Victoria, Seychelles
Victoria | |
---|---|
![]() Victoria | |
![]() Location of Victoria on Mahé Island | |
Coordinates: 4°37′S 55°27′E / 4.617°S 55.450°E | |
Country | ![]() |
Island | Mahé |
Government | |
• Mayor | |
Area | |
• Total | 20.1 km2 (7.8 sq mi) |
Population (2010)[1] | |
• Total | 26,450 |
Victoria (French pronunciation: [viktɔʁja]) is the capital and largest city of the Republic of the Seychelles, situated on the north-eastern side of Mahé island, the archipelago's main island. The city was first established as the seat of the British colonial government. In 2010, the population of Greater Victoria (including the suburbs) was 26,450 out of the country's total population of 90,945.[2]
History[]
The area that would become Victoria was originally settled in 1778 by French colonists after they claimed the island in 1756. The town was called L'Établissement until 1841 when it was renamed to Victoria by the British, after Queen Victoria.[3][4][5]
Economy[]
Tourism is an important sector of the economy. The principal exports of Victoria are vanilla, coconuts, coconut oil, fish and guano.[6]
Education[]
The Mont Fleuri campus of the University of Seychelles is in Victoria.[7]
Culture[]
Attractions in the city include a clocktower modelled on Little Ben in London,[6][8] the courthouse, the Botanical Gardens, the , the Natural History Museum and the Sir Selwyn Selwyn-Clarke Market.[6] Victoria Market and the brightly coloured fish and fruit markets is the local hot spot for the Seychellois people.
Places of worship[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1c/Cathedral_of_the_Immaculate_Conception%2C_Victoria%2C_Seychelles.jpg/220px-Cathedral_of_the_Immaculate_Conception%2C_Victoria%2C_Seychelles.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ce/Hindu_Temple_Victoria_Seychelles_Islands_of_Africa.jpg/220px-Hindu_Temple_Victoria_Seychelles_Islands_of_Africa.jpg)
There are two cathedrals in Victoria, Immaculate Conception Cathedral (Roman Catholic) and (Anglican).[9] There are also Baptist and Pentecostal churches,[10] mosques and Hindu temples.
Sports[]
Stade Linité, the national stadium, is in Victoria. It is mostly used for football matches.
Transport[]
Victoria is served by Seychelles International Airport, completed in 1971.[6] The inner harbour lies immediately east of the town, where tuna fishing and canning is a major industry.[6] One of the largest bridges in Victoria was destroyed by tsunami waves from the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.[8]
Districts[]
Four of the districts of Seychelles are in Victoria.
- Greater Victoria
- English River (La Rivière Anglaise), the central district
- Saint Louis
- Mont Fleuri
- Bel Air
Twin towns and sister cities[]
Victoria is twinned with:
Country | City |
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Daliyat al-Karmel |
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Haikou |
Climate[]
Victoria features a tropical rainforest climate (Köppen climate classification Af) with high temperatures throughout the course of the year. The capital does have noticeably wetter and drier periods during the year, with June and July being its driest months and December through February being the city's wettest months. However, since in no month does the average monthly precipitation falls below 60 mm in Victoria, the city does not have a true dry season month. This lack of a true dry season month is a primary reason why the climate falls under the tropical rainforest climate category. The capital averages about 2,000 mm of precipitation annually. Although being very rainy, skies are usually clear to partly clear and completely cloudy days remain scarce throughout the year even during the rainiest months.
