Missahoe
Missahoe ( Missahohé ) is a town in today's Togo , which arose around the German colonial station Misahöhe .
History of the Misahöhe station
Misahöhe was founded in 1890 at the instigation of the imperial “Commissioner for Togoland” (official title 1885–1893) Jesko von Puttkamer by the then Captain Herold “5 days marches from Lomé ” in the Agome region near Kpalimé on the only pass leading over the Togo mountain range (from the former German called "Moltke column") was founded. At the same time, the station was one of the eight districts into which the colony was divided. Von Puttkamer named the station after his former lover Mária Esterházy de Galántha (1859–1926), known as Misa.
The Misahöhe station was officially a research station, which was also financed from the "Africa Fund " of the government of the German Reich , which was used for scientific research purposes . In fact, the station served colonial political purposes. Misahöhe was a controversial area between Great Britain and Germany at the time. By founding the station, the Germans reaffirmed their colonial claim. Furthermore, the part of the inner-African long-distance trade that led from the town of Kete Krachi over a nearby pass past British territory towards Lomé on German territory should be controlled and this route should be promoted. One of the station chiefs of Misahöhe, who also served as district administrator, was Hans Gruner in the period from (after?) 1899 to 1914 .
Missahohé today
The buildings of the old station are still standing today. Near the station there is a German military cemetery in the middle of the forest with well-preserved gravestones.
Geographical location
Due to the division of the German colony Togo after the First World War , the former station and the place around it were located in the French part of the mandate, from which (essentially) the Republic of Togo emerged in 1960.
literature
- Karlheinz Graudenz: The German colonies. Weltbild Verlag, Augsburg 1995, ISBN 3-89350-701-9
- Norbert Eder: TOGO including crossing the Sahara. Martin Velbinger Verlag, Graefelfing / Munich 1992, ISBN 3-88316-049-0
Web links
- http://www.histoire-afrique.org/IMG/pdf/Gouverneur_contra_Bezirkschef.pdf (PDF file; 1.38 MB)
- http://de.esterhazy.net/index.php/M%C3%A1ria_Esterh%C3%A1zy_de_Gal%C3%A1ntha_(1859_-_1926)
Coordinates: 6 ° 57 ' N , 0 ° 35' E