Mercado Municipal (Baucau)

The Mercado Municipal after the renovation (2014)

The Mercado Municipal of Baucau is the old market building of the second largest city in East Timor and is now used as a congress and exhibition center. It is located in Suco Bahu , in the old town of Baucau.

history

The market building was originally built under Lieutenant Armando Eduardo Pinto Correia , administrator of the Baucau military command from 1928 to 1934. He is also responsible for other impressive, colonial buildings in today's municipality , such as the schools of Vemasse ( Escola do Reino de Vemassim ) and Venilale ( Escola do Reino de Venilale ).

The market was opened in October 1932 and, due to its size and elaborate design, drew criticism from government agencies. The French- influenced style ( Afrancesado ) was designed in Europe for agricultural fairs and exhibitions around the turn of the century. The building itself stands on a slope and encloses a larger inner courtyard in a U-shape. Its northern end is formed by an arched gallery, the arcades of which were previously open, thus ensuring natural ventilation. There is a small park below the gallery. Two monumental staircases lead to the central portal of the gallery, the ends of which form a tower on the left and right, which connects the gallery with the “U” of the rear building. The portal of the gallery is crowned by the coat of arms of Portugal , flanked by two further coats of arms that the ravages of time had already erased in the second half of the 20th century. Only the outlines remained visible.

It was partially destroyed in the Second World War and only rebuilt after 1970. During the crisis of 1999 the building was again devastated and unusable. In 2009 it was announced that Portuguese municipalities wanted to support Baucau with the renovation of the market building. The State Secretariat for Culture planned to turn the market building into a regional cultural center. It should contain a small library with internet access and various exhibitions. The central area should be used for demonstrations, conferences and exhibitions. The small park in front of the building was also restored. The cultural center was opened on February 13, 2014. The formerly whitewashed building is now painted in yellow and blue. The large area by the staircase is adorned with a monumental wall painting with the double summit of Matebians , Baucau's holy mountain. The arcades are now closed with windows. In addition to the coat of arms of Portugal, the coat of arms of East Timor now adorns the main portal on the left and right . The East Timor flag is at the highest point of the building.

In the water basin in the small park there was only a single stele as early as the 1970s, possibly the remains of a larger structure. Between 1991 and 2002, four putti were attached to it and a stone lantern was placed on top. Between 2006 and 2011 the lantern was broken off and the angels knocked over. Today the stele is brightly painted, with a lotus flower on top.