Capital of Saint Lucia
City in Castries District, Saint Lucia
Castries
is the
capital
and largest city of
Saint Lucia
, an island country in the
Caribbean
. The urban area has a population of approximately 20,000, while the eponymous
district
has a population of 70,000, as at May 2013. The city covers 80 km
2
(31 sq mi).
[4]
[5]
[6]
Castries is on a flood plain and is built on
reclaimed land
. It houses the seat of government and the head offices of many foreign and local businesses. The city is laid out in a grid pattern. Its sheltered harbour receives cargo vessels, ferries and cruise ships. It houses
duty-free
shopping facilities such as Point Seraphine and La Place Carenage.
Castries is the birthplace of
Arthur Lewis
, winner of the 1979 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics, as well as of
Derek Walcott
, winner of the 1992 Nobel Prize for Literature.
History
[
edit
]
In 1650, the fort
aupres du Petit Cul-de-Sac et de la riviere du Carenage
was founded by a group of 40 Frenchmen led by de Rousselan, when
St. Lucia
was purchased by Capt. du Parquet and Monsieur Houel from the
French West India Company
. The capital was moved to the south side of the harbor in 1769 by Gov. Baron de Micoud. In 1785, the village of Carenage was renamed Castries, after
Charles Eugene Gabriel de La Croix, marquis de Castries
, the
French Minister of the Navy and Colonies
.
[7]
In 1835, the British built the western wharf in 1642 to facilitate the coal trade and the first steamship arrived in 1841, the
RMS
Solway
.
[7]
: 163, 243?244
During World War II on 9 March 1942, the German
U-161
sailed into Castries harbor at night and sank two allied ships,
[7]
: 275
[8]
including the Canadian
ocean liner
RMS
Lady Nelson
, which was subsequently refloated in the harbour and taken to Canada to be converted to a
hospital ship
.
Castries has been rebuilt many times, following major fires on 15 October 1805, 6 April 1813, and most notably on 19 June 1948.
[7]
: 124?125, 289
Tourism
[
edit
]
One of the major tourist areas in St. Lucia, Castries is a port of call for
cruise ships
. They dock at Pointe Seraphine, to the north of the harbour.
[9]
Landmarks include the
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
,
Derek Walcott Square
(renamed from Columbus Square to honour the island's Nobel Prize-winning poet,
Derek Walcott
), the City Library, the Government House,
Castries Market
, and Fort Charlotte, at the top of Morne Fortune (an 845-foot or 258 m hill). Beaches include
Vigie Beach
, Malabar Beach, Choc Beach, and La Toc Beach.
Transport
[
edit
]
Castries is served by
George F. L. Charles Airport
.
[10]
Passengers on longer flights arrive at
Hewanorra International Airport
, near
Vieux-Fort
. The drive between Hewanorra and Castries can take an hour and a half. Helicopter service between the airports shortens travel time.
Ferries run between Castries and
Fort-de-France
,
Martinique
. Yachts may dock in Castries, though they must clear customs first. When the customs area is full, yachts must anchor at the quarantine dock to wait; those that do not are fined. Afterward, yachts may anchor in front of Castries Town or Vigie Creek.
Standard bus routes run from Castries to all outlying districts on the island. The buses are private (not subsidized by government) bearing green license plates with numbers that start with an
M
—for example,
M456
.
Political institutions
[
edit
]
As well as being the capital city of Saint Lucia, Castries hosts the secretariat of the
Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States
.
[11]
Castries also hosts the headquarters of the
Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court
.
The mayor of Castries is Geraldine Lendor-Gabriel, who took office in September 2021.
[12]
A number of international embassies and consulates keep their headquarters in Castries. They include the
Organization of American States
,
British High Commission
, Mexican Embassy, embassy of the
Republic of China
(Taiwan) (in
Rodney Bay
), Dominican Republic Consulate, French Embassy, Italian Vice Consulate, Jamaican Consulate, Netherlands Consulate, Norwegian Consulate, Brazilian Embassy and Venezuelan Embassy.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Castries City Council - St Lucia"
. Archived from
the original
on 2009-09-28
. Retrieved
2009-07-29
.
- ^
"Weather in Castries. Current weather | lc.freemeteo.com"
.
Freemeteo.com
. Retrieved
2016-08-10
.
- ^
"St Lucia Travel Guide and Travel Information"
.
Worldtravelguide.net
. Archived from
the original
on 2010-06-08
. Retrieved
2016-08-10
.
- ^
"Castries"
.
GeoNames
. Retrieved
August 12,
2021
.
- ^
"Map of Castries"
(PDF)
.
The Central Statistical Office of Saint Lucia
. Archived from
the original
on August 13, 2021
. Retrieved
August 17,
2021
.
- ^
Law, Gwillim (2015).
"Districts of Saint Lucia"
.
Statoids
. Retrieved
August 10,
2021
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Harmsen, Jolien; Ellis, Guy; Devaux, Robert (2014).
A History of St Lucia
. Vieux Fort: Lighthouse Road. p. 23,43?44,52,163.
ISBN
9789769534001
.
- ^
Hubbard, Vincent (2002).
A History of St. Kitts
. Macmillan Caribbean. p.
117
.
ISBN
9780333747605
.
- ^
"The Top 10 Things to Do in Castries, St. Lucia"
.
Travel Tips - USA Today
. Retrieved
2023-01-04
.
- ^
"SLASPA - George F.L. Charles Airport"
.
SLASPA
. Retrieved
4 January
2023
.
- ^
"OECS - Secretariat"
(PDF)
.
OECS
. November 4, 2013.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on January 4, 2023
. Retrieved
January 4,
2023
.
- ^
"New mayor, councillors sworn in"
(Press release). Office of the Prime Minister. 2 September 2021
. Retrieved
4 September
2021
.
External links
[
edit
]
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- Basseterre
, St. Kitts and Nevis
- Belmopan
, Belize
- Bridgetown
, Barbados
- Castries
, St. Lucia
- Charlotte Amalie
, U.S. Virgin Islands (US)
- Cockburn Town
, Turks and Caicos (UK)
- George Town
, Cayman Islands (UK)
- Guatemala City
, Guatemala
- Hamilton
, Bermuda (UK)
- Havana
, Cuba
- Kingston
, Jamaica
- Kingstown
, St. Vincent and the Grenadines
| |
- Road Town
, British Virgin Islands (UK)
- Roseau
, Dominica
- San Jose
, Costa Rica
- San Juan
, Puerto Rico (US)
- San Salvador
, El Salvador
- Santo Domingo
, Dominican Republic
- St. George's
, Grenada
- St. John's
, Antigua and Barbuda
- Tegucigalpa
, Honduras
- The Valley
, Anguilla (UK)
- Washington, D.C.
, United States
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International
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National
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Geographic
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