Saint-Benoît (Réunion)

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Saint-Benoît
Location of the commune of Saint-Benoît in the Réunion department
region Reunion
Department Reunion
Arrondissement Saint-Benoît
Canton Saint-Benoît-1
Saint-Benoît-2
Community association Réunion Est
Coordinates 21 ° 2 ′  S , 55 ° 43 ′  E Coordinates: 21 ° 2 ′  S , 55 ° 43 ′  E
height 0-2,520 m
surface 229.61 km 2
Residents 37,759 (January 1, 2017)
Population density 164 inhabitants / km 2
Post Code 97470
INSEE code 97410
Website http://www.iledelareunion.net/ville-reunion/saint-benoit.htm

Église de Sainte-Anne

Saint-Benoît is a French commune with 37,759 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017) in the overseas department of Réunion in the Indian Ocean . It is the seat of the sub-prefecture and thus the capital of the arrondissement of Saint-Benoît . The inhabitants of Saint-Benoît call themselves Bénédictins .

geography

Saint-Benoît is 40 kilometers southeast of the capital of Réunion Saint-Denis on the east coast of the island. The city borders the Rivière de l'Est to the south and the Rivière des Roches to the north.

climate

The climate is tropical, it stays warm all year round and is characterized by trade winds . Rain falls around 100 days and the trade wind blows around 90 days a year.

history

The place was founded in 1733, the motives for developing the area were the establishment of new coffee plantations . In August 1809, the city's National Guard succeeded in repelling a British landing at Sainte-Rose as part of the Napoleonic Wars .

At the beginning of the 19th century the community gained a certain wealth by growing coffee, vanilla and other spices. This was thanks to the botanist Joseph Hubert , who introduced the cultivation of many plants such as carnations . Later, sugar cane cultivation and sugar factories became the most important economic factor.

In 1882 the railway line to Saint-Denis was completed. In 1950 a large fire destroyed all the older buildings in the city center, which is why the city has little to offer for tourists today.

economy

The area around the city is fertile and well watered, it is considered the "orchard" of the island. Saint-Benoît is also known for its orchid cultivation and the rearing of freshwater fish ("bichiques").

Town twinning

sons and daughters of the town

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Saint Benoit, son histoire
  2. ^ A b Ulrich Quack: Mauritius, Réunion. Travel guide. Iwanowski´s Reisebuchverlag, 2006, ISBN 9783923975204 , p. 356.
  3. ↑ Alo Miller: Reunion. With 40 hikes. DuMont, 2006, ISBN 9783770163229 , p. 152.

Web links

Commons : Saint-Benoît  - Collection of images, videos and audio files