Drummondville
Drummondville ( / dʁɔmɔndvil / ) is a city in the south of the Canadian province of Quebec. It is located in the administrative region Centre-du -Québec, approximately 105 kilometers northeast of Montreal and 150 km southwest of the provincial capital of Quebec. Drummondville is the administrative seat of the Centre- du- Québec and the regional county municipality ( municipalité régional du comté ) Drummond, has an area of 246.85 km ² and has 71 852 inhabitants ( 2011).
Geography
Drummondville is located on the Rivière Saint -François River, a tributary of the St. Lawrence River. The built-over area extends for the most part along the left bank. The river is dammed by two hydroelectric power plants; at the eastern city limits, it has a flow loop on the shape of a duck head, which is accordingly referred to as le Bec du Canard. Compared to the city center, on the left bank, lies the hamlet of Saint -Charles -de- Drummond. Eight kilometers south-east of the city center is the town of Saint - Nicéphore twelve kilometers north-west of the village of Saint -Joachim -de- Courval. The terrain is mostly flat and wooded.
Neighboring communities are Saint- Zéphirin -de- Courval and Sainte -Brigitte -des- Saults in the north, Saint- Cyrille -de- Wendover in the Northeast, Saint -Lucien in the east, L' Avenir in the southeast, Lefebvre and Wickham in the south, Saint- Germain -de- Grantham and Saint- Majorique -de- Grantham to the west and Saint- Bonaventure and Saint- Elphège in the northwest.
History
In June 1815, the founding Drummond Villes by British officer George Heriot was. His intention was to settle on the banks of the Rivière Saint -François demobilized soldiers of the British - American War. This should guard an important access to the center of Québec and prevent a possible invasion by the United States. Named the city is named after Gordon Drummond, the then- incumbent Lieutenant Governor. However, many of these soldiers left the area after a short time, which is why the government settled French Canadians in their place.
Due to the relative seclusion Drummondville first developed in the 19th century slowly. The civil parish was founded in 1875 and received in 1888 the city status. The commissioning of the hydropower plant Hemmings Falls in 1920 led to a sharp upturn and Drummondville developed into a major industrial center. In December 1919 Marconi took in Drummondville for experimental purposes, the radio station XWA in operation, one of the first in Canada. Several municipalities merged with the rapidly growing City: Saint -Joseph and Saint -Jean -Baptiste (1955), Drummondville -Ouest (1966 ), Drummondville -Sud ( 1982) and Grantham (1993). In 2004, the neighboring town of Saint- Nicéphore and Saint -Charles -de- Drummond and Saint -Joachim -de- Courval were incorporated.
Population
According to the 2011 census counted 71,852 inhabitants Drummondville, which corresponds to a population density of 291.1 inh. / Km ². 96.0 % of the population reported French as the main language, the proportion of English was 1.1 %. As a bilingual ( French and English) is designated 0.4 %, to other languages and multiple responses accounted for 2.5%. Only 72.7 % spoke French. In 2001, 93.8 % of the population were Roman Catholic, 1.6 % Protestant, and 3.8 % non-denominational.
Transport and the economy
Drummondville is mainly developed by the Autoroute 20, the highway between the cities of Montreal and Quebec City. On the southern outskirts Autoroute 55 branches in the direction from Sherbrooke. The town center has two main streets crossing of national importance, the Route 122 and Route 143 Drummondville is on the main railway line between Montreal and Quebec City; stop at the station five times daily VIA Rail express trains between the two cities, added three weekly trains to / from Halifax and Gaspé. North of the town of Saint- Nicéphore there is a regional airport; it has a start and runway with a length of 1219 meters and is used for general aviation and business aviation. There is a city bus with five lines, and the city is served by several long-distance bus.
In Drummondville there is a shopping center with over 100 shops. The German Felix Schoeller Group operates a paper mill, Girardin Minibus is the only Canadian manufacturer of school buses. Of some importance is also the Tourism: Every July, the folk dance festival Mondial des Cultures takes place, the Open Air Museum Village québécois d' antan presents rural life in the 19th century.
Sports
Most famous sports team in the city is the Hockey Team Voltigeurs de Drummondville in Ligue de hockey junior majeur du Québec. The home games are played in the Centre Marcel Dionne with 4,000 seats.
Twinning
Sister cities are La Roche- sur -Yon in France and Braine -l'Alleud in Belgium.
Personalities
- Sébastien Charpentier ( born 1977 ), ice hockey player
- Yvan Cournoyer ( born 1943 ), ice hockey player
- Michel Cusson ( born 1957 ), composer
- Gilbert Dionne (born 1970 ), ice hockey player
- Marcel Dionne ( born 1951 ), ice hockey player
- Jessica Dubé (* 1987), figure skater
- Alan Haworth ( born 1960 ), ice hockey player
- Éric Messier (born 1973 ), ice hockey player
- Lester Patrick (1883-1960), ice hockey player and coach
- Jean -Luc Pépin (1924-1995), politician
- Mathieu Perreault (* 1988), ice hockey player
- Yvon Pinard (* 1940), politician
- Kim Poirier ( born 1980 ), actress, singer and television presenter
- Karine Vanasse ( b. 1983 ), actress