Butterworth, Penang

5.4166666666667100.4Koordinaten: 5 ° 25 ' N, 100 ° 24 ' E

Butterworth, also Bagan ( Malay: pier, jetty ) is a city in Malaysia and the main town of Seberang Perai, the mainland part of the Malaysian state of Penang.

Geography and location

Butterworth is the sister city of the opposite directly on the island of Penang George Town and is an important transport hub and port for the north of Malaysia. In Butterworth is the ferry port, the island of Penang Penang Bridge connects next to the to the mainland. Butterworth has a connection point of the Malaysian North-South highway and a railway station of the Malaysian state of Keretapi Tanah Melayu railway. There is also a connection to the southern section of the Thai State Railway. This also keeps the Eastern and Oriental Express luxury train, which connects Bangkok with Singapore. An air traffic Butterworth is connected via the airport Penang.

History

Butterworth was the mid-19th century, founded as a berth on the mainland across from George Town, the capital of Penang, after the British East India Company had acquired the Province Wellesley in 1798 by the Sultan of Kedah. The newly founded town was after William John Butterworth, 1843-1855 Governor of the Straits Settlements, named. Shortly thereafter, a railway line was established according to Taiping to ship the tin ore mined there in Butterworth can. Butterworth is now incorporated into the administrative unit Seberang Perai. It is striking that the traditional name Butterworth officially does not appear, although Butterworth is the largest city Seberang Perais.

Residents and sights

Butterworth has about 108,000 inhabitants, as in Georgetown majority English-speaking Malaysian Chinese and Indians. In Butterworth is an airbase of the Malaysian Air Force, the RMAF Base Butterworth. The Penang Bird Park, a landscape park with over 300 species of birds from all over Southeast Asia is one of the sights of Butterworth.