Palácio Presidencial (Bissau)

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The 2017 Presidential Palace
Presidential Palace 2007, destroyed after bombing in the 1998 Civil War
Entrance area of ​​the palace (2007)

The Palácio Presidencial da Guiné-Bissau , in German "Presidential Palace of Guinea-Bissau", in Bissau is the official seat of the President of Guinea-Bissau . The building, originally the seat of the Portuguese colonial governor of the Portuguese Guinea colony , was built in the 1930s and is located on Avenida Amílcar Cabral facing Praça dos Herois Nacionais , the former Praça do Império.

history

The origin of the building is not clear, according to sources it must have been built in the 1930s. Rolando Ferreira de Barros described it, according to HPIP, as "completely disharmonious". In 1942, Carlos Ramos drew up plans for a renovation, but they were not implemented.

In 1944 the Portuguese state founded the Gabinete de Urbanização Colonial (GUC) department within the Ministry for the Portuguese Colonies with the aim of urbanizing them more and building elementary structures in them. General Sarmento Rodrigues , who was appointed governor of the colony in 1945 , used the establishment of the department to specifically promote the expansion of the infrastructure in Portuguese Guinea and, above all, in the capital Bissau. In addition to numerous other structures, Sarmento Rodrigues instructed the conversion of the building into an official residence for the colonial governor. In the course of this, extensive renovations were carried out between 1945 and 1946 according to plans by the architects João Aguiar José Manuel Galhardo Zilhão . designed the building. In 1946 the “Governor's Palace” ( Palácio do Governador ) is said to have been inaugurated by Sarmento Rodrigues before the end of his term of office, on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the “discovery” of Portuguese Guinea.

The official residence followed the neoclassical architecture of Portugal from the 1940s, recognizable by the classic tripartite division of the building with a main entrance and two side wings. The main entrance, accessible via a few steps, is lined with two large lanterns, six columns divide the entrance. There is a gallery above the entrance. In 1954 the official residence was given an additional lantern by the architect Mário de Oliveiro , and in 1962 a protective wall based on plans by Júlio Naya .

In the course of the independence of Portuguese Guinea in 1974, the Portuguese colonial power left the country. The former official residence of the governor was rededicated and has been the official residence of the President of Guinea-Bissau ever since. In 1998, in the course of the civil war in Guinea-Bissau (see conflict of June 7, 1998 ), the Guinea-Bissau army bombed the presidential palace to persuade President João Bernardo Vieira to give in. Despite a peace agreement, the presidential palace stood empty for many years. The palace was renovated in 2013 within 18 months as part of a cooperation agreement between Guinea-Bissau and the People's Republic of China. Since then, the palace has been the seat of the President again.

After protests involving stone throwing and police operations in front of the presidential palace of the incumbent President José Mário Vaz in 2016 in connection with the appointment of Baciro Djá as Prime Minister , the building was completely fenced off for the first time.

It is not known whether the palace is a listed building. The building is registered with the number 30431 in the Portuguese monument database Sistema de Informação para o Património Arquitectónico (SIPA), which also includes monuments from former Portuguese colonies.

Web links

Commons : Palácio Presidencial, Bissau  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Palácio do Governo. In: Património de Influência Portuguesa (HPIP). Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, 2008, accessed February 7, 2018 (Portuguese).
  2. ↑ a b Ana Vaz Milheiro and Eduardo Costa Dias: Arquitectura em Bissau e os Gabi signified de Urbanização colonial (1944-1974) . In: usjt - arq.urb . No. 2 , 2009, p. 80-114 ( usjt.br [PDF]).
  3. ^ A b Tiago Lourenço: Palácio do Governador de Bissau / Palácio Presidencial. In: Sistema de Informação para o Património Arquitectónico (SIPA). 2012, Retrieved February 3, 2018 (Portuguese, with photos).
  4. ↑ Palácio presidencial RECONSTRUIDO e entregue pela China. Angola Press - ANGOP, July 6, 2013, accessed February 3, 2018 (Portuguese).
  5. ↑ Guiné-Bissau: palácio presidencial vai ser reconstruído . In: VOA . ( voaportugues.com [accessed February 3, 2018]).
  6. ↑ Baciro Djá toma posse como primeiro-ministro em Bissau - “Baciro Djá takes office as Prime Minister in Bissau” , article of May 27, 2016 by the Portuguese-language Deutsche Welle , accessed on February 3, 2017
  7. ↑ Confrontos em frente ao Palácio Presidencial em Bissau depois da nomeação de novo primeiro-ministro - “ Riots in front of the presidential palace in Bissau after the appointment of the new Prime Minister” , article of May 27, 2016 in the Portuguese-speaking Voice of America , accessed on February 3, 2017

Coordinates: 11 ° 51 '50.4 "  N , 15 ° 35' 5.9"  W.