Kingstown
| Kingstown | |
|---|---|
| City and Capital | |
 | |
| Nickname(s): "City Of Arches"[1] | |
 | |
  Kingstown | |
| Coordinates: 13°09′28″N 061°13′30″W / 13.15778°N 61.22500°WCoordinates: 13°09′28″N 061°13′30″W / 13.15778°N 61.22500°W[2] | |
| Country | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
| Island | Saint Vincent |
| Parish | Saint George |
| Founded | 1722 |
| Population (2014 est) | |
| • Total |
 40,020 |
| Time zone | Eastern Caribbean Time Zone (ECT) (UTC-4) |
| Area code | 784 |
Kingstown is the capital, chief port, and main commercial centre of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. With a population of 25,418 (2005), Kingstown is the most populous as well as the largest settlement by area in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. It is the centre for the island's agricultural industry and a port of entry for tourists. The city lies within the parish of Saint George in the south-west corner of Saint Vincent. Exports include bananas which are shipped mainly to the United Kingdom, coconuts, and arrowroot. The city contains numerous shops, eating places and markets.
It is built partially on reclaimed land and is the location of many important buildings, including the Financial Complex which was built in 1991 and accommodates the Office of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister as well as those of other departments of government, a Court Office of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court and almost all of the governmental ministries.
History
France started a settlement here shortly after 1722.
The botanical garden, conceived in 1765, is one of the oldest in the Western hemisphere. William Bligh, made famous from the Mutiny on the Bounty, brought seeds of the Breadfruit tree here for planting, ca 1793.[3]
Sights
- Botanic Gardens St. Vincent: Located on the northern outskirts of Kingstown are the Botanical Gardens.
Kingstown is overlooked by Fort Charlotte, on the north side of town. It is located 190m above sea level.[4]
Recently, Kingstown is known as the site for many of the scenes from the movie Pirates of the Caribbean.[5]
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Kingstown Cityscape
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Upper Bay Street
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Kingstown Bay
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The Botanic Gardens
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Financial Complex
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The Iron Man Cenotaph
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Saint Mary's Cathedral of the Assumption
Transportation
Bus
- Minibus
Located in the city is a bus terminal built in 1988.
Ferry
Ferries run daily between Saint Vincent and the Grenadine Islands and dock at Grenadine Wharf.
Education
Of the 77 schools located in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, 18 are situated in Kingstown, eight primary, nine secondary and one college—The Kingstown Technical College. Several of the schools located there were established over 100 years ago such as the Saint Vincent Grammar School (est. 1908) and the Saint Vincent Girls' High School (est. 1911). Also located in the city is an Open Campus of The University of the West Indies.
See also
References
- ↑ http://discoversvg.com/index.php/en/stvincent/around-st-vincent/kingstown
- ↑ "Kingstown". Wikimapia. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
- ↑ http://www.bioversityinternational.org/index.php?id=21&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=531&tx_ttnews%5BbackPID%5D=%7Bpage:uid%7D&no_cache=1
- ↑ "Attractions:Kingstown". Frommer's. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
- ↑ "Pirates of the Caribbean".