Benguela
| Benguela | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Coordinates | 12 ° 35 ′ S , 13 ° 24 ′ E | ||
| Symbols | |||
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| Basic data | |||
| Country | Angola | ||
| Benguela | |||
| Município | Benguela | ||
| ISO 3166-2 | AO-BGU | ||
| Residents | 513,441 (2014) | ||
| founding | 1617 | ||
Benguela (officially São Felipe de Benguela , formerly also Benguella , originally Mbenguela ) is a city in western Angola and the capital of the province of the same name . It has around 513,500 inhabitants (2014 census).
geography
The city is located about 430 kilometers south of the capital Luanda at the mouth of the Caimbambo in the Benguela Bay. The closest major city is Lobito , which is 35 kilometers north. The coast is determined by sandy beaches and sections of rock. About 25 kilometers west of Benguela is Baía Farta , which is known for its special fruits and salt flats . Baía Azul, a kind of local recreation area for the residents of Benguela, lies a bay in front of it; wealthy residents of the city maintain weekend houses here. On the weekends, the beach there is populated with townspeople.
history
Benguela was founded in 1617 by the Portuguese under Manoel Cerveira Pereira . For a long time it was an important trading center in the region, especially for the slave trade to Brazil and Cuba . After its termination, the city continued to be the destination of the caravan trade operated by the Ovimbundu , which started from East Angola until the beginning of the 20th century. The Benguelas anchorage is about two kilometers from the city and has a depth of 7 to 11 meters.
In addition to the churches of São Felipe and Santo António, as well as the hospital and the fortress, there are only a few buildings that were built and have been preserved before 1900. On the other hand, a number of buildings, particularly from the 1940s and 1950s, are listed, including cinemas, churches, schools, the post office, the town hall and the Hotel Mombaka, built after 1955 .
Benguela was a certain cultural center for Angola Germans during the last phase of Portuguese colonial rule . The vacant German school in Benguela, right on one of the main streets, still bears witness to this today. The German School Benguela was in operation until the end of the colonial period in 1975, but has been closed since then, as together with most of the Portuguese, almost all Germans fled the Angolan civil war after independence in 1975.
Administration and residents
Benguela is the capital of the Benguela Province . It is also the seat of a district of the same name ( Municipio ), which is divided into six municipalities (Comunas): Zona A, Zona B, Zona C, Zona D, Zona E and Zona F.
According to the 1983 census, Benguela was the third largest city in the country with 155,000 inhabitants; according to an estimate in 2006, the population was 513,000. The 2014 census put the city's population at 513,441.
education
Since 2009 the city has been the seat of a state regional university , the Universidade Katyavala Bwila . The city also has branches of the Portuguese University of Lusíada and the Jean Piaget University of Angola .
Culture
In the city, on Morena Beach, is the Museu Nacional de Arqueologia , the largest museum of archeology in Angola.
Since 2016 the Cine-Teatro Monumental has hosted the multi-day theater festival of Benguela with theater groups from several provinces.
Sports
With the Estádio Nacional de Ombaka opened at the end of 2009, Benguela was a venue for the 2010 African Cup of Nations . The football club Estrela Clube Primeiro de Maio , founded in 1981, plays its home games in the stadium in Girabola , the highest league in Angola's men's football. In 2012, a second club from Benguela rose to the top division, the Club Nacional de Benguela . The club was founded in 1920 and won the Taça de Angola cup in 1980 . Today he welcomes his visiting teams to the 5000-seat Atlético São Filipe stadium .
To this day, a game mode in Brazilian martial arts is called Capoeira "Benguela". This is mainly played on the floor and is very similar to "Capoeira de Angola", but has a faster toque (rhythm).
On the beach of Praia Morena in front of the city is the motor racing track Autódromo de Benguela , which was used from 1972 to 1974 for automobile races of the Angolan sports car series . It fell into disrepair today.
traffic
Benguela was the starting point of the Benguela Railway , which leads to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and has connections there to Beira in Mozambique on the Indian Ocean . Today a route leads from Lobito to Benguela, but the actual Benguela Railway begins at the Atlantic port in Lobito and leads eastwards past Benguela.
In the city of Benguela itself there is no commercial port that larger ships can approach.
South of the city is the old airport of Benguela, also known as Aeroporto General V. Deslandes before independence (IATA code BUG). It is regularly served by planes from Luanda and other domestic cities such as Lubango .
Catumbela International Airport (IATA code CBT), which opened in 2012, is located between Benguela and Lobito , around 13 km north of Benguela city center. It should establish itself as an alternative to Luanda Airport .
The city as namesake
The Benguela Current is a passing ocean current of the South Atlantic , which is responsible for the formation of the Namib Desert as well as the rich fishing grounds in front of it.
The asteroid (1784) Benguella , discovered on June 30, 1935, has been named after the city since 1980.
The Benguela Railway , constructed from 1899 onwards, owes its name to the city in which it began.
sons and daughters of the town
- Alda Lara (1930–1962), poet and author
- Laura Soveral (1933-2018), Portuguese actress
- Edite Soeiro (1934–2009), Portuguese journalist
- Milo MacMahon (1940–1985), musician and singer, one half of the successful duo Ouro Negro
- Pepetela (* 1941), writer
- António Sérgio (1950–2009), pioneering Portuguese radio host
- Pedro Malagueta (* 1951), Portuguese singer
- Rui Jordão (1952–2019), Portuguese football player
- Akwá (born 1977), football player
- Édson de Jesus Nobre (* 1980), football player
- Luísa Tomás (* 1983), national basketball player
- Leila Lopes (* 1986), Miss Universum 2011
- Luís Sá Silva (* 1990), Angolan racing car driver
Pepetela
Rui Jordão (1972)
Luísa Tomás
Leila Lopes
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Web links
- Collection of historical maps of Benguela (port.)
- Comprehensive visitor website Benguelas (port.)
- Benguelas tourism website (port.)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Toponímia pp. 22–23 (PDF)
- ↑ Results of the 2014 Census - Benguela (município) censo.ine.gov.ao , accessed on May 8, 2019.
- ^ Hermann Pössinger: A transformação da sociedade umbundu desde o colapso do comércio das caravanas. In: Revista Internacional de Estudos Africanos. 4 + 5, 1986, pp. 75-156.
- ↑ www.monumentos.pt , accessed on March 6, 2014
- ^ Fischer Weltalmanach 2013. Fischer, Frankfurt am Main
- ^ Provincial profile on the provincial government website (port.), Accessed March 6, 2014
- ↑ Primeira edição do Festival de Teatro de Benguela arranca este mês redeangola.info , May 15, 2016, accessed on November 8, 2019
- ↑ Portrait of the Estrela Clube at www.fussballzz.de, accessed on March 6, 2014
- ↑ Portrait of the Clube Nacional at www.fussballzz.de, accessed on March 6, 2014
- ↑ Benguela Airport on www.world-airport-codes.com, accessed on March 6, 2014
- ↑ Catumbela Airport at www.world-airport-codes.com, accessed on March 6, 2014
- ↑ MPC