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City of Vigan

Location
Map of Ilocos Sur showing the location of Vigan
Government
Region	Ilocos Region (Region I)
Province	Ilocos Sur
District	1st District of Ilocos Sur
Barangays	39
Income class:	5th class, urban
Mayor	Ferdinand C. Medina (LP)
Founded	1572
Cityhood	January 22, 2001
Official Website	www.vigancity.gov.ph
Physical characteristics
Area	11 km²
Population      Total (2000)      Density	45,143 4103.91/km²
Coordinates	17°34'30" N 120°23'15" E

Historic Town of Vigan*
UNESCO World Heritage Site
State Party	Philippines
Type	Cultural
Criteria	ii, iv
Reference	502
Region†	Asia-Pacific
Inscription History
Inscription	1999  (23rd Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List. † Region as classified by UNESCO.

The City of Vigan is a 5th class city in the province of Ilocos Sur, Philippines. It is the capital city of Ilocos Sur. The city, located on the western coast of the large island of Luzon, facing the South China Sea.

It is a World Heritage Site in that it is the most intact example of a Spanish colonial town in Asia, and is well-known for its cobblestone streets and a unique architecture that fuses Asian building design and construction with European colonial architecture and planning.

According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 45,143 people in 9,193 households.

Elpidio Quirino, the 6th president of the Philippines, resided in Vigan.

Vigan City is politically subdivided into 39 barangays.

During the conquest days of the Spanish, The conquistador Juan de Salcedo headed up north to the Ilocos to establish a military base in present-day Vigan. When he first arrived in the place through what is now called Pagpartian through the Mestizo River, he noticed the lush, green plants growing along the riverbanks. He asked the name of the plants, and he knew that they were biga'a. He then derived the city's name, "Vigan," from the plant's name.

Its full name at the time of its founding was Villa Fernandina, in honor of the first born son of King Philip II of Spain. As the city grew, and the seat of the Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia transferred to the place, it was later named Ciudad Fernandina de Vigan, in honor of the reigning Spanish king.

• University of Northern Philippines - the oldest State University in Northern Luzon, founded by virtue of Republic Act 4449, authored by the late Congressman Floro Crisologo
• Saint Paul College of Ilocos Sur (formerly Rosary College) - the oldest privately-funded school in Ilocos Sur, founded by the Sisters of Saint Paul of Chartres in Vigan (but recently fully transferred to nearby Bantay)
• Divine Word College of Vigan - the second oldest privately-funded school in Ilocos Sur, founded by priests belonging to the Society of the Divine Word (SVD)

• Pasyalang Ilocos Sur
• Heritage City of Vigan
• Filipino community
• Yellow Page Philippines
• Philippine Travel Destinations: City of Vigan
• Vigan travel guide from Wikitravel

v • d • e World Heritage Sites in the Philippines
Baroque Churches of the Philippines · Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park · Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras · Tubbataha Reef · Vigan