Stone Town

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Stone city of Zanzibar
UNESCO world heritage UNESCO World Heritage Emblem
Alley in central Stone Town (Zanzibar) atamari.jpg
Street in the center
National territory: TanzaniaTanzania Tanzania
Type: Culture
Criteria : ii, iii, vi
Surface: 96 ha
Reference No .: 173rev
UNESCO region : Africa
History of enrollment
Enrollment: 2000  (session 24)

Stone Town (English; German "Steinstadt" or "Steinerne Stadt"), Swahili Mji Mkongwe ("Old Town"), is the oldest district of Zanzibar City , the capital of the Tanzanian state of Zanzibar . The name is derived from representative buildings and residential houses built mainly from the 1830s from light coral limestone . From 1840 Stone Town was the residence of the Sultan of Oman . By the middle of the 19th century, Zanzibar was the world's largest producer of cloves and the city was the largest market for the slave trade on the East African coast .

Stone Town is now a small part of Zanzibar City that stretches from the coast to Benjamin Mkapa Road (formerly Creek Road ). To the east of this street is the much larger new town called Ng'ambo ("the other side [of the street]").

Stone Town has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000 .

Architectural style

Historic wooden door

The buildings are mainly made of coral stone and mangrove wood, processed with lime mortar and lime plaster . The architectural style reflects the different cultural influences of the island, an interplay of Swahili , Indian, Arab and European traditions.

The two-story houses are typically grouped around a courtyard that can be reached via a narrow corridor. Inside there are long, narrow rooms, outside the house is adorned with detailed, carved double doors, known as "Zanzibar doors"; Some have wide verandas . In contrast, there are simple, single-storey Swahili houses and narrow Indian facades , which are grouped in shopping streets around a market square, duka .

The main buildings of the center date from the 18th and 19th centuries. The urban structure shows narrow, winding streets that cannot be passed by cars. Typical are the raised sidewalks , called baraza , which are intended to protect against flooding and are used as benches in dry conditions. From the coast you can see stately residences, as was typical for sea trading ports.

building

Outstanding buildings are:

Beit-el-Ajaib (Palace of Miracles)

In 1883 this building was built on the coast as the ceremonial palace of the then Sultan Barghash . It served as the seat of the British and Zanzibari governments. The building got its name because it was the first in Zanzibar to be supplied with electricity and running water and to include a lift . Today exhibitions about the culture of Zanzibar and Swahili are shown here.

  • House of Miracles, taken in 1907

  • House of Miracles, recorded in 2004

Old Dispensary (old pharmacy)

The neoclassical stucco facade is adorned with painted glass windows and artistically carved balconies and balustrades . Previously used as a poor hospital, it was a clinic and pharmacy until 1964. Restored in the 1980s, it has housed a cultural center since 1997.

Ngome Kongwe (Old Fortress)

Old Fortress (2004)

The Old Fortress is an Omani bulwark from the 17th century, built between 1698 and 1701. The fortress was built on the site of a former Portuguese church. In the 19th century, the fort was used as a prison, where executions also took place. Inside is an almost square inner courtyard, which was used as a private tennis court for women in British times. Since 1994 there has been a cultural center, shops and a stage where artistic performances take place.

Beit-el-Sahel (Palace of the Sultan)

The building dates from the late 19th century. From 1834 to 1964 it served the ruling sultan as the seat of government and residence. Since the fall of the last Sultan Jamshid in 1964, the palace has been used by the government as an administrative building. The magnificent rooms of the palace are filled with gifts from former heads of state from many countries. It now functions as a museum that tells the story of Zanzibar's royal families, including Princess Sayyida Salme .

Anglican Church

The church was built from 1873 to 1880 under the British Bishop Edward Steere. It stands on the former center of the slave trade ; the altar is exactly where the slaves used to be whipped. A memorial and a museum next to the church commemorate the human trafficking of the time.

St. Joseph's Cathedral

St. Joseph's Cathedral

The Roman Catholic Church was built by French missionaries in the late 19th century . The two bell towers are striking .

More sites

Preservation

Stone Town is since 1985 under protection by the Town and Country Planning Act of 1955. Great efforts for preserving the guaranteed Aga Khan Trust for Culture (Historic Cities Program) , which already contains the Old Pharmacy (Old Dispensary) and the Customs House (Old Customs House) renovated. In addition, in cooperation with the Stone Town Conservation and Development Authority, founded in 1985, a comprehensive plan for the preservation and design of the historic old town was drawn up in 1994, including the redesign of the Forodhani Garden on the waterfront . Many buildings are also under the protection of other institutions such as the Department of Housing and Human Settlement .

Stone Town borders on the port area, from where ships ply to the surrounding islands and the Tanzanian mainland.

UNESCO criteria for designation as World Heritage

Stone Town meets three of the criteria for recognition as a UNESCO Heritage Site:

  • Criterion ii: Stone Town is an outstanding material visualization of a harmonious fusion of cultures.
  • Criterion iii: The centuries-long intensive sea ​​trade between Asia and Africa is illustrated here in an outstanding type of architecture and urban structure.
  • Criterion vi: Zanzibar is of great symbolic importance for the suppression of slavery , as it was one of the main centers for the slave trade in East Africa and opponents of slavery, such as David Livingstone , also campaigned from here.

Web links

Commons : Stone Town  - Collection of Images

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h Stone Town of Zanzibar. UNESCO
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h Frank’s Travelbox - Stone Town in Zanzibar City, Tanzania , accessed on April 11, 2017
  3. ↑ a b c d Tanzania - Stone Town , accessed April 11, 2017
  4. ↑ Jörg Gabriel: Travel Know-How Tanzania, Sansibar, Kilimanjaro: travel guide for individual discovery ; Publishing house Peter Rump; 2016; Page 579

Coordinates: 6 ° 9 ′ 47 ″  S , 39 ° 11 ′ 21 ″  E