Gustavia

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Gustavia
Gustavia (Saint Barthélemy)
Gustavia
Gustavia
Coordinates 17 ° 54 ′  N , 62 ° 51 ′  W Coordinates: 17 ° 54 ′  N , 62 ° 51 ′  W
Basic data
Country France
Overseas local authority Saint Barthelemy
Residents 2615 (2010)
Gustavia, number 17 on the map
Gustavia, number 17 on the map
The original city layout can be seen on the map from 1786

Gustavia is the capital of the Caribbean island and collectivité d'outre-mer Saint-Barthélemy (St. Barth), a French island in the eastern Caribbean . The city on the southwest coast of the island has around 2600 inhabitants (January 1, 2010), which makes up approximately 30% of the entire island population.

The cityscape is shaped by the port around which the town is grouped. This port was particularly popular in the 18th and 19th centuries. Every year at the turn of the year, the port forms the backdrop for the greater part of the world's megayachts when the jet set celebrates the New Year here .

history

The settlement was probably founded in 1763 by French settlers under the name Le Carénage . During the American War of Independence , it was a transshipment point for French arms deliveries to the insurgents. In 1785 France sold the colony to Sweden .

The settlement was then given in honor of the then reigning Swedish King Gustav III. their current name. Here was Samuel Fahlberg a large proportion of urban planning. As a Swedish colony - neutral in the Caribbean, which is often ravaged by conflicts - St. Barth made free trade possible for all traders. In 1852 a fire destroyed most of the buildings in the city, only the bell tower remained. In 1877 France bought the colony back for 80,000 francs . Today the city is primarily of tourist importance. It is the starting point for visitors who want to spend some time on the island.

City structure

Since the Swedish rule, the city has been divided into ten districts, which were later given French names, mostly translations of the original names:

No. Swedish French German
1 Dortorn Le docteur The doctor
2 Draken Le dragon The Dragon
3 Kungen Le roi The king
4th Drottling La pure The Queen
5 Brünen Le puits The fountain
6th Räfven Le renard The Fox
7th Slat La plaine The level
8th Upven Le loup The wolf
9 Humers Le homard The lobster
10 Sjogarden L'arsenal The arsenal

Trivia

The former oldest inhabitant of the city, Eugénie Blanchard (* 1896), was also the oldest living person in the world. She died on November 4, 2010.

Web links

Wikivoyage: Gustavia  - travel guide
Commons : Gustavia (Saint-Barthélemy)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Population figures of Saint-Barthélemy on citypopulation.de , accessed on July 11, 2015.
  2. L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde: Saint-Barthélemy , CEFAN, Université Laval, Québec (French), accessed on July 11, 2015.