Banjul

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Banjul
King Fahd Mosque
King Fahd Mosque
Coordinates: 13 ° 27 ′  N , 16 ° 35 ′  W
Map: Gambia
marker
Region: Greater Banjul Area
Next place: Serrekundao1
Surface: 12 km²
Founding: 1816o2
Residents: 31,356 (2013)

EW2 EW4

Banjul [ ˈbændʒuːl ] (until 1973 Bathurst ) is the capital of the West African state of Gambia . As the “City of Banjul”, the city in the Gambian administrative division belongs to the highest level of administrative units alongside the regions and Kanifing Municipal as a separate administrative district.

According to a calculation for 2013, around 31,356 inhabitants live there, making Banjul the eighth largest town in Gambia. The last published census of 2003 showed 34,828 inhabitants.

Popularly Banjul bears the nickname "City of Light".

geography

Geographical location

Banjul is located at the mouth of the Gambia River on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean . The settlement was built on a shallow sandbar island ( St. Mary's Island ) that had formed in the estuary over time. Before the settlement, bamboo forests grew on the sandbank in addition to baobabs ( baobabs ) .

Banjul means "bamboo island" in the Mande language .

Expansion of the urban area

Due to the geographical location on a sandbank , further expansion of the urban area is not possible; the mangrove swamps are located on the western city limits . These are known under the name Tanbi Wetland Complex and enjoy the special protection of a nature reserve and Ramsar reserve.

City structure

In addition to its function as the capital, the city of Banjul is also a separate administrative district of the state. Together with Kanifing Municipal , it forms the Greater Banjul Area .

Neighboring communities

As a rapidly growing city, Serekunda benefits from this natural boundary of the city . It is connected to Banjul by the Banjul-Serekunda Highway and lies west of the mangrove swamps on the mainland.

population

According to a survey from 1993 ( census at the time ), the Wolof make up the largest population group with a share of around three-tenths, followed by the Mandinka and the Fula. The distribution in detail: 31.1% Wolof , 28.9% Mandinka , 9.8% Fula , 8.1% Serer , 6.4% Diola , 5.9% Aku , 5.1% Serahule , 1.4 % Bambara , 1.1% Manjago and 2.5% other ethnic groups.

climate

Banjul
Climate diagram
J F. M. A. M. J J A. S. O N D.
 
 
1
 
31
15th
 
 
1
 
32
16
 
 
0
 
34
17th
 
 
0
 
33
18th
 
 
4th
 
31
20th
 
 
62
 
31
23
 
 
267
 
30th
23
 
 
405
 
29
23
 
 
286
 
31
23
 
 
86
 
31
22nd
 
 
6th
 
32
19th
 
 
0
 
31
16
Temperature in ° C ,  precipitation in mm
Source: wetterkontor.de
Average monthly temperatures and rainfall for Banjul
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Max. Temperature ( ° C ) 31.4 32.4 33.7 32.5 31.4 31.4 30.2 29.3 30.5 31.4 31.8 30.5 O 31.4
Min. Temperature (° C) 14.9 16.3 16.9 18.2 19.7 22.7 23.1 22.8 22.7 22.2 19.2 16.4 O 19.6
Precipitation ( mm ) 1 1 0 0 4th 62 267 405 286 86 6th 0 Σ 1,118
Hours of sunshine ( h / d ) 6.7 8.4 8.6 8.4 7.4 6.7 5.9 6.1 6.1 7.0 8.2 6.8 O 7.2
Rainy days ( d ) 0 0 0 0 0 5 15th 17th 15th 5 0 0 Σ 57
Water temperature (° C) 22nd 21st 21st 22nd 24 26th 27 27 27 27 27 24 O 24.6
Humidity ( % ) 47 47 50 58 67 73 81 85 84 80 69 55 O 66.4
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
31.4
14.9
32.4
16.3
33.7
16.9
32.5
18.2
31.4
19.7
31.4
22.7
30.2
23.1
29.3
22.8
30.5
22.7
31.4
22.2
31.8
19.2
30.5
16.4
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
N
i
e
d
e
r
s
c
h
l
a
g 		1
1
0
0
4th
62
267
405
286
86
6th
0
  Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Source: wetterkontor.de

history

In 1807, British colonialists began to colonize the island. In 1816, the city was founded as a trading and military post under the name Bathurst (after Henry Bathurst , Secretary of the British Colonial Bureau) when the British tried to curb the slave trade . Across from Fort Bullen ( Barra ) on the other side of the Gambia, they built a fort and several gun emplacements, including the Six-Gun Battery. Both forts were designed to prevent the continuation of the slave trade from the hinterland. The Six-Gun Battery has been classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2003 .

On February 18, 1965, the city became the capital of the newly independent state Republic of The Gambia . It was renamed Banjul on April 24, 1973 in the course of Africanization .

