Shawinigan
Shawinigan is a city in the south of the Canadian province of Quebec. It is located about 155 kilometers northeast of Montreal and 150 kilometers west of the provincial capital of Quebec. The city in the Mauricie administrative region is a so-called territorial equivalent of a regional municipality, after 2002, several municipalities of the former regional county municipality ( municipalité régional du comté ) Le Centre -de- la- Mauricie merged with Shawinigan. The area is 733.48 km ², the population of 50,060 ( 2011).
Geography
Shawinigan is located on the Rivière Saint- Maurice, at the transition between the southern Saint Lawrence Lowlands and the Canadian Shield in the north. In the river there are several islands, including Ile des Piles, Isle of Hêtres, Ile - Anselme Fay, Ile Marchesseault, Ile Frigon and Île Melville. The previous waterfalls have given power plants. Mostly forested terrain is east of the river is mostly flat and in places swampy, west of the river slightly undulating to hilly. In the urban area there are dozens of smaller lakes. 15 km north of the city center starts the La Mauricie National Park. Another important conservation area is the Réserve écologique de Lac- à -la- Tortue.
The town consists of several settlements. Seven kilometers northeast of the core city Shawinigan, also on the right bank of the Saint- Maurice, is Grand - Mère, eight kilometers north-west of Saint -Gérard -des- Laurentides. Across from Shawinigan Shawinigan -Sud is located (formerly called Alma Ville ), across from Grand- Mère is Saint- Georges. Viewed from the Grand- Mère is from Saint- Jean-des -Piles nine kilometers north, while Lac- à -la- Tortue is located two kilometers east of Saint -Georges on the same lake.
Neighboring municipalities are Lac- Normand and Trois -Rives in the north, Saint -Roch -de- Mekinac and Grandes -Piles in the northeast, Herouxville and Saint -Narcisse in the east, Notre -Dame-du -Mont- Carmel in the Southeast, Saint- Étienne- des- Grès in the south, Saint -Boniface in the southwest, Saint -Mathieu -du -Parc to the west and Saint -Alexis -des- Monts in the northwest.
History
The Jesuit Jacques Buteux led in March 1651 an expedition in Saint- Maurice valley, in order to convert the Abenaki living here. The first European he described the waterfalls in the region. During a second expedition he was in the following year killed in a raid by the Iroquois. The name Shawinigan comes from the language of the Abenaki and describes a portage on a hillside. Earlier spellings are Oshaouinigane, Assaouinigane, Chawinigame, Shawenigane, Chaouénigane and Achawénégan. Around 1850 the first settlers settled and began rafting to operate. To bypass the falls was built in 1856 the first street.
The late 1890s, the province of Quebec experienced a second phase of industrialization. Numerous factories processed the abundant natural resources and required for this purpose enormous amounts of electrical energy. 1898 began the Shawinigan Water and Power Company ( SW & P), which was in the possession of the water rights of the Rivière Saint- Maurice, with the construction of the first hydroelectric power station. 1899 mandated the SW & P the Montreal engineering firm Pringle planning a settlement adjacent to the upcoming power plant. In the same year she received the railway network connection. In 1901 the official founding of the church Shawinigan Falls, which has already received the city status a year later. Also in 1901 started the production of aluminum, as the Pittsburgh Reduction Company (now Alcoa) on Canadian soil took the first work of its kind in operation.
Within a few years Shawinigan Falls into a major industrial center. The paper industry, the chemical industry and the textile industry created thousands of jobs. 1908 was first produced here in Canada silicon carbide, 1932 for the first time Zellophanpellets. Opened in 1929, the Pont de Grand- Mère over the Rivière Saint- Maurice at the time was the longest suspension bridge in Canada and the world's longest suspension bridge with support cables from beaten ropes. The Great Depression hit the city hard, since many factories reduce production temporarily or even had to adjust. Provincial and city authorities responded with job creation measures. The Second World War brought an upturn. In the 1950s, a decade-long period of decline began. The technological development made the industry less dependent on the proximity to power plants, which is why many companies have preferred to move their factories in larger cities or very close.
The City shortened its name in 1958 to Shawinigan. Around the turn of the millennium, there were several municipal mergers. 1998 joined the community Baie -de- Shawinigan, together with the city. As part of administrative reform, the Regional County Municipality of Le Centre- de -la- Mauricie was dissolved in 2002. More than half of it associated communities merged with Shawinigan. These were the Grand- Mère, Shawinigan -Sud, Saint- Georges, Lac- à -la- Tortue, Saint -Gérard -des- Laurentides Saint- Jean-des -Piles The population Shawinigans thereby increased by threefold.
Population
According to the 2011 census counted 50,060 inhabitants Shawinigan, which corresponds to a population density of 68.2 inh. / Km ². 98.0 % of the population reported French as the main language, the proportion of English was 0.9 %. As a bilingual ( French and English) is designated 0.4 %, to other languages and multiple responses accounted for 0.7%. Only 78.3 % spoke French. In 2001, 96.1 % of the population were Roman Catholic, 0.8 % Protestant, and 2.4 % non-denominational.
Economy and Transport
The once important industry has given way to a large extent the services sector. Alcan operates since 1941 the smelter was founded forty years ago; However, production will cease at the end of 2014. Of the earlier numerous paper mills is still a work of Resolute Forest Products left. The state-owned utility Hydro-Québec operates four hydroelectric power plants on the Rivière Saint- Maurice; these are the works of Shawinigan -2 ( opened in 1911 ), Shawinigan -3 (1948 ), Grand - Mère (1915 ) and Rocher -de- Grand- Mère ( 2004). The city is making efforts to establish itself as a tourist destination. The main attractions are the nearby National Park and the electricity theme park Cité de l'Energie.
The western outskirts of Shawinigan and Grand- Mère runs along the Autoroute 55; this highway ends just north of the Saint -Georges. The most important national main road is the route 153 from this branch route 155 to La Tuque and the route 157 to Trois -Rivières from. The leading Shawinigan by railway lines are mainly used for freight services; three times a week, at VIA Rail express trains to Montreal and Jonquière / Senneterre. Otherwise, the city is accessible by long-distance bus. The city bus network consists of three lines.
Sports
Sporty figurehead is the Cataractes de Shawinigan Hockey team in Ligue de hockey junior majeur du Québec. The home games are held at the Centre de Shawinigan Bionest, which offers 4,300 spectators; there also the Memorial Cup 2012 took place.
Sister City
Since 1958 there is a city partnership relationship with Hamilton in the province of Ontario.
Personalities
- Michaël Bournival (* 1992), ice hockey player
- Jean Chrétien ( born 1934 ), Prime Minister of Canada
- Martin Gélinas (born 1970 ), ice hockey player
- Pierre Gendron ( born 1952 ), film producer
- Stéphane Julien ( born 1974 ), ice hockey player
- Carole Laure ( born 1951 ), actress and singer
- Marcel Pronovost ( born 1930 ), ice hockey player
Pictures
Power plant Shawinigan -2
Power Plant Grand- Mère
Church of Saint -Paul, Grand - Mère
Church of Notre- Dame de la Présantation
Town hall