Pontevedra is a

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

along the country's Atlantic coast in southwestern Europe. The province forms the southwestern part of the

autonomous community eu, autonomia erkidegoa ca, comunitat autònoma gl, comunidade autónoma oc, comunautat autonòma an, comunidat autonoma ast, comunidá autónoma , alt_name = , map = , category = Autonomous administra ...

of Galicia. It is bordered by the provinces of

A Coruña A Coruña (; es, La Coruña ; historical English: Corunna or The Groyne) is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. A Coruña is the most populated city in Galicia and the second most populated municipality in the autonomous community and s ...

Lugo Lugo (, ; la, Lucus Augusti) is a city in northwestern Spain in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia. It is the capital of the Lugo (province), province of Lugo. The municipality had a population ...

, and

Ourense Ourense (; es, Orense ) is a city and capital of the province of Ourense, located in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, northwestern Spain. It is on the Camino Sanabrés path of the Way of St ...

, the country of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

and the Atlantic Ocean. The official languages of the Pontevedra province are

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

and Galician. There is a public institution called the

Provincial Deputation of Pontevedra The Provincial Deputation of Pontevedra (Spanish language, Spanish: , Galician language, Galician: ) or Provincial Council of Pontevedra is the Provincial deputation (Spain), institution in charge of the government and administration of the Spanis ...

(Provincial Council), whose head office is in

Pontevedra Pontevedra (, ) is a Spanish city in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. It is the capital of both the ''Comarca'' (County) and Province of Pontevedra, and of the Rías Baixas in Galicia. It is also the capital of its own municipality whi ...

city, that provides direct services to citizens such as technical, financial and technological support to the councils of the 62 municipalities of the province of Pontevedra. The population of the province is 942,665 (2019), of whom 9% live in the capital, the city of

and 28% in

Vigo Vigo ( , , , ) is a city and Municipalities in Spain, municipality in the province of Pontevedra, within the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, Spain. Located in the northwest of the Iberian Penins ...

Geography

Pontevedra is cut in two parts by the

Lérez River The Lérez is a river in South West Galicia, Spain. The river meets the Atlantic Ocean at Pontevedra, where it creates Pontevedra's ria. The sources of the long stream are in Serra do Candán, in the mountain of San Bieito, in the parish of Aci ...

. Most of the major tourist attractions in Pontevedra are to the south of the river. Pontevedra features many historical buildings, monuments, and churches. Much of the

Rías Baixas The Rías Baixas (Galician language, Galician for "Lower Rias") are a series of four estuarine inlets located on the southwestern coast of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, Spain. They are the Ría de Muros e Noia, the Ría de Arousa, the Ria de Ponteved ...

'' Denominación de Origen'' (DO) is located in the province. The province similarly shares the Atlantic Islands of Galicia National Park with neighbouring

A Coruña province A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...

. This region contains the Galician islands of Ons,

Cies The International Centre for Sports Studies, known mostly by the initials CIES from the French ''Centre International d'Etude du Sport'', is an independent, research and education organization, located in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. It had a resea ...

Sálvora Sálvora Island ( gl, Illa de Sálvora ; es, Isla de Sálvora ) is a small island located on the Ría de Arousa, coast of Galicia, Spain. It belongs to the municipality of Santa Uxía de Ribeira and is integrated in the Atlantic Islands of Galici ...

and Cortegada.

Climate

The province has an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...

with warm and relatively dry summers and cool and very wet winters.

Demographics

The province's capital,

, with a population of 83,260 (2020) is not the largest city of its province, the largest municipality is the industrial

with a population of 293,837. In addition, there are 62 municipalities in the province. Other relevant municipalities, based on their populations, are

Vilagarcía de Arousa Vilagarcía de Arousa is a Spanish municipality in the Province of Pontevedra, Galicia. As of 2014 it has a population of 37,712, being ninth largest town in Galicia. History The present site of Vilagarcía has been occupied since prehistori ...

(37,456),

Redondela Redondela is a town in the province of Pontevedra, Galicia, northwestern Spain. The most famous icons of the village are its two major railway viaducts built in the nineteenth century. Due to these infrastructures Redondela is known under the nick ...

(29,218), Cangas (26,542), Marín (24,319),

Ponteareas Ponteareas is town and municipality in the province of Pontevedra, in Spain. It is located on the Vigo-Benavente highway and on the river Tea, a right-hand tributary of the Miño. It is the chief town of a fertile hilly region, which produces wi ...

(22,877),

A Estrada A Estrada is a municipality of the Pontevedra province in Galicia in northwestern Spain. It is located some southeast of Santiago de Compostela. Etymology The name comes from the Latin word ''strata'', with the meaning of ''trodden earth, where ...

(20,479),

Lalín Lalín is a municipality in Galicia, Spain in the north of the province of Pontevedra. It's the capital of the region of the Deza. The town has a population of 20,158 inhabitants (2014).http://www.ige.eu/igebdt/esq.jsp?paxina=002003001&c=-1&ru ...

(20,218), and

O Porriño O Porriño (historically known in English as ) is a municipality in Galicia, Spain in the province of Pontevedra. An industrial town, in the Vigo metropolitan area, it is an important economic dependency. One of its main industries is granite p ...

(19,848).

Counties

O Baixo Miño O Baixo Miño (, , pt, Baixo Minho) is a ''comarca'' in the Galician province of Pontevedra. The area covers 315.1 km2, and the overall population of this ''comarca'' was 50,978 at the 2011 Census;Census at 1 November 2011: Instituto Nacional de ...

county * Caldas county *

O Condado O Condado is a ''comarca'' in the Galician Province of Pontevedra, centred on the town of Ponteareas (''Puenteareas'' in Castilian Spanish). It covers an area of 341 km2, and the overall population of this comarca A ''comarca'' (, or , or ) ...

county * O Deza county *

O Morrazo O Morrazo (in Galician do Morrazo es, El Morrazo) is a ''comarca'' in the Galician province of Pontevedra. It covers an area of 140.1 sq.km, and the overall population of this ''comarca'' was 83,305 at the 2011 Census; the latest official estim ...

county * A Paradanta county *

county *

O Salnés O Salnés is a ''comarca'' in the Galician Province of Pontevedra Pontevedra is a province of Spain along the country's Atlantic coast in southwestern Europe. The province forms the southwestern part of the autonomous community of Galicia ...

county * Tabeirós – Terra de Montes county *

county

Notes and references

External links