Population development

year Residents
1963 27,809¹
1973 39,476¹
1983 44,188¹
1993 42,326¹
2003 34,828¹
2005 34,589
2006 34,388
2007 34,125
2008 33,820
2009 33,422
2010 32,921
2012 31,834
2013 31,356¹

¹ census result

Religions

Islam

mosque

The King Fahad Mosque , built in 1988, is Gambia's largest mosque. There are also other smaller mosques in the city, including the Masjid Abu Bakar Saddiq (previously Independence Drive Mosque ), the Masjid Umar Bun Khatab (previously Half-Die Mosque ) and the Masjid Ali Ibn Abi Talib (previously James Senegal Mosque ). The latter three were renamed by the Committee of Banjul Muslim Elders in June 2014. They should get a closer connection to Islam.

Christianity

The Roman Catholic Church maintains the diocese of Banjul for the almost 33,000 Catholics in Gambia .

politics

The city council ( Banjul City Council ) is headed by a Lord Mayoress , Rohey Malick Lowe has held this position since May 12, 2018 .

coat of arms

Description of the coat of arms:

Banjul's coat of arms

" In the silver (white) head of the shield between two green crescent moons a red Lazarus cross (trefoil cross), in the middle over a silver (white) blue wavy bar two right-facing silver (white) muzzle-loaders each with a cannon in the same color, in the black shield base a silver one (white) fish. "

The coat of arms originated in the British colonial times. Half moons and the cross of Lazarus symbolize the two religions Islam and Christianity, the cannons stand for the protection and security of the city and the wave arch stands for the river Gambia with its abundance of fish (fish).

Town twinning

Culture and sights

Museums

  • The National Museum on Gloucester Street displays exhibits from the colonial past and recent history of The Gambia.

Buildings

"Arch 22"

The city's architecture is still largely colonial. A post-colonial exception is the 35-meter-high Arch 22 , which was inaugurated on the 2nd anniversary of the coup on July 22, 1994. From the triumphal arch on Independence Drive , which is also the symbol of Banjul and the whole country, one has a good overview of the city.

Regular events

  • Banjul is the target of an unusual annual car race, the Banjul Challenge . Entrants must drive a car that is no more than £ 100 in value and be on a budget when traveling. Based on the Paris-Dakar rally , the vehicles from Plymouth in southern England are expected to reach the north-west coast of Africa in just under twenty days. If they arrive, the vehicles will be sold or donated.
  • Similar to the above Banjul Challenge, the Dresden-Dakar-Banjul Challenge takes place twice a year. This is organized by the Saxon Latitude eV It starts in March and October, used cars are driven, which, when they arrive at their destination, are auctioned for charity.

Economy and Infrastructure

The seaport of Banjul plays an important role for Gambia. The most important export product is peanuts , the main imports are oil and petroleum products.

In a ranking of cities according to their quality of life, Banjul ranked 185th out of 231 cities worldwide in 2018.

traffic

Banjul can be reached from the west of the mainland via the well-developed Banjul-Serekunda Highway , which runs over Denton Bridge , and Bond Street. To the east there is the Banjul – Barra ferry service , which runs every ninety minutes to Barra on the other side of the river.

Outside of Banjul, i.e. no longer in the urban area of ​​Banjul and about 24 kilometers away, is the Banjul International Airport .

Personalities

Honorary Citizen of Banjul

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Banjul on bevoelkerungsstatistik.de (no longer available online, last accessed May 2013)
  2. ↑ Banjul: The City of Light ( Memento from August 10, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) The Daily Observer from December 31, 2014
  3. ^ Population by Ethnicity, by Settlement and Local Government Area. (Gambians Only) ( Memento from November 13, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) PDF file
  4. ↑ Three mosques renamed in Banjul ( Memento of July 14, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) The Daily Observer (online) of June 26, 2014
  5. ↑ Capitals of the World, flags and emblems , accessed August 2012
  6. ↑ Banjul signs twining pact with Doha ( Memento of July 14, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) The Daily Observer (online) of October 28, 2011
  7. ↑ News. Freetown City Council, March 21, 2009. ( December 17, 2009 memento in the Internet Archive )
  8. ↑ BCC Twin With Milan City Council The Point (online) of November 20, 2008
  9. ↑ Peter JM Nas, Timoer Reijnders, Eline Steenhuisen: Three Harbor Cities: An Exploration of the Ports of IJmuiden (the Netherlands), Banjul (the Gambia) and Jakarta (Indonesia). In: Arndt Graf, Beng Huat Chua (Ed.): Port Cities in Asia and Europe (= Routledge studies in the modern history of Asia (2005). Vol. 54). Routledge, London / New York NY 2009, ISBN 0-7103-1183-4 , pp. 33-56, here p. 46.
  10. ↑ Mercer's 2018 Quality of Living Rankings. Retrieved August 18, 2018 .
  11. ↑ citoidWikitext * NO TITLE PROVIDED. In: thepoint.gm. Retrieved March 25, 2019 .
  12. ↑ Honorary Citizenship Conferred on Fri Gough. In: thepoint.gm. December 31, 2008, accessed March 24, 2019 .

Web links

Commons : Banjul  - collection of images, videos and audio files
 Wikinews: Banjul  - on the news
Wiktionary: Banjul  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations