Thiès

Thiès

Infobox Settlement
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image_caption = Thies - city centre


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subdivision_name1 = Thiès Region
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Thiès (pronounced “chess," Wolof: Cès) is the third largest city in Senegal with a population officially estimated at 320,000 in 2005. It lies 60 km east of Dakar on the N2 road and at the junction of railway lines to Dakar, Bamako and St-Louis. It is the capital of Thiès Region and is a major industrial city. Thiès is twinned with Solingen, Germany.

History

Before colonization, the Thiès Plateau was a wooded frontier between the kingdoms of Cayor and Baol inhabited by the None, an ethnic sub-group of the Sereer which had been subject to Wolof rule within the kingdom of Cayor. The None still inhabit the Thiès-None neighborhood of the south-west city today.

The plateau acquired strategic importance when the French embarked upon an expansionist colonial policy. A military post was created in 1864 and the military have marked the city’s development ever since; it is home to a major military base.

Transport

At first a simple rail stop, or "escale", on the Dakar-Saint Louis line (completed in 1885) Thiès became a rail junction with the Dakar-Niger line (built 1906-1923). The national network of paved roads created after WWII likewise converged on Thiès, which thus commands nearly all access to the Cape Vert Peninsula (Dakar and Rufisque).

The railways brought commercial development and migrant laborers, including "Bambaras" from eastern regions of Senegal and from Mali. The rail workers of Thiès played a key role in the immergence of Senegal’s labor movement. Their strikes in 1937 and again in 1947-48 also marked the development of the independence movement across French West Africa.

Economy

Thiès is best known for its tapestry-making industry, an exclusive factory having been set up in 1966, producing work designed by Senegal’s top artists. The famous Birds of Paradise tapestry was manufactured in Thiès. The city also contains a polytechnic school.

As the transportation hub of a productive agricultural hinterland: rice, peanuts, manioc, millet, and fruit, the city is a leading livestock-trading and meat-packing center. It has rail yards and repair shops, and alumina phosphate deposits are worked at nearby Palo and Taïba.

Today, Thiès is developing increasingly as an extension of the congested Cape Vert Peninsula. It is attracting industrial investments (electrical and mechanical engineering) and there are plans to link it to Dakar by highway and commuter train.

Other attractions in Thiès include a museum, an artisanal and crafts village and a few remains of old fortifications.

See also

* Railway stations in Senegal

References

* Much of this article was translated from French Wikipedia's .

External links

* [http://www.fallingrain.com/world/SG/7/Thies.html FallingRain Map - elevation = 63m (Red dots are railways)]
* [http://www.cr-thies.sn/ Thiès public services]
* [http://www.mairie-thies.sn/index.htm Site of the Mayor of Thiès]
* [http://www.thiesinfo.com/index.htm Thiesinfo, Local newspaper webportal]
* [http://www.ansd.org/SITECOTHIES%202004.pdf "Situation économique et sociale" (For year 2004)] (Local government, Service régional de Thiès, September 2005)


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  • Thies — Thiès Thiès Pays  Sénégal Gentilé Thiessois Région T …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Thies — ist: ein (nord )deutscher Vorname als Verkürzung von Matthias eine senegalesische Stadt, siehe Thiès Thies ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Erich Thies (* 1943), deutscher Hochschullehrer und Wissenschaftsmanager Heinrich Thies… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Thiès — (pronunciado “chess , wolof: Cès) es una ciudad de Senegal. Se estima la tercera en población del país con una estimación de 320.000 habitantes en 2005. Se encuentra 60 km al este de Dakar, en la carretera N 2 y es nudo ferroviario de las líneas… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Thiès —   [tjɛs], Stadt in Westsenegal, 70 km östlich von Dakar, 216 400 Einwohner; Verwaltungssitz der Region Thiès; katholischer Bischofssitz; polytechnische Fachhochschule, Institut für landwirtschaftliche Entwicklung; Zentrum eines dicht besiedelten …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Thiès — v. du Sénégal, à l E. de Dakar, sur la voie ferrée Dakar Saint Louis; 185 000 hab.; ch. l. de la région du m. nom. Commerce (arachides). Industries textiles. Traitement des phosphates de Taïba …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Thies — Surtout porté dans la Moselle, c est une forme courte de Matthias, Matthieu, également écrite Thiess, Thiesse, Thiese. Avec génitif : Thiesen, Thiessen …   Noms de famille

  • Thiès — 14°47′26″N 16°55′29″O / 14.79056, 16.92472 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Thiès — 14.790555555556 16.924722222222 Koordinaten: 14° 47′ N, 16° 55′ W …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Thiès — ▪ Senegal       city, west central Senegal. Situated 35 miles (56 km) east of Dakar, it is an important transportation centre, serving as the junction of the eastern Dakar Niger River railway and the northern rail and road systems. This central… …   Universalium

  • Thies — 1 Admin ASC 1 Code Orig. name Thiès Country and Admin Code SN.07 SN 2 Admin ASC 2 Code Orig. name Thiès Country and Admin Code SN.07.2244804 SN …   World countries Adminstrative division ASC I-II

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