Ganvié

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Ganvié
Ganvié (Benin)
Red pog.svg
Coordinates 6 ° 28 ′  N , 2 ° 25 ′  E Coordinates: 6 ° 28 ′  N , 2 ° 25 ′  E
Basic data
Country Benin
Residents 20,000

Ganvié is a pile dwelling village in Benin . It is located in Lake Nokoué north of Cotonou and with around 20,000 inhabitants is probably the largest village in Africa built on a lake . The main sources of income for the population are fish farming in the lagoon and tourism .

The village was founded in the 17th or 18th centuries by the Tofinu people, who built the lake to prevent Fon warriors from capturing slaves for sale to European traders. They had found that the Fon warriors traditionally did not go into the water. The people of Ganvie village are often referred to as "watermen".

World Heritage Status

The village was on the 1996 proposed list of UNESCO set -Weltkulturerbes.

literature

  • Martin Zinggl: The home of the water people . In: Terra Mater, 03/14

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Workman Publishing Co., Inc. (Ed.): Calendar Obscura . Atlas Obscura, Inc., New York, ISBN 978-1-5235-0156-4 , pp. February 7, 2018 .
  2. Site Lacustre de Ganvié - UNESCO World Heritage Center (English / French)