Vientiane
ວຽງ ຈັນ Vientiane |
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Coordinates | 17 ° 58 ′ N , 102 ° 36 ′ E | |
Basic data | ||
Country | Laos | |
Vientiane prefecture | ||
ISO 3166-2 | LA-VT | |
surface | - | |
Metropolitan area | 3920 km² | |
Residents | - | |
Metropolitan area | 754,000 (2009) | |
density | - | |
Metropolitan area | 192.3 Ew. / km² | |
Vientiane (German pronunciation: [vjɛnˈtjan] ; Laotian : ວຽງ ຈັນ Vieng Chan , [ ʋíəŋ tɕàn ]) has been the capital of the People's Democratic Republic of Laos since 1975 . Vientiane is the country's economic, political and cultural center. Officially, the city has around 350,000 inhabitants, and around 620,000 people live in the entire metropolitan area.
Vientiane is the international spelling from the French colonial era . The Laotian name Vieng Chan originally means "city of sandalwood", but is now understood by many Laotians as "city of the moon" ( vieng "city", chan "sandalwood" or "moon"). The full name of the city is ນະ ຄອນ ຫລວງ ວຽງ ຈັນ Nakon Luang Vieng Chan ("capital Vientiane") to distinguish it from the prefecture of the same name and the province .
geography
The city and the surrounding area lie in a low plain on an area of approximately 4,000 square kilometers. Vientiane extends in the middle of a lush landscape for several kilometers on the banks of the Mekong , which forms the border with Thailand . Since 1994 the two countries have been linked by a “ Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge ”, which was the first bridge ever built over the lower reaches of the Mekong.
climate
Vientiane is located in the tropical climate zone with a clear rainy and dry season. The dry season lasts from November to March. The rainy season begins in April and lasts about seven months. Vientiane is typically hot and humid all year round.
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Average monthly temperatures and rainfall for Vientiane
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history
Settlement has been evident since the Stone Age . Founded in the 13th century as a city in the Lan Xang empire , Vientiane developed steadily alongside the actual capital Luang Prabang . In 1563 Vientiane finally became the new capital. In the course of the Burmese expansion policy, Vientiane was occupied for seven years in 1575. After the expulsion of the Burmese, two separate empires (Luang Prabang and Vientiane) were formed for a short time, which were reunited in 1591 by King Nokeo Kumane.
Lan Xang finally split into three parts as a result of controversy over the throne in 1707. One of them was the Kingdom of Vientiane . After the destruction of Ayutthaya in 1767, the capital of the Siamese kingdom of Ayutthaya , Vientiane came back within the reach of the Burmese. After the Siamese had shaken off the Burmese supremacy, the kingdom of Vientiane was part of the resurgent Siamese sphere of power as a vassal state.
Anuvong , King of Vientiane, rebelled against Siamese rule in 1826 and headed for central Thailand. However, he was defeated by the Siamese forces, brought to Bangkok and publicly executed there. Vientiane (with the exception of the Buddhist temples) was razed to the ground and a large part of the population of what is now central Laos (over 100,000 people) was deported to the other side of the Mekong. The descendants of the displaced now make up the Lao Wiang ethnic group in Thailand. Forty years later, a group of French researchers found only jungle and ruins at Vientianes.
By ceding Siam in 1887, Vientiane became a French protectorate and part of French Indochina . However, it hardly developed as the French focused their interests on Vietnam . In 1940, after Germany had militarily defeated France in World War II , the Japanese took Vientiane and all of Laos under their power, but officially left the French colonial administration in office.
On September 1, 1945, after the Second World War had ended in Asia, the Kingdom of Laos declared itself independent against the resistance of France. After the US defeat in Southeast Asia , the Communist Pathet Lao took power in Vientiane on December 2, 1975 without causing any major bloodshed.
