Victoriaville
Victoriaville is a city in the south of the Canadian province of Quebec. It is located in the administrative region Centre-du -Québec, approximately 100 km southwest of the provincial capital of Quebec. Victoriaville is the administrative seat of the regional county municipality ( municipalité régional du comté ) Arthabaska, has an area of 84.20 km ² and has 43,462 inhabitants ( 2011).
Geography
The city is located in the center of Bois- Francs region, in the transition region between the St. Lawrence Lowlands and the Appalachian Mountains. The city center is located between two rivers, the Rivière Nicolet in the south and the Rivière Bulstrode in the north. The latter is dammed since 1977 Réservoir Beaudet, which is mainly used for drinking water supply. While the city is surrounded on three sides by relatively flat terrain, the terrain turns into a hilly landscape in the east. The highest point is Mont Arthabaska (323 m). Neighboring municipalities are Princeville on the north, Saint- Norbert - d'Arthabaska in the east, Saint- Christophe- d'Arthabaska the southeast, Warwick in the south, Saint -Albert in the southwest, Saint- Valere in the west and Saint- Rosaire in the northwest.
History
The living in the region Abenaki called the area Arthabaska, which means "place of rushes and reeds of ". 1802 claimed the fur trader John Gregory, the area of the newly formed Canton Arthabaska for himself and wanted to sell speculative plots to interested parties. Due to the poor accessibility of the colonization continued, however, only one in 1825, from the valley of the St. Lawrence ago. In 1844 the first provincial road in 1851 by the founding of the parish of Saint- Christophe- d'Arthabaska (short: Arthabaska ). The Grand Trunk Railway opened in 1854 a railway line from Lévis to Richmond.
The station was a few kilometers away from Arthabaska, which led to the emergence of a new settlement. This made itself independent in 1861 and was named Victoriaville, named after the British Queen Victoria. The region has developed into a leading center of the timber industry. 1890 Victoriaville received the city status, however, part split off and formed the town of Sainte - Victoire - d'Arthabaska. The community Arthabaska received city rights in 1903 also. Important events were the opening of the hospital Hôtel- Dieu in 1931, the Collège du Sacré - Cœur 1942 ( conducted since 1969 as a CEGEP ). The railway line was closed down in 1960. 1993 merged Victoriaville, Sainte- Victoire - d'Arthabaska and Arthabaska to today's city.
Attractions
In Victoriaville, there is a National Historic Site: The Musée Laurier was once 20 years long the home of the Canadian Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier and now houses a historical museum dedicated to his life and work. Also worth seeing are the former post office (Hôtel des Postes ) and the parish church of Saint -Christophe.
Population
According to the 2011 census counted 43,462 inhabitants Victoriaville, which corresponds to a population density of 516.2 inh. / Km ². 97.2 % of the population reported French as the main language, the proportion of English was 0.7 %. As a bilingual ( French and English) is designated 0.3 %, to other languages and multiple responses accounted for 1.8%. Only 77.4 % spoke French. In 2001, 94.5 % of the population were Roman Catholic, 2.1 % Protestant, and 2.7 % non-denominational.
Transport and the economy
In Victoriaville several regional headquarters through local streets meet. The Route 116 connects Montreal with Lévis, Route 122 leads to Drummondville, the route 161 to Lac Mégantic. The approximately 15 km long Autoroute 955, which begins just outside the city limits, is a motorway access on the Autoroute 20 The regional airport north of the city, which has a 1200 -meter-long paved runway, Runway, general aviation and business aviation serves.
Long known as the furniture capital of Canada announced Victoriaville today has a diversified economic structure. Of particular importance are the food industry and environmental technology.
Personalities
- René Corbet (born 1973 ), ice hockey player
- Carl Mallette ( born 1981 ), ice hockey player
- Isabelle Mercier ( born 1975 ), a poker player
- Gérard Pelletier (1919-1997), politician and diplomat
- Gilbert Perreault ( born 1950 ), ice hockey player
Pictures
Church of Saint -Christophe
Hôtel des Postes
Musée Laurier