Cienfuegos

Cienfuegos is a city on the southern coast of Cuba, capital of the province of Cienfuegos. It is located about 250km (155 miles) from Havana, and has a population of 150,000.

Related Topics:
City - Coast - Cuba - Capital - Province - Cienfuegos - Havana - Population

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Near the entrance to the Bahia de Cienfuegos (bahia meaning "bay") is Castillo de Jagua, a fortress erected in the 1740s for protection against Caribbean pirates. The city was settled by French immigrants from Louisiana in 1819. Its original name was Fernardina de Jagua, subsequently changed to Cienfuegos, which literally translates to "Hundredfires".

Related Topics:
Bahia de Cienfuegos - Bay - Castillo de Jagua - Fortress - 1740s - Caribbean - Pirate - French - Louisiana - 1819

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The downtown contains 6 buildings from 1819-50, 327 buildings from 1851-1900, and 1188 buildings from the 20th century. There is no other place in the Caribbean which contains such a remarkable cluster of Neoclassical structures. In 2005, UNESCO inscribed the downtown on the World Heritage List, citing Cienfuegos as the best extant example of the 19th-century Hispanic colonial city.

Related Topics:
Neoclassical - 2005 - UNESCO - World Heritage List

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Cienfuegos, one of the chief seaports of Cuba, is a center of the sugar trade, as well as coffee and tobacco. While sugarcane is the chief crop, local farmers grow coffee.

Related Topics:
Sugar - Trade - Coffee - Tobacco - Sugarcane - Crop - Farm

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In 2005, Hurricane Dennis made its second landfall near Cienfuegos at about 1:00PM AST (17:00 UTC) with winds of 232km/h (144 MPH), and gusts reaching 285km/h (177 MPH).

Related Topics:
2005 - Hurricane Dennis - Landfall - UTC - Wind - Km/h - MPH - Gust

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