Economy, infrastructure, and education
More than 25% of all medium-sized companies in the country are based in Vientiane. The industry is limited to a brewery ( Beerlao ), a Pepsi bottling plant, the production of cleaning agents, a cigarette factory and various wood processing companies. 20% of exports go directly to Thailand: mainly textiles, wood and wood products, but also electricity from hydropower. The international airport is located on the outskirts . There is a railway line across the Mekong Bridge from Nong Khai to the only railway station, Thanaleng. China is planning to build a new high-speed rail line to Vientiane. The construction work planned for April 2011 has been postponed indefinitely. In November 2011, however, it was announced that construction is expected to start within the next five years.
There is currently no operational state rescue service in Laos ; in Vientiane, this task is carried out by volunteers from a private foundation.
The capital and the surrounding area are the country's largest tobacco, rice and sugar cane producers. In order to better promote the economy in Vientiane, a capital city chamber of commerce is to be founded after the 450th anniversary celebrations.
Vientiane is home to most of the country's only university, the National University of Laos (NUOL); also the tallest building in the country, the 14-story Don Chan Palace .
In a ranking of cities according to their quality of life, Vientiane ranked 170th out of 231 cities worldwide in 2018.
Attractions
- Many well-preserved French colonial buildings and the Patuxai ("Siegestor"; French Monument des Morts )
- Pha That Luang (royal stupa ), the landmark of the country from the 16th century, represents the union of Buddhism and Lao art
- Lao Revolutionary Museum , extensive collections on the country's history
- Wat Ho Prakeo , a former royal temple
- Wat Si Saket , one of the oldest temples in the city
- Night market
- First Thai-Laotian Friendship Bridge , 1774 meter long bridge over the Mekong that connects Laos with Thailand ( Nong Khai )
- Statue of King Anuvong on the Mekong
sons and daughters of the town
- No Keo Kuman (1571–1596), King of Lan Xang from 1571 and 1572 and from 1590 to 1596
- Sayakumane (1710–1791), King of Champasak from 1738 to 1791
- Ong Long († 1767), King of the Lao Kingdom of Vientiane from 1730 to 1767
- Bunsan († 1781), King of the Laotian Empire of Vientiane from 1767 to 1781
- Nanthesan († 1795), King of the Laotian Empire Vientiane from 1781 to 1795
- Anuvong (1767–1829), King of the Lao Kingdom of Vientiane from 1805 to 1828
- Sonthesan Sua (* 1797 - † 19th century), Minister of War and high military
- Ngaow (* 1802 - † 19th century), General of the Army of the Laotian Kingdom of Vientiane
- Yoh († around 1828), Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Vientiane and Maha Uparat (Viceroy) of the Kingdom of Champasak
- Khi Menh († after 1840), Maha Uparat (viceroy) of the Kingdom of Vientiane
- Hoàng Vĩnh Lộc (1925–1981), South Vietnamese director, film producer and actor
- Khankham Malaythong (* 1981), American badminton player of Laotian origin
- Lamnao Singto (* 1988), Laotian football player
- Xaysa Anousone , athlete
- Chanthaphone Waenvongsoth (* 1994), Laotian football player
- Phithack Kongmathilath (* 1996), Laotian football player
literature
- Marc Askew, Colin Long, William Logan: Vientiane. Transformations of a Lao Landscape . Routledge 2006, ISBN 978-0-415-33141-8
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ geohive.com Laos population statistics ( memento of the original from November 13, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ World Meteorological Organization ; wetterkontor.de
- ↑ Volker Grabowsky : Introduction to Maha Sila Viravong: Prince Phetsarat. A life for Laos. Lit Verlag, Münster 2003, p. 3.
- ^ David K. Wyatt : Thailand. A short history. 2nd edition, Silkworm Books, Chiang Mai 2004, p. 155.
- ↑ rfa.org: High-speed Railway Delay , April 26, 2011, accessed November 22, 2011
- ↑ laovoices.com: Laos-China railway not losing speed: Lao Voices ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , November 14, 2011, accessed November 22, 2011
- ↑ Weltspiegel report - Laos: The road savers of Vientiane. Tagesschau online , November 9, 2019, accessed November 9, 2019.
- ↑ Mercer's 2018 Quality of Living Rankings. Retrieved August 18, 2018 .