Brazzaville

Brazzaville (bʁazavil) is the capital and largest city of the Republic of the Congo. It is also a department and a commune. It is the country's money and government centre. The city sits on the north side of the Congo River, across from Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo).

About 2.1 million people are thought to live in the capital. That is more than a third of everyone in the country. Many people there work in jobs that are not farming. During World War II, Brazzaville was the de facto capital of Free France from 1940 to 1942.

In 2013, Brazzaville was named a City of Music by UNESCO. Since then, it has also been a member of the Creative Cities Network.

For other uses, see Brazzaville (disambiguation).

Toponymy

The first part of the name "Brazza" comes from Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza, an explorer born in Italy who worked for France. He is credited with founding the town.

The name Brazzaville accidentally means 'city of the armed wing'. The surname Brazza comes from the village of Brazzacco, in the commune of Moruzzo, Italy. That village's name comes from the Latin word bracchium, meaning 'armed wing'. In the Kongo language, the city has been called Ntamo, Ntambo, Kintamo, Kintambo, Tandala, and Mavula. In the Teke languages, it has been called M'fa, Mfaa, Mfa, and Mfoa.

Geography

Brazzaville covers a large area north of the Congo River, just below the Pool Malebo. Mbamu, a large island in the Pool, is part of the Republic of Congo's territory. The city is about 506 km (314 mi) inland from the Atlantic Ocean and about 474 km (295 mi) south of the equator. Large plains surround it. The land is fairly flat, at an altitude of 317 m (1,040 ft). Farther downriver, the Congo has many rapids called Livingston Falls. These rapids keep boats from sailing upriver from the Atlantic Ocean to this point.

Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, lies on the southern bank of the Congo, directly across from Brazzaville. To tell the two countries apart, the Republic of the Congo is sometimes called Congo-Brazzaville. Kinshasa has more than five times the population of Brazzaville. This is the only place in the world where two national capital cities grew up on opposite banks of a river, within sight of each other. In March 2018, the "Brazzaville Declaration" was signed to promote better care of the Cuvette Centrale, a region in the Congo Basin mostly in the DRC. This is the world's largest tropical peatland, made of swamp forests, and it is important for large animals and the world's climate. Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, and Indonesia, which also has peatlands, signed the declaration.

History

See also: Timeline of Brazzaville

Before colonial times, the place where Brazzaville stands today had two trading centres, Mfwa and Mpila. They were part of the Tio Kingdom (the Eastern Teke). The French colonial empire founded the city on the site of an existing Bateke settlement called Ncuna. This happened during the Scramble for Africa, when European nations set up areas of control across the continent. The Italian-born explorer Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza officially founded the settlement on 10 September 1880. The city is named after him. Tio king Iloo I signed a treaty with Brazza, which placed his lands under the French Empire. From October 1880 until May 1882, a small group of soldiers led by Senegalese Sergeant Malamine Camara kept the site. This helped stop it from falling into Belgian hands. The French competed with Léopoldville (now Kinshasa), which Belgian colonists were building across the river. The Berlin Conference of 1884 made French control of the area official. The city became capital of the French Congo in 1904. It stayed the capital when French Equatorial Africa was formed in 1910. This federation included Gabon, the Central African Republic, and Chad until 1960. In 1934, the Congo–Ocean Railway opened. It linked Brazzaville with the Atlantic port of Pointe-Noire, going around the rapids on the Congo River. The people also revolted against the French in 1928.

During World War II, Brazzaville and the rest of French Equatorial Africa stayed outside the control of Vichy France, which served the Nazi occupation. The city was the capital of Free France from 1940 to 1943. In 1944, it hosted a meