Gustavia
Gustavia | ||
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Coordinates | 17 ° 54 ′ N , 62 ° 51 ′ W | |
Basic data | ||
Country | France | |
Overseas local authority | Saint Barthelemy | |
ISO 3166-2 | FR-BL | |
Residents | 2615 (2010) | |
Gustavia, number 17 on the map
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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 |
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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
Individual evidence
- ↑ Population figures of Saint-Barthélemy on citypopulation.de , accessed on July 11, 2015.
- ↑ L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde: Saint-Barthélemy , CEFAN, Université Laval, Québec (French), accessed on July 11, 2015.