San Nicolas, officially the Municipality of San Nicolas, is a 5th class municipality in the province of Batangas, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 23,908 people. It is equivalent to 0.15% of the population in the Calabarzon area or 0.82% of the total population of Batangas province. These numbers are used to calculate the population density, which is 1057 PD/km2. The municipality makes up 0.73% of Batangas's total area, with a land area of 22.61 sqkm. The municipality also occupies the southern half of Taal Volcano, shared by the municipality of Talisay in the northern half.

Etymology

San Nicolas is derived from Spanish for Saint Nicholas of Tolentino, the town's patron saint.

History

San Nicolas traces its roots to barrio Wawa, which was once part of the municipality of Taal. The barrio also covered areas of what is now Alitagtag, Agoncillo, Lemery, and San Luis, according to old locals. It was first inhabited by Malays from Borneo. It was the site of Taal's second municipal center from its establishment in 1572 to 1754, during the peak of Moro piracy. Taal was designated as the provincial capital of Batangas from 1732 to 1754. The 1754 Taal Volcano eruption, which lasted for months, greatly destroyed the area, making Taal move its municipal center to its present location near Balayan Bay. After which, Wawa was renamed to San Nicolas. In 1955, the barrios of San Nicolas, Abelo, Alas-as, Balete, Bancoro, Bangin, Calangay, Calawit, Calumala, Hipit, Maabud, Munlawin, Pansipit, Pulang-Bato, Saimsim, Sinturisan, Talang, and Tambo were separated from Taal and constituted into a new and separate municipality known as San Nicolas. In 1957, the following sitios were converted into independent barrios: Burol from Tambo, Tagudtod from Munlawin, Kalawit and Pulang-Bato from Alas-as, and Baluk-Baluk from Hipit. In 1961, the barrios of Calumala, Tambo, Saimsim and Bucal were separated from San Nicolas to form parts of the new municipality of Santa Teresita.

Geography

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the municipality has a land area of 14.37 km2 constituting NaN% of the 3,119.75 km2 total area of Batangas.

Barangays

San Nicolas is politically subdivided into 18 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

Climate

Demographics

In the 2020 census, San Nicolas had a population of 23,908.

Economy

Politics

Lester De Sagun has been the mayor of San Nicolas since 2019. 16,841 people were registered to vote in the municipality's elections in 2022.

Sister city