Gustavia (, , ) is the main town and

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

of the island of

Saint Barthélemy Saint Barthélemy (french: Saint-Barthélemy, ), officially the Collectivité territoriale de Saint-Barthélemy, is an overseas collectivity of France in the Caribbean. It is often abbreviated to St. Barth in French, and St. Barts in English ...

. Originally called Le Carénage, it was renamed in honor of King

Gustav III Gustav III (29 March 1792), also called ''Gustavus III'', was King of Sweden from 1771 until his assassination in 1792. He was the eldest son of Adolf Frederick of Sweden and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Prussia. Gustav was a vocal opponent of what ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

History

was first claimed by France in 1648. The island was given to Sweden in exchange for trade rights in

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

in 1784 and Sweden founded the

Swedish West India Company The Swedish West India Company ( sv, Svenska Västindiska Kompaniet) was a Swedish chartered company which was based in the West Indies. It was the main operator in the Swedish slave trade during its existence. Between 1786 and 1805, the company ...

. Prospering during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

, assets were low thereafter, and the island was sold back to France in 1878. The eventual site of Gustavia was first called ''Le Carénage (The

Careening Careening (also known as "heaving down") is a method of gaining access to the hull of a sailing vessel without the use of a dry dock. It is used for cleaning or repairing the hull. Before ship's hulls were protected from marine growth by fasteni ...

)'' after the shelter it provided to damaged ships. According to the archives, the name ''Gustavia'' appeared between December 28, 1786, and February 9, 1787. Gustavia remains as a reflection of the Swedish period, during which a minority of the population of approximately 4% were of Swedish origin. Three forts built in the mid- to late 17th century protected the harbour: Oscar (formerly Gustav Adolf), Karl and Gustav. The Saint-Bartholomew Anglican Church on the harbourfront was built in 1855. Gustavia's sister city is

Piteå Piteå () is a locality and the seat of Piteå Municipality in Norrbotten County, Sweden. Piteå is Sweden's 58th largest city, with a population of 23,326. Geography Piteå is located at the mouth of the Pite River ( sv, Piteälven), at th ...

, located in

Norrbotten Norrbotten (), known in English as North Bothnia, is a Swedish province (''landskap'') in northernmost Sweden. It borders south to Västerbotten, west to Swedish Lapland, and east to Finland. Administration The traditional provinces of Swede ...

, Sweden.

Amenities

The sites of Fort Karl, overlooking Shell Beach south of town, and Fort Gustav, at the base of the lighthouse to the north, are popular with hikers. Fort Oscar, at the tip of Gustavia Peninsula, houses the Gendarmerie. There is a museum at the end of

Victor Schœlcher Victor Schœlcher (; 22 July 1804 – 25 December 1893) was a French abolitionist, writer, politician and journalist, best known for his leading role in the abolition of slavery in France in 1848, during the Second Republic. Early life Schœlche ...

Road on the peninsula. Gustavia has a few restaurants serving American, Italian, French and other types of food. Gustavia has many high-end boutiques that are an essential source of revenue for the island, and one of the most high class luxury hotels on the island. There is a Royal Swedish Consulate at Gustavia (Consul Dantes Magras).

Climate

The climate is a tropical one with only minor variations in temperature. The island's small surface area of allows it to take advantage of the smooth and pleasant blow of trade winds. Average water and air temperatures move around , and the year is divided into two seasons: a dry one, referred to as Lent (''Careme''), and a more humid one in summer. This latter season sets in between May and November, and the ever-present sun is overcast by short passages of rainclouds with brief showers of 10 to 15 minutes. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

system Gustavia has a

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry winter) and ''As'' (for a dry summer). The driest month has less than of p ...

, abbreviated ''Aw'' on climate maps.

Economy

The official currency of Saint Barthélemy is the

euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

Education

The town's public preschools and primary schools, under the authority of the , are:LISTE DES ECOLES PUBLIQUES ET PRIVEES SOUS CONTRAT
" . Retrieved on 10 March 2018. * École primaire Gustavia * École maternelle Gustavia

Notable people

Eugénie Blanchard French supercentenarians are citizens, residents or emigrants from France who have attained or surpassed 110 years of age. , the Gerontology Research Group (GRG) had validated the longevity claims of 161 French supercentenarians. France was hom ...

— the oldest verified person in the world at the time of her death. She spent most of her life in Gustavia.

Gallery

File:Gustavia San Barth 001.jpg, Gustavia File:Gustavia Harbor, Saint-Barthélemy.jpg, View of Gustavia

References

External links

; Government
Collectivity of Saint Barthélemy (Official government website)

Comité Territorial du Tourisme (Tourism board website)

Gustavia Harbor/Port de Gustavia (Official website)
; General information
Saint Barthelemy
''

The World Factbook ''The World Factbook'', also known as the ''CIA World Factbook'', is a reference resource produced by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) with almanac-style information about the countries of the world. The official print version is available ...

''.

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gustavia, Saint Barthelemy Populated places in Saint Barthélemy Quartiers of Saint Barthélemy Capitals in the Caribbean Populated places established in 1785 1785 establishments in North America Gustav III