Libreville

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Libreville
Libreville (Gabon)
Libreville
Libreville
Coordinates 0 ° 23 '40 "  N , 9 ° 27' 15"  E Coordinates: 0 ° 23 '40 "  N , 9 ° 27' 15"  E
location
Symbols
coat of arms
coat of arms
Basic data
Country Gabon

province

Estuaire
ISO 3166-2 GA-1
height 10 m
surface 65 km²
Residents 703,939 (2013)
density 10,829.8  Ew. / km²
founding 1849
Website libreville.ga
politics
mayor Jean-François Ntoutoume Emane
Libreville Port
Libreville Port

Libreville [ librəˈvil ], ( French for free city ) is the capital of Gabon . With 703,939 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2013), Libreville is by far the largest city in the country, ahead of Port-Gentil , Lambaréné and Franceville . Libreville is also the capital of the Estuaire Province . The city is also the seat of a Roman Catholic archdiocese .

geography

Geographical location

The city lies on the Gabon estuary, where the Komo flows into the Gulf of Guinea . To the east of Libreville are the Monts de Cristal (crystal mountains), to the south the lowlands of the Ogooué .

City structure

Libreville consists of the districts Battery IV, Quartier Louis, Mont-Bouët, Nombakélé, Glass (European district), Oloumi (industrial area), Dakar, Damas Aleka, Akébe Kinguélé, Nouvelle Terre, Bellevue, Avea, Avea II, Sotéga, Derriére la Prison, Les Charbonnages and Lalala.

climate

Libreville is located in the tropical climate zone . The annual average temperature is 26.0 degrees Celsius, the average annual rainfall is 2,509.5 millimeters. The average maximum temperatures are between 26 and 30 degrees all year round, the average minimum temperatures between 22 and 24 degrees.

The dry season begins in May and ends in September. Most of the precipitation falls in November with an average of 373.4 millimeters, the least in July with an average of 2.5 millimeters.

Libreville
Climate diagram
J F. M. A. M. J J A. S. O N D.
 
 
270
 
29
24
 
 
268
 
30th
24
 
 
375
 
30th
24
 
 
331
 
30th
24
 
 
231
 
29
24
 
 
15th
 
28
23
 
 
2
 
26th
22nd
 
 
12
 
27
22nd
 
 
109
 
28
23
 
 
400
 
28
24
 
 
487
 
28
23
 
 
316
 
29
24
Temperature in ° C ,  precipitation in mm
Source: wetterkontor.de
Monthly average temperatures and rainfall for Libreville
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Max. Temperature ( ° C ) 29.2 30.0 30.0 30.1 29.4 27.5 26.3 26.7 27.7 28.1 28.4 28.9 O 28.5
Min. Temperature (° C) 24.1 23.9 23.9 23.9 24.0 23.1 22.0 22.3 23.2 23.5 23.4 23.9 O 23.4
Precipitation ( mm ) 270 268 375 331 231 15th 2 12 109 400 487 316 Σ 2,816
Hours of sunshine ( h / d ) 5.6 6.2 5.7 5.6 5.1 4.3 3.9 3.1 3.1 3.4 4.5 5.5 O 4.7
Rainy days ( d ) 15th 13 17th 16 12 2 1 3 11 23 20th 15th Σ 148
Humidity ( % ) 86 86 86 86 85 82 81 81 84 86 87 87 O 84.7
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
29.2
24.1
30.0
23.9
30.0
23.9
30.1
23.9
29.4
24.0
27.5
23.1
26.3
22.0
26.7
22.3
27.7
23.2
28.1
23.5
28.4
23.4
28.9
23.9
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
N
i
e
d
e
r
s
c
h
l
a
g 		270
268
375
331
231
15th
2
12
109
400
487
316
  Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Source: wetterkontor.de

population

Since independence in 1960, the population has grown rapidly from around 30,000 to the present day to around 703,939 (as of 2013).

history

Long before the French acquired the area from King Antchouwé Kowe Rapontchombo in 1839, the Mbé estuary was inhabited by the Mpongwé , a Bantu group. In 1843 Fort Aumale was founded as a naval base, which in the years to come grew together with surrounding settlements to form a city. The city was officially founded in 1849 as a settlement for released slaves and was named Libreville, modeled on Freetown . In 1886 Libreville became the administrative seat of the province of Gabon . When Gabon gained independence in 1960, it became the capital of the new state.

Economy and Infrastructure

The Libreville International Airport is located approximately 7 kilometers north. In Owendo, south of the city center, there is both the city's port and the station of the Transgabonais railway that connects Libreville with Franceville in the south-east of the country. The manganese and iron ore deposits can be transported to the port in Owendo by the Transgabonais railway .

In a ranking of cities according to their quality of life, Libreville ranked 164th out of 231 cities worldwide in 2018.

education

The city is the seat of numerous educational institutions. These include the Université Omar Bongo (UOB), founded in 1970 , the Université des Sciences de la Santé , the Omar Bongo Ondimba Technical School and other smaller institutes, as well as the National Library .

Culture and sights

Libreville is home to the National Museum of Art and Cultural History , which is home to an extensive collection of relics and ritual masks. The wooden church of St. Michel is known for its carvings. It was only erected in 1961; the carvings - scenes from the Old and New Testaments - were created by a blind woodcarver in months of work. The church is a magnet for visitors, especially on Sundays. Other attractions include St. Marie Cathedral , the Arboretum de Sibang and a French cultural center . Another noteworthy wooden building is on Boulevard Georges Pompidou , it houses the Louis art gallery on the ground floor, the owner also sells African antiques. The Presidential Palace, which was built in the 1970s, is not open to visitors and cannot be photographed. The mausoleum of the former President Léon M'ba rises on the esplanade. Inside there is a simple memorial stone, the mausoleum itself is open on all sides, such an example of a lack of personality cult is rare in Africa. Libreville's largest market is the Marché du Mont-Bouët east of the city center. The Stade d'Angondjé stadium is one of the four stadiums that hosted the 2017 African Cup of Nations .

sons and daughters of the town

Airports

literature

  • Mylène Rémy: Gabon in color . Travel today. Jeune Afrique, Paris 1977, ISBN 2-85258-070-5 , pp. 264 (French).

Web links

Commons : Libreville  - collection of images, videos and audio files
Wiktionary: Libreville  - Explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ RECENSEMENT GENERAL DE LA POPULATION ET DES LOGEMENTS DE 2013 DU GABON
  2. ↑ Mercer's 2018 Quality of Living Rankings. Retrieved August 18, 2018 .