Travel Guide Louisville

The largest city of the state of Kentucky, Louisville extends along Ohio River, which marks the border with Indiana. With nearly 760,000 inhabitants, and about 1,270,000 for the whole town, the city that saw the writer Hunter Stockton Thompson, the great boxer Mohamed Ali (who had been there since his death in June 2016), and the filmmaker Gus Van Sant, gave l The opportunity for a pleasant stay.Louisville draws its main economic resources from transportation, health and bourbon production. Brown-Forman Distilleries & Co., located in Portland, is one of the largest companies in Kentucky. Among the various brands held by Brown-Forman is Jack Daniels for whiskey and Woodford Reserve for bourbon. However, Bourbon's success does not prevent the city from owning several renowned beer breweries, including Bluegrass Brewing Company.Recently, the city also emerged as a major center for medical care and science, especially for cardiac research (one of the first artificial grafts in 2001), hand surgery and cancer treatment. The main medical research center is located on the Belknap campus of the University of Louisville, University of Louisville Health Care. In another area, Humana, an insurance company founded in 1961, employs nearly 8,500 people in the city.A very green city, Louisville has several popular parks, such as Cherokee Park, the closest to the city center, but also Seneca Park and Iroquois Park, to quote the largest.The main annual events are the Kentucky Derby (May) hippic race, which takes place at the beautiful Churchill Downs and the Saint James Court Art Show (mid-October). These include Kentuckiana Pride (mid-June), a sign of a well-integrated gay community.HistoryLouisville (pronounced «Louville») was founded in 1778 by George Rogers Clark (1752-1818). He gave the city its present name, in honor of King Louis XVI and France's help in the War of Independence. The fleur de liys is always present on the city seal.The Ohio River waterfalls forced boats to unload from the other side allowing the city to grow very quickly. however, it was necessary to wait until 1830 for the construction of a lock and several dams to begin.In 1792, Kentucky was the 15 th state to join the Union, Frankfort damhas then the pawn in Louisville to become the capital of the state.In 1861, when the Civil War came to an end, the city, whose economy relied largely on the slave trade, declared itself neutral (like the state) but its population remained very divided. It was subsequently the starting point for several northern campaigns. Although several battles were nearby, she was not affected by the fighting.In 1870, George Garvin Brown founded the distillery that has now become the Brown-Forman Distilleries & Co. A few years later, on May 17, 1875, the first Kentucky Derby took place.From 1883 to 1887, the city hosted the Southern Exhibition in the current district of Old Louisville. One of the major events in this exhibition was the installation of 10,000 filament bulbs, an invention by Thomas Edison who was resident in Louisville sixteen years earlier.In 1890, the city was partially devastated by a powerful tornado destroying more than 750 buildings.In 1937, catastrophic floods forced 175,000 people to flee. The water climbed 10 meters above its normal level and recovered 70% of the city.In the 1960 s and 1970 s, Louisville experienced a great economic crisis with an urban exodus, which changed the city's physiognomy.The city todayToday, with income unemployment under the national average (4.1% in September 2016), whole neighborhoods have been renovated and many have to be discovered. Among them is Downtown, the business district where there are huge skyscrapers but also a majority of attractions, including 4 th Street Live! Nulu, the culinary district par excellence; The Highlands, the many antique dealers; Butchertown, an old industrial district where Butcherown Markert is located; and Old Louisville (to be differentiated from Downtown) to beautiful Victorian houses. Portland is the port area located west.Notable sports facilities include Churchill Downs, the track where Kentucky Derby takes place every year; Papa John's Cardinal Stadium, the immense American football stadium at Louisville University, where the Louisville Cardinals evolve; Louisville Slugger Field, Bats baseball stadium in Downtown; and KFC Yum Center, on the edge of Ohio, a 22,090-seat multi-multisports hall opened in 2010.The reopening after renovation of the Speed Art Museum, the oldest and largest art museum of the state of Kentucky, was celebrated in March 2016.