Cristo Rei (Lubango)

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Cristo Rei in Lubango

The Christo Rei statue in Lubango is located on an elevation above the closed urban area of ​​Lubango in southern Angola , in the direction of Humpata . It was originally intended to worship the King of Christ and is now one of the most famous sights in the country. The statue spreads its arms towards the city and is visible from practically every point in Lubango. It stands as a national monument (since 2014 Monumento Nacional ) under monument protection .

In 2015 the lettering “Lubango” was erected below the Cristo Rei, based on the Hollywood sign .

Dates and history

The statue stands at an altitude of 2100 meters, on the summit of the Serra de Chela above the Angolan city ​​of Lubango, which was founded by settlers from the Portuguese island of Madeira in 1885. The walled complex has a diameter of about 30 meters.

The construction of the Cristo Rei was financed from the circles of these Madeira-born citizens in 1957 and carried out according to plans by the Madeiran architect Frazão Sardinha .

classification

The statue was inspired by its two well-known predecessors, the Cristo Redentor in Rio de Janeiro (built from 1931) and the Cristo Rei in Almada opposite the Portuguese capital Lisbon (built 1949-1959). It stands in the tradition of a number of Christ statues in the Portuguese-speaking world , such as the Cristo Rei in the East Timorese capital Dili (built in 1988) or the Cristo Rei of Garajau on Madeira (built in 1927)

In Angola there is another, but smaller statue of Christ in the city of Camacupa a few hundred kilometers to the east .

Web links

Commons : Cristo Rei  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Joost De Raeymaeker: À Descoberta De Angola . 1st edition, Verlag LeYa , Alfragide 2012, p. 146 u. 152 ( ISBN 978-989-741-009-3 )
  2. ↑ a b c - “Cristo Rei in Lubango still remembers the arrival of the settlers from Madeira in southern Angola” , article from March 14, 2018 in the Portuguese newspaper Diário de Notícias , accessed on July 11, 2020
  3. ↑ Huíla: Estátua do Cristo Rei é classificado monumento nacional - "Huíla: Cristo Rei statue recognized as a national monument" , press release of April 16, 2014 by the state news agency ANGOP , accessed on July 11, 2020
  4. ^ Joost De Raeymaeker: À Descoberta De Angola . 1st edition, Verlag LeYa, Alfragide 2012, p. 231

Coordinates: 14 ° 55 ′ 0 ″  S , 13 ° 30 ′ 0 ″  E