Champ de Mars (Haitian Creole: Channmas) is the biggest public park in the downtown area of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. It consists of a series of public squares divided by large boulevards. [1]
For much of Port-au-Prince’s history Champ de Mars was used for military parades, until 1912 where it was remodelled into a racetrack with wrought-iron viewing stands facing the National Palace. Its current design is from 1999, when it was rebuilt to celebrate the city’s 250th anniversary. [2]
Champ de Mars was heavily affected by the 2010 earthquake and the National Palace destroyed. [2] The area was fenced off for a period after.
Champs de Mars contains a number of statues of Haiti's founding fathers, including Toussaint Louverture, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Alexander Pétion and Henri Christophe. [3]
The Musée du Panthéon National Haïtien featuring Haitian history, art and culture is located at Champ de Mars.
A government project providing free public WIFI in the area was inaugurated In October 2018. [4]
Port-au-Prince is the capital and most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 987,311 in 2015 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The metropolitan area is defined by the IHSI as including the communes of Port-au-Prince, Delmas, Cite Soleil, Tabarre, Carrefour and Pétion-Ville.
Cap-Haïtien, typically spelled Cape Haitien in English and often locally referred to as Le Cap or Au Cap, is a commune of about 190,000 people on the north coast of Haiti and capital of the department of Nord. Previously named Cap‑Français and Cap‑Henri during the rule of Henri I, it was historically nicknamed the Paris of the Antilles, because of its wealth and sophistication, expressed through its architecture and artistic life. It was an important city during the colonial period, serving as the capital of the French Colony of Saint-Domingue from the city's formal foundation in 1711 until 1770 when the capital was moved to Port-au-Prince. After the Haitian Revolution, it became the capital of the Kingdom of Haiti under King Henri I until 1820.
Ouest (French) or Lwès is one of the ten departments of Haiti and located in Centre-Sud of the country linking the Great-North and the Tiburon Peninsula.
Nord-Ouest (French) or Nòdwès is one of the ten departments of Haiti as well as the northernmost one. It has an area of 2,102.88 km2 (811.93 sq mi) and a population of 728,807. Its capital is Port-de-Paix.
Sud (French) or Sid is one of the ten departments of Haiti and located in southern Haiti. It has an area of 2,653.60 square kilometres (1,024.56 sq mi) and a population of 774,976. Its capital is Les Cayes.
Carrefour is a largely residential commune in the Port-au-Prince Arrondissement, in the Ouest department of Haiti. The commune had a population of 373,916 at the 2003 census and was officially estimated to have grown to 511,345 inhabitants in 2015. It is mostly a bedroom community for those who work in central Port-au-Prince.
Cité Soleil is an extremely impoverished and densely populated commune located in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area in Haiti. Cité Soleil originally developed as a shanty town and grew to an estimated 200,000 to 400,000 residents, the majority of whom live in extreme poverty. The area is generally regarded as one of the poorest and most dangerous areas of the Western Hemisphere and it is one of the biggest slums in the Northern Hemisphere. The area has virtually no sewers and has a poorly maintained open canal system that serves as its sewage system, few formal businesses but many local commercial activities and enterprises, sporadic but largely unpaid for electricity, a few hospitals, and two government schools, Lycee Nationale de Cité Soleil, and Ecole Nationale de Cité Soleil. For several years until 2007, the area was ruled by a number of gangs, each controlling their own sectors. But government control was reestablished after a series of operations in early 2007 by the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) with the participation of the local population.
Saint-Marc is a commune in western Haiti in Artibonite departement. Its geographic coordinates are 19°7′N72°42′W. At the 2003 Census the commune had 160,181 inhabitants. It is one of the biggest cities, second to Gonaïves, between Port-au-Prince and Cap-Haïtien.
Champ de Mars is a large public greenspace in Paris, France.
Adventist University of Haiti called in French:Université Adventiste d'Haïti is situated some five miles (8 km) southwest of Port-au-Prince, in the Carrefour neighborhood.
Port-au-Prince is an arrondissement in the Ouest department of Haiti. It had 2,109,516 inhabitants at the 2003 Census which was estimated to have risen to 2,759,991 in 2015 in an area of 735.78 sq km. Postal codes in the Port-au-Prince Arrondissement start with the number 61.
Tourism in Haiti is an industry that has generated just under a million arrivals in 2012, and is one of the main sources of revenue for the nation. With its favorable climate, second longest coastline of beaches and most mountainous ranges in the Caribbean, waterfalls, caves, colonial architecture and distinct cultural history, Haiti has had its history as an attractive destination for tourists. However, unstable governments have long contested its history and the country's economic development throughout the 20th century.
The National Palace was the official residence of the President of Haiti, located in Port-au-Prince, facing Place L'Ouverture near the Champs de Mars. It was severely damaged during a devastating earthquake in 2010. The ruins of the building were demolished in 2012 under the Martelly administration, and plans to rebuild the palace were announced by then president Jovenel Moïse in 2017.
Jean Jimmy Alexandre, better known by his stage name Jimmy O, was a Haitian hip hop artist who was born in Port-au-Prince and lived in New York City. He was involved with Wyclef Jean's Yéle Haiti Foundation. Jimmy O performed his music in Haitian Creole.
There are currently no functioning railways in Haiti, and there have never been any rail connections with the neighbouring Dominican Republic. However, between 1876 and the 1970s, various tramways and railways ran in the country. A tram network operated in the capital, Port-au-Prince, between 1897 and 1932. Three railway lines, along with some industrial lines, constituted the Haitian national rail network. The first horse drawn street tramway opened in 1876, with rural railways constructed later.
The Musée du Panthéon National Haïtien (MUPANAH) is a museum featuring the heroes of the independence of Haiti and the Haitian history and culture.
Haitian Carnival is a celebration held over several weeks each year leading up to Mardi Gras. Haitian Defile Kanaval is the Haitian Creole name of the main annual Mardi Gras carnival held in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
The Exposition internationale du bicentenaire de Port-au-Prince was a world's fair held in Port-au-Prince, Haiti in 1949 to mark the 200th anniversary of the city's founding.
The Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple is a temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Port-au-Prince suburb of Pétionville, Haiti. It is located adjacent to an existing meetinghouse at the intersection of Route de Frères and Impasse Saint-Marc.
Protests began in cities throughout Haiti on 7 July 2018 in response to increased fuel prices. Over time, these protests evolved into demands for the resignation of Jovenel Moïse, the then-president of Haiti. Led by opposition politician Jean-Charles Moïse, protesters stated that their goal to create a transitional government, provide social programs, and prosecute allegedly corrupt officials. Throughout 2019, 2020, and 2021, hundreds of thousands took part in protests calling for the government to resign. On 7 February 2021, supporters of the opposition against the then-incumbent Jovenel Moïse allegedly attempted a coup d'état, leading to 23 arrests, as well as clashes between protestors and police.