hideClimate data for Victoria (Seychelles International Airport) 1972–2011 | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 33.3 (91.9) |
33.4 (92.1) |
33.5 (92.3) |
34.1 (93.4) |
33.5 (92.3) |
32.6 (90.7) |
31.1 (88.0) |
31.4 (88.5) |
31.6 (88.9) |
32.4 (90.3) |
34.4 (93.9) |
33.4 (92.1) |
34.4 (93.9) |
Average high °C (°F) | 29.9 (85.8) |
30.5 (86.9) |
31.1 (88.0) |
31.5 (88.7) |
30.7 (87.3) |
29.2 (84.6) |
28.4 (83.1) |
28.6 (83.5) |
29.2 (84.6) |
29.9 (85.8) |
30.2 (86.4) |
30.2 (86.4) |
30.0 (86.0) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | 26.9 (80.4) |
27.5 (81.5) |
27.9 (82.2) |
28.1 (82.6) |
27.9 (82.2) |
26.8 (80.2) |
26.0 (78.8) |
26.1 (79.0) |
26.5 (79.7) |
26.9 (80.4) |
27.0 (80.6) |
27.0 (80.6) |
27.1 (80.8) |
Average low °C (°F) | 24.3 (75.7) |
24.9 (76.8) |
25.1 (77.2) |
25.3 (77.5) |
25.6 (78.1) |
24.8 (76.6) |
24.1 (75.4) |
24.1 (75.4) |
24.4 (75.9) |
24.6 (76.3) |
24.3 (75.7) |
24.2 (75.6) |
24.6 (76.3) |
Record low °C (°F) | 24.1 (75.4) |
21.1 (70.0) |
22.1 (71.8) |
22.3 (72.1) |
21.6 (70.9) |
20.9 (69.6) |
20.4 (68.7) |
19.6 (67.3) |
20.2 (68.4) |
20.5 (68.9) |
21.5 (70.7) |
20.0 (68.0) |
19.6 (67.3) |
Average rainfall mm (inches) | 401.3 (15.80) |
270.2 (10.64) |
195.5 (7.70) |
188.1 (7.41) |
146.0 (5.75) |
102.9 (4.05) |
80.3 (3.16) |
114.2 (4.50) |
150.0 (5.91) |
192.8 (7.59) |
205.0 (8.07) |
303.2 (11.94) |
2,349.5 (92.50) |
Average relative humidity (%) | 83 | 80 | 80 | 80 | 79 | 79 | 80 | 79 | 79 | 79 | 80 | 82 | 80 |
Mean monthly sunshine hours | 155.0 | 175.2 | 213.9 | 231.0 | 254.2 | 225.0 | 232.5 | 232.5 | 219.0 | 226.3 | 204.0 | 176.7 | 2,545.3 |
Mean daily sunshine hours | 5.0 | 6.2 | 6.9 | 7.7 | 8.2 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 7.3 | 7.3 | 6.8 | 5.7 | 6.97 |
Source: Seychelles National Meteorological Services[11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] |
See also[]
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b "SEYCHELLES". citypopulation.de. City Population. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
- ^ Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. (1 March 2014). Britannica Book of the Year 2014. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. p. 716. ISBN 978-1-62513-171-3.
- ^ Roman Adrian Cybriwsky, Capital Cities around the World: An Encyclopedia of Geography, History, and Culture, ABC-CLIO, USA, 2013, p. 321
- ^ "History". seychelles.travel. Seychelles Tourism Board. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
- ^ "History of the Seychelles". stgt.com. Archived from the original on 1 May 2017. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Cybriwsky, Roman A. (2013). Capital Cities around the World. ABC-CLIO. p. 321. ISBN 9781610692489.
- ^ "Mont Fleuri Campus". University of Seychelles. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Encyclopedia of Africa. Oxford University Press. 2010. p. 530. ISBN 9780195337709.
- ^ "6 buildings in the capital highlighting Seychelles' history". Seychelles News Agency. 2 March 2017. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
- ^ J. Gordon Melton, Martin Baumann, "Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices", ABC-CLIO, USA, 2010, p. 2591
- ^ "Climatic Averages for January" (PDF). Seychelles Climate Guide. Seychelles National Meteorological Services. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
- ^ "Climatic Averages for February" (PDF). Seychelles Climate Guide. Seychelles National Meteorological Services. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
- ^ "Climatic Averages for March" (PDF). Seychelles Climate Guide. Seychelles National Meteorological Services. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
- ^ "Climatic Averages for April" (PDF). Seychelles Climate Guide. Seychelles National Meteorological Services. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
- ^ "Climatic Averages for May" (PDF). Seychelles Climate Guide. Seychelles National Meteorological Services. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
- ^ "Climatic Averages for June" (PDF). Seychelles Climate Guide. Seychelles National Meteorological Services. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
- ^ "Climatic Averages for July" (PDF). Seychelles Climate Guide. Seychelles National Meteorological Services. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
- ^ "Climatic Averages for August" (PDF). Seychelles Climate Guide. Seychelles National Meteorological Services. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
- ^ "Climatic Averages for September" (PDF). Seychelles Climate Guide. Seychelles National Meteorological Services. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
- ^ "Climatic Averages for October" (PDF). Seychelles Climate Guide. Seychelles National Meteorological Services. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
- ^ "Climatic Averages for November" (PDF). Seychelles Climate Guide. Seychelles National Meteorological Services. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
- ^ "Climatic Averages for December" (PDF). Seychelles Climate Guide. Seychelles National Meteorological Services. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
External links[]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Victoria (Seychelles). |
Victoria, Seychelles travel guide from Wikivoyage
- Victoria, Seychelles
- Ports and harbours of the Indian Ocean
- Capitals in Africa
- 1770s establishments in Africa
- Populated places established in 1778