Georgetown (Ascension)

Georgetown
	Georgetown
	Georgetown
Coordinates	7 ° 56 ′ S , 14 ° 25 ′ W Coordinates: 7 ° 56 ′ S , 14 ° 25 ′ W
Basic data
Country	St. Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
island	Ascension
ISO 3166-2	SH-AC
Residents	450 (2008)
	View of Georgetown

Georgetown is the capital of the island of Ascension , which belongs to the British overseas territory of St. Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha . With around 450 inhabitants (as of 2008), a good half of the island's population (800 people in total) live in Georgetown.

The place is on the west coast of the island and is grouped around St. Mary's Church and the Exiles Club ; there are also a few smaller shops, a hospital, a library and other public buildings. The only school on the island, however, is in Two Boats Village in the interior of the island.

geography

The place is overlooked from Cross Hill , on which there is a fortress with Victorian and newer cannons. Another fortress hill is at the other end of the village and is used as a museum.

Infrastructure

Georgetown has a small harbor. The airfield Wideawake is almost 4.8 km from the village center. From here there are flights to the United Kingdom . Since November 2017 Airlink has been flying once a month from St. Helena to Ascension and back. The only branch of the Bank of St. Helena on the island is located in Georgetown .

With the T3 Cinema , Georgetown has a cinema.

Touristic

Georgetown has a number of historic buildings worth seeing, including the Marine Barracks ( Exiles Building ), St. Mary’s Church , Fort Hayes and Fort Thornton . The Ascension Heritage Society runs a small museum . Three of the island's five tourist accommodations can also be found here, including the island's only hotel, the Obsidian Hotel (closed since September 2017). There are also restaurants , bars and vehicle rental in Georgetown .