant in the mountains around the city, the best examples of which are perhaps the petroglyphs of Fragoselo and As Millaradas. There is also a large collection of rock art with representations of geometric patterns, arms and fauna dating back to the transition from the third to the second millennium BC.

9

1

Prehistory

Various discoveries of ceramics, bronze arms and more rock art indicate the existence of dwellers during the Bronze Age, between 1900 and 800 BC. Later on, the Castro culture, which spans the Iron Age in its entirety and which existed in Galicia from the eighth century BC to the end of the first century AD, has left many traces in Vigo, as shown by the existence of 26 forts (castros) in the municipal district, the largest of which has been partially reconstructed and can be visited on hillside in the O Castro park. At that time, Vigo had one of the highest population densities in the whole of Galicia.

11

RECOMMENDED ATTRACTIONS: Qui帽ones de Le贸n Museum, Salinae site and Roman Villa of Toralla

2

The Roman Age

In Vigo, also known as Vicus Spacorum, the process of Romanisation came early.

Archaeological remains, various examples of which are conserved in the Qui帽ones de Le贸n Museum, show the existence of intense port and commercial activity on the Vigo coast from the second century BC to the first century AD, which saw the establishment of Pax Romana.

There are still significant remains from the period: settlements scattered along the coast, such as the Roman Villa of Toralla, the ruins of port and fish salting facilities, streets, necropolis, as well as the intense Romanisation of the existing Castro populations.

The most recent excavations carried out in the historic quarter and urban area, including the Salinae site, which has been turned into a museum, reveal the existence of a significant human settlement between the third and sixth centuries AD.

13

RECOMMENDED ATTRACTIONS: Qui帽ones de Le贸n Museum Recommended tour: Old Vigo Self-Guided Tour

3

The Middle Ages

During this period, in which Galician society was dominated by the Church, for many years Vigo was governed by the Cistercian monastery of Melon. It was a period marked by frequent raids by Nordic pirates that drove the population inland to seek refuge on Mount O Castro.

In the Middle Ages, Vigo was famous for its olive groves and its flourishing fishing trade. There is documentary evidence from Romanesque churches that shows the existence of important population settlements in the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth centuries in locations that coincide with the current parishes: Santiago de Bembrive, San Salvador de Coruxo and Santa María de Castrelos. The two Roman bridges in Sárdoma and Fragoso have also survived, as well as numerous objects conserved in the Quiñones de León Museum.

From the twelfth century, the city began to recover its population around the parish of Santiago de Vigo and the fishing district of Santa María, which now constitute the historic quarter, which can be explored on the Old Vigo Self-Guided Tour. However, Vigo’s development remained limited while the Crown restricted the privilege of sea trade with other Atlantic cities to the neighbouring villa of Baiona.

15

RECOMMENDED ATTRACTIONS: Qui帽ones de Le贸n Museum Recommended tour: Old Vigo Self-Guided Tour

4

The Fifteenth to the Eighteenth Centuries

With sardine fishing as the main economic resource and incentive for trade, Vigo’s population expanded, in spite of the pirates. Attacks such as those perpetrated by Francis Drake in 1585 and 1589, and the Turks in 1617, resulted in the construction of the city walls and the Castle of San Sebastián in 1656.

However, it was in 1702 that the most significant episode in the city’s history occurred: the Battle of Rande. The Anglo-Dutch fleet followed the Spanish Treasure Fleet from South America and its French escort into the ria. Although it was possible to unload part of the American treasure, the victorious English captured a number of ships and their contents, and many others sank in the cove of San Simón.

In 1778, the monopoly over the ports that were authorised to trade with America was broken and Vigo began to benefit from this traffic. The city’s defences were improved, with new fortifications such as A Laxe, and the wall was designed with seven gates: Falperra, Berbés, del Mar, Laxe, Gamboa, Sol and del Placer, locations that now give their names to streets visitors will come across on the Old Vigo Self-Guided Tour. The city began to grow thanks to Catalonian merchants and industrial figures who established factories for salting,

soap, and leather and linen products in the second half of the eighteenth century. This period also saw the arrival of artwork from across Europe, now held in the Qui帽ones de Le贸n Museum.

19

RECOMMENDED ATTRACTIONS: Pacheco Archives and Liste Museum Recommended tour: Stately Vigo Self-Guided Tour

5

The Nineteenth Century

In 1809, the French army occupied Vigo, however popular resistance resulted in swift liberation, and the popular Reconquista is celebrated to this day. This episode, which earned Vigo the title of a “Faithful, Loyal and Brave” city, was followed by a series of works to improve its facilities: the royal road to Madrid was opened in 1833, and the construction of the new Collegiate Church was completed the following year. The second half of the century saw the establishment of a branch of the Bank of Spain, and a new stone quay was built. The city’s growth led its governors to agree to demolish the walls to allow its expansion.

At this time, salting and marine-derivatives factories continued to open, fuelling the growth of the wage-earning population and a financial middle class. Without walls, Vigo expanded along new streets and build stately stone buildings that can be seen on the Stately Vigo SelfGuided Tour.

21

Vigo also expanded internationally, especially thanks to its relations with America. Periodic sailings were established to Havana, Buenos Aires and Puerto Rico in 1855, and the railway line to Ourense was launched in 1881.

This was a new city, which, in 1899, added the designation of “Always Charitable� to its titles, on account of its hospitality towards soldiers injured in the Spanish-American War. This new city is captured in the images conserved in the Pacheco Archives, although it did not relinquish its traditions and the ethnography of its rural origins, conserved to this day in the Liste Museum.

RECOMMENDED ATTRACTIONS: Pacheco Archives, Liste Museum and MARCO Recommended tour: Vigo from Yesterday to Today Self-Guided Tour

6

Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries

In the first third of the twentieth century, the Port of Vigo was bound up with the image of the thousands of Galicians who set sail to emigrate, but also with economic development.

Photographic evidence of this growth is conserved in the Pacheco Archives, which record a period that saw the establishment of major businesses, such as the Barreras and Vulcano shipyards, and Pescanova, as well as a large number of businesses related to the sea that have transformed Vigo into Europe’s main fishing port.

Another of the city’s icons is the tramway, which entered service in 1914, at a time of great social change, with newspapers, and political and union associations and organisations.

This dynamism was silenced by the fascist military coup against the Republic and the subsequent Civil War.

As the century went on, Vigo absorbed the municipalities of Bouzas (1904) and Lavadores (1941), but without shedding its rural character, which can still be seen in the surrounding area and is conserved in the Liste Museum.

25

The second half of the century saw the creation of the Gran Vía (the “Great Way”), and the establishment of industrial companies such as Citroën, as well as the creation of new districts such as Coia, which facilitated high population growth and saw the population of 30,000 in 1910 rise to the present level of almost 300,000.

Today Vigo is an industrial city which also has a service sector. It is an avant-garde city proud of its Modern Art Gallery (MARCO) and its more modern buildings and urban spaces, all included in the Vigo from Yesterday to Today Self-Guided Tour. The automotive and canning industries, as well as the shipyards, construction and the fashion sector make Vigo the economic powerhouse of Galicia as well as a reference point for the North of Portugal.

Prehistory Rome Middle Ages 15th–18th C. 19th C. 20th–21st C. x x x x x

x x x x x

Vigo from Yesterday to Today

Stately Vigo

Old Vigo

MARCO

Pacheco Archives

Liste Museum

Roman Villa of Toralla

Salinae

O Castro Site

Quiñones de León Museum

Museums Tours

x x x x x x