Bouaké
| Bouaké | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Help on coat of arms |
|
||
| Basic data | |||
| District : | Vallée du Bandama | ||
| Region : | Gbêkê | ||
| Department : | Bouaké | ||
| Mayor : | Fanny Ibrahima | ||
| Coordinates : | 7 ° 41 ′ N , 5 ° 2 ′ W | ||
| Height : | 312 m | ||
| Area : | 71.788 km² | ||
| Residents : | 536,189 (2014 census) | ||
| Website : | mairiebke.e-monsite.com/ | ||
Bouaké is a city in the center of the Ivory Coast . It is located in the Vallée du Bandama region and is the third largest municipality in the country after Yopougon and Abobo . The metropolitan area is the second largest after the former capital Abidjan .
Geographical location
The city is located in the central part of the country around 50 kilometers northeast of the Kossousees, the largest lake in the Ivory Coast, around 350 kilometers north of Abidjan on the Abidjan-Niger Railway and around 100 kilometers northeast of the state capital Yamoussoukro . The distances from Bouaké to the economic metropolis Abidjan are about the same as to the neighboring countries Burkina Faso, Mali, Ghana, Guinea and Liberia. It is the capital of the Vallée du Bandama department of the same name and of the historic Boualé country.
City structure
The typical division of a city complex from the French colonial era into a haphazardly grown native district and a French settlement separated by the railway line is recognizable. The latter is the Quartier du Commerce along the north-south through road below the railway line and the central post office, with shops and restaurants for high-end needs. To the east of this is a spacious residential area for medium-sized businesses, the Air France II quarter .
The residential district of the lower class Koko with one of the largest markets in the country is located north of the railway line and turns west into a hut settlement.
history
Sagas and stories
In the middle of the 19th century there was a small village called Gebekekro in the heart of the Baoulé savannah. It was subordinate to the village chief Gossankwa Gbeke from the Assabou tribe, an Akan ethnic group. Gossankwa Gbeke had followed Queen Pokou and her sister Akwa Boni in their epic across the Baoulé savannah until the royal family settled in the Ouarebo region. Gossankwa Gbeke, who was known throughout the region for his authority and wisdom, had signed the non-aggression pact with Almamy Samory Touré as the representative of the Baoulé people and was present at the mediation of the Touré in Marabadiassa.
Beginning of colonization
The legendary Gossankwa Gbeke was succeeded by Kouassi Blé. In 1898 the French set up a military camp under the direction of Captain Benoît within sight of the village of Gebekekro. When the French army returned from the two decisive battles against Samory Touré in French Sudan , there were skirmishes with the locals. Beaten, Kouassi Blé had to leave the village of Gbekekro. Twelve kilometers to the east he founded a new settlement called Kouassi Blékro in 1900, where the seat of the tribal principality of Gossan von Bouaké is still today.
French civil administration
The French troops organized the village according to European rules under the name Bouaké and in 1904 the first post office was built, followed by the telegraph in 1907. Three years later the area was parceled out and under the direction of the Governor General of French West Africa (AOF), Captain Colomb, construction began. Therefore, the year 1910 is considered to be the founding year of the city of Bouaké. As early as 1912, the railway from Dimbokro to Bouaké was extended.
Civil war
Bouaké lay between the front lines during the 2002 civil war and was besieged by rebels and government forces. It then came under the control of the rebels, the Forces Nouvelles de Côte d'Ivoire, and became their quasi-capital . On September 19, 2002, parts of the army used a visit by President Laurent Gbagbo to Italy for a coup in which they brought the northern region of the Ivory Coast under their control and founded the MPCI - the " Patriotic Movement of the Ivory Coast ". Around 900 Europeans, trapped by around 750 insurgent soldiers, got caught between the fronts a few days later when troops loyal to the government launched a counteroffensive against the rebels. In another attack on the insurgents on November 6, 2004, French military positions near Bouaké were attacked by Ukrainian fighter planes belonging to the Ivorian government and nine French soldiers were killed.
At the beginning of the civil war, a massacre of 90 gendarmes and their families took place in Bouaké.
population
According to the 2014 census, Bouaké has 536,189 inhabitants. Together with the surrounding communities, the agglomeration of Bouaké has around one and a half million inhabitants and is therefore the second largest in the country after the agglomeration of Abidjan. Since it was founded in 1910, the city has grown rapidly, as can be seen in the table below.
| year | 1921 | 1945 | 1960 | 1970 | 1975 | 1988 | 1998 | 2005 | 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents city | 3,600 | 22,000 | 60,000 | 120,000 | 175,000 | 332,999 V | 461,618 V | 573,000 S. | 659,223 B |
| Population metropolitan area | 362,192 V | 674,000 S | 1,327,869 B |
V = population census S = estimate B = calculation
Economy and Transport
The most important economic sector is agriculture; especially the cultivation of cotton . A textile factory was founded in 1921 and was the country's first industrial company. Cottonseed is also made into oil and soap. At least until 2002 Bouaké was an important economic center with a wholesale market. There has been a Lions club here since 1967 . The city is on the railway line from Treichville to Ouagadougou ( Burkina Faso ). Likewise on the north-south and east-west main axes of the roads. As a result, Bouaké has a privileged economic position, which has led to the settlement of various companies. In addition to the train station and the intercity bus station, the city has an airport 10 kilometers outside .
Education and health
Bouaké has 316 primary schools, 27 secondary schools, a university and the Institut National de Formation des Agents de Santé (French for National Training Institute for Health Agents ). Bouaké is also the seat of a research institute for cotton and tropical textile fibers . In addition to the university hospital, there are a large number of health centers and private clinics. A medical team has been working at the Bouaké University Hospital since 2002.
The École Baptiste or International Christian Academy was an American boarding school , primarily for the children of missionaries. It started in the 1961/1962 school year with 73 children. In September 2002 the school got caught between the fronts in the truest sense of the word, and over 160 children and their carers were surrounded by the Forces Nouvelles and government troops for a week . The school was then evacuated and used by the French as a military base. Since there is no prospect of the property being returned, the school was formally closed in 2005.
Culture
Bouaké is known for its carnival and the market of St. Michael's Cathedral. Bouaké is the bishopric of the Archdiocese of Bouaké . Bouaké is the only city inland with regional television and radio studios .
Town twinning
Bouaké has twinned cities with
-
Mopti (Mali) -
Brescia in Lombardy (Italy) -
Beer Sheva (Israel) -
Reutlingen in Baden-Württemberg (Germany), since 1970 -
Villeneuve-sur-Lot in Aquitaine (France), since 1957 -
Zimnicea (Romania)
sons and daughters of the town
- Sékou Touré (1934–2003), football player
- Youssouf Bakayoko (* 1943), diplomat and politician
- Amara Essy (* 1944), politician from Ivory Coast, President of the 49th UN General Assembly
- Ibrahim Coulibaly (1964–2011), rebel leader and one of the initiators of the December 1999 coup
- Ahmed Douhou (* 1976), French sprinter of Ivorian origin
- Mohammed Sylla (* 1977), Guinean football player
- Kolo Touré (* 1981), football player
- Yaya Touré (* 1983), football player
- Ibrahim Touré (1985-2014), football player
Climate table
| Bouaké | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Climate diagram | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Average monthly temperatures and rainfall for Bouaké
Source: wetterkontor.de
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Results of the 2014 census . Retrieved January 7, 2016.
- ↑ Thomas Scheen: A drama with an announcement. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . March 16, 2011, accessed March 18, 2011 .
- ↑ Sources: until 1975 Bouake website ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , otherwise Ivory Coast A drama with an announcement
- ↑ Website Bouaké - Villes amies ( Memento of the original from October 20, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
