Saint-Georges (sometimes unofficially called Saint-Georges-de-l'Oyapock) is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic coast of South America in the Guianas. ...

, an overseas region and department of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

located in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

. It lies on the

Oyapock River The Oyapock or Oiapoque (; ; ) is a long river in South America that forms most of the border between the French overseas department of French Guiana and the Brazilian state of Amapá. Course The Oyapock runs through the Guianan moist fores ...

(which forms the border with

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

), opposite the Brazilian town of

Oiapoque Oiapoque () is a municipality in the north of the state of Amapá, Brazil. Its population is 27,906 and its area is . Oiapoque is also a major river in the same state, forming the international border with French Guiana. The Oyapock River Bridge, ...

. The town contains a town hall, a

French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (french: Légion étrangère) is a corps of the French Army which comprises several specialties: infantry, Armoured Cavalry Arm, cavalry, Military engineering, engineers, Airborne forces, airborne troops. It was created ...

detachment, and some hotels (the main ones being Le Tamarin, Coz Calè and the Chez Modestine). Saint-Georges has been one of the three sub-prefectures of French Guiana and the seat of the Arrondissement of Saint-Georges since October 2022.

History

Several short-lived colonies had been founded on the Oyapock River. In 1604, Charles Leigh founded Oyapoc for

Great-Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is d ...

. After a mutiny, the colony was abandoned in 1606. In 1620, Roger North tried again, but was forced to abandon the colony in 1629. In February 1677, John Apricius founded a

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

colony, and constructed Fort Orange. In June 1677, they were attacked by the French, and shipped back to the Netherlands. In 1723 or 1724, Fort Saint-Louis was constructed at or near the Dutch fort. In 1734, a Jesuit mission was established at Fort Saint-Louis. In 1744, they were attacked by Great-Britain, and the settlement was abandoned. The town was founded on 23 April 1853 as a

penal colony A penal colony or exile colony is a settlement used to exile prisoners and separate them from the general population by placing them in a remote location, often an island or distant colonial territory. Although the term can be used to refer to ...

and named after a Dutch coin of

Saint George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldie ...

which was discovered at the site. The camp was closed down in 1863. The discovery of gold in 1885 in the

Camopi Camopi is a commune of French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America. Camopi is mainly inhabited by Amerindians of the Wayampi and Teko tribes. History In 1738, a Jesuit mission opened on the river ...

River revived the hamlet and the town was officially created in 1947. The commune is one of the main settlements of the

Palikur The Palikur are an indigenous people located in the riverine areas of the Brazilian state of Amapá and in French Guiana, particularly in the south-eastern border region, on the north bank of the Oyapock River. The Palikur Nation, or ''naoné'', ...

Amerindians. About 500 Palikur live in the commune. They live in neighbourhoods built specifically constructed for them in the main town, and the village of

Trois-Palétuviers Trois-Palétuviers (English: three mangroves) is a Palikur Amerindian village on the Oyapock River in French Guiana, France near the border with Brazil. Overview Trois-Palétuviers was established in 1960. The Palikur used to live in circular ...

Geography

Climate

Saint-Georges has a

tropical monsoon climate An area of tropical monsoon climate (occasionally known as a sub-equatorial, tropical wet climate or a tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate) is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Am''). The average annual temperature in Saint-Georges is . The average annual rainfall is with May as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in October, at around , and lowest in January, at around . The highest temperature ever recorded in Saint-Georges was on 22 October 2015; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 8 November 1958.

Transport

An asphalted road from Saint-Georges to

Régina Régina is a commune of French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America. With a land area of , it is the second-largest commune of France. The town is named after the first merchant who settled in the area. ...

was opened in 2004, completing the National Road 2 (RN2) from Cayenne (the ''

préfecture In France, a prefecture (french: préfecture) may be: * the ''chef-lieu de département'', the commune in which the administration of a department is located; * the ''chef-lieu de région'', the commune in which the administration of a region is ...

'' and largest city of French Guiana) to the Brazilian border and ending the isolation of Saint-Georges. It is now possible to drive on a fully paved road from

Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni (; gcr, Senloran di Maronni) is a commune of French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America. Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni is one of the three sub-prefectures of French Guiana and the seat ...

on the Surinamese border to Saint-Georges on the Brazilian border. Following an international treaty between France and Brazil signed in 15 July 2005, the

Oyapock River Bridge The Franco-Brazilian Binational Bridge spans the Oyapock River, linking the cities of Oiapoque in Amapá, Brazil and Saint-Georges-de-l'Oyapock in French Guiana, France. The bridge is cable-stayed bridge, cable-stayed, with two towers rising to a ...

was built, with construction completed in 2011. It was opened for use in March 2017. This bridge is the first land crossing ever opened between France and Brazil, and indeed between French Guiana and the rest of the world (there exists no other bridge crossing the Oyapock River, and no bridge crossing the

Maroni River The Maroni or Marowijne (french: link=no, Maroni, nl, Marowijne, Sranan Tongo: ''Marwina-Liba'') is a river in South America that forms the border between French Guiana and Suriname. Course The Maroni runs through the Guianan moist fores ...

marking the border with Suriname). With the opening of the bridge, it is now possible to drive uninterrupted from Cayenne to

Macapá Macapá () is a city in Brazil with a population of 512,902 (2020 estimation). It is the capital of Amapá state in the country's North Region. It is located on the northern channel of the Amazon River near its mouth on the Atlantic Ocean. The c ...

(on the Amazon River), the capital of the state of Amapá in Brazil. Saint-Georges is served by the Saint-Georges-de-l'Oyapock Airport.

Population

References

External links

Ville de Saint-Georges at Annuaire-Mairie
(in French) {{DEFAULTSORT:Saintgeorges Communes of French Guiana