St. John's (Newfoundland)

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St. John's
Nickname : City of Legends
St. John's
St. John's
Motto : Avancez French for go forward
Location in Newfoundland and Labrador
St. John's (Newfoundland and Labrador)
St. John's
St. John's
State : CanadaCanada Canada
Province : Newfoundland and Labrador
Region: Census Division No. 1
Coordinates : 47 ° 34 ′  N , 52 ° 42 ′  W Coordinates: 47 ° 34 ′  N , 52 ° 42 ′  W
Height : 10  m
Area : 446.04 km²
Inhabitants :
-  Metropolitan Area : 		108,860 (as of 2016)
205,955 (as of 2016)
Population density : 244.1 inhabitants / km²
Time zone : Newfoundland Time ( UTC − 3: 30 )
Postal code : A1A - A1H
Mayor : Dennis O'Keefe
Website : www.stjohns.ca

St. John's is a city ( City ) to Newfoundland in Canada and one of the oldest European settlements in North America . St. John's is the provincial capital of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador and has around 110,000 inhabitants. It is located on the southeast coast of the island of Newfoundland on the Avalon Peninsula . The Trans-Canada Highway No. 1, which runs across Canada to the west coast. The city is located on a natural harbor, which is well protected by the mountains in front of it and where many cruise ships stop in summer. A landmark of the city is the Cabot Tower on Signal Hill , which can be seen from almost every point in the city.

history

According to tradition, the natural harbor on which today's St. John's is located was discovered on June 24, 1497 by the Venetian navigator Giovanni Caboto (John Cabot), sailing under the English flag . The actual location of his first shore leave is controversial among historians. Caboto was the first European since the Vikings to have any record of reaching mainland North America. He called the country Terra de prima vista ("land first seen") or, in his poor English, New Founde Lande ("newly found land"). There are also reports about the Portuguese navigator João Vaz Corte-Real , who is said to have reached Newfoundland as early as 1473 with a Portuguese- Danish expedition. He called it Terra (Nova) do Bacalhau , translated (New) Stockfish Area . The name of the city is explained with the date of discovery by Caboto on St. John's Day (i.e. June 24th). Another explanation is based on the presence of Basque fishermen who came to the area of ​​today's St. John's every year to catch cod and who felt reminded of the Basque port town of Pasaia by the bay of St. John's . a. emerged from the village of San Juan (later Pasage de San Juan ).

St. John's around 1900

When Sir Humphrey Gilbert took possession of the entire region for the English crown on August 5, 1583, St. John's became the oldest British colony . The settlement moved between England and France several times until it passed into English hands in 1762 and served as a naval base in both the American War of Independence and the British-American War of 1812.

Many of the early settlers came from the southeast of Ireland , mainly from Waterford , Wexford and Kilkenny . This could also explain the similarity between the dialects of Newfoundland and the aforementioned region of Ireland.

With the conflagration of July 8, 1892, St. John's experienced the worst disaster to date, which has since been referred to as the Great Fire of 1892 . On December 21, 1992, another fire broke out in the same area, destroying more than a dozen shops and the homes of hundreds of residents.

Guglielmo Marconi received the first transatlantic radio transmission on December 12, 1901 in St. John's. On June 14, 1919, John Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown took off from St. John's on the first successful non-stop flight across the Atlantic .

During the Second World War , the port was used by the British Navy and the Royal Canadian Navy to protect convoys. At the same time there was Fort Pepperrell , a large base of the United States Army .

facts and figures

Typical row of houses in St. John's
The Cabot Tower on Signal Hill
The Terra Nova oil field 350 km off the coast of Newfoundland

Economy and Infrastructure

economy

St. John's economy used to be dominated by the fishing industry. Today the provincial government is the city's largest employer, followed by Memorial University. The city has also developed into one of the leading locations for the oil and gas industry in eastern Canada and is one of the world's largest "World Energy Cities". ExxonMobil Canada is headquartered in the city. There are also other companies in the oil and gas industry that have a branch in the city, such as Chevron , Husky Energy , Suncor Energy and Statoil . With the discovery of large oil fields at sea off the coast of Newfoundland, this led to a strong economic recovery after the fishing industry collapsed in the late 1990s. Today, oil and natural gas are extracted in the oil fields off the coast. The larger oil fields include Hibernia, Terra Nova and White Rose. In 2017, oil production will begin in a fourth oil field. Another important economic sector is the manufacturing and service industries. This includes financial and health services as well as public administration.

education

St. John's schools and colleges are the largest in student numbers in Newfoundland and Labrador and are regulated by the Newfoundland and Labrador English School District . There are 36 state schools in St. John's from kindergarten through grade 12 (high school). There are also three private school facilities.

Universities

Inco Innovation Building at Memorial University of Newfoundland

The largest university in the province is Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN) with around 17,000 students enrolled. The university's departments include engineering, economics, medicine, geology and cultural studies. The university offers bachelor, master and doctoral programs. The Fisheries and Marine Institute of Memorial University of Newfoundland (Marine Institute for short) is a post-secondary vocational training institution for professions in the maritime industry.

Another public higher education institution with around 8,000 students is the College of the North Atlantic (CNA) and offers degrees in various subject areas that allow access to university studies.

media

The Telegram is the only major daily newspaper in St. John's. Other local newspapers that appear weekly or monthly include The Muse , The Gazette , Le Gaboteur , The Scope , The Business Post, and The Current . Furthermore, the national daily newspaper The Globe and Mail is distributed in the province. There are several regional radio and television stations in the city. The largest independent television station in St. John's that is not part of a chain is NTV. This has a headquarters in the city and is broadcast across the province. The broadcaster produces some parts of its programming itself, but also purchases some formats from the larger broadcasters such as CTV , Global and Rogers Media . Since the city has a public television cable network, it is possible to receive other channels from other provinces. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation also operates several TV and radio programs in the city.

Public facilities

The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary is responsible for public safety with around 400 officers. In addition, the Canadian federal police Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) has a provincial headquarters in the city. There are four hospitals in the city including the Health Sciences Center, St. Clare's Mercy Hospital, Waterford Hospital and the Janeway Children's Health and Rehabilitation Center.

Mile One Center in St. John's on the Trans Canada Highway

traffic

Highways

St. John's is on the Trans Canada Highway , the third longest road in the world. The Trans Canada Highway begins and ends at 50 New Gower Street in downtown. At this point there is the sports and entertainment center Mile One Center , which symbolizes the starting point Mile 0. The separate carriageways, also known as the "Outer Ring Road," run just outside of the city center with exits on Pitts Memorial Drive, Topsail Road, Team Gushue Highway, Thorburn Road, Allandale Road, Portugal Cove Road and Torbay Road providing access very simplify to neighborhoods.

Airport

The St. John's International Airport (YYT) is located about ten minutes northeast of downtown. Scheduled domestic flights to Halifax , Montreal , Ottawa, and Toronto and other destinations are available. There are other scheduled flight connections to destinations outside Canada to London , New York City , Saint-Pierre and Miquelon and Varadero . The airport is served by various airlines: Air Canada , Air Canada Jazz , Air Saint-Pierre , Air Transat , CanJet , Continental Airlines , Porter Airlines , Provincial Airlines , Sunwing Airlines and Westjet .

Town twinning

sons and daughters of the town

Climate table

St. John's
Climate diagram
J F. M. A. M. J J A. S. O N D.
 
 
150
 
-1
-9
 
 
125
 
-2
-9
 
 
131
 
1
-6
 
 
122
 
5
-2
 
 
101
 
11
2
 
 
102
 
16
6th
 
 
89
 
20th
11
 
 
108
 
20th
11
 
 
131
 
16
8th
 
 
162
 
11
3
 
 
144
 
6th
-1
 
 
149
 
1
-6
Temperature in ° C ,  precipitation in mm
Source: Canadian Climate Normals 1971–2000: St. John's Airport ; wetterkontor.de
Average monthly temperatures and rainfall for St. John's
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Max. Temperature ( ° C ) −0.9 −1.5 1.2 5.2 10.7 15.9 20.3 19.9 15.9 10.5 5.9 1.2 O 8.7
Min. Temperature (° C) −8.6 −9.3 −6.2 −2.0 1.5 5.9 10.5 11.1 7.7 3.3 −0.7 −5.5 O 0.7
Temperature (° C) −4.8 −5.4 −2.5 1.6 6.2 10.9 15.4 15.5 11.8 6.9 2.6 −2.2 O 4.7
Precipitation ( mm ) 150.0 125.2 130.8 121.8 100.9 101.9 89.4 108.1 130.9 161.9 144.0 148.8 Σ 1,513.7
Hours of sunshine ( h / d ) 2.1 2.7 2.9 3.9 5.1 6.3 6.9 5.9 4.8 3.6 2.1 1.7 O 4th
Rainy days ( d ) 9.7 8.1 11.5 13.4 15.3 14.9 13.3 14.2 16.0 18.5 15.5 11.8 Σ 162.2
Humidity ( % ) 85 86 88 83 78 78 78 81 80 83 86 85 O 82.6
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
−0.9
−8.6
−1.5
−9.3
1.2
−6.2
5.2
−2.0
10.7
1.5
15.9
5.9
20.3
10.5
19.9
11.1
15.9
7.7
10.5
3.3
5.9
−0.7
1.2
−5.5
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
N
i
e
d
e
r
s
c
h
l
a
g 		150.0
125.2
130.8
121.8
100.9
101.9
89.4
108.1
130.9
161.9
144.0
148.8
  Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Web links

Commons : St. John's (Newfoundland)  - album containing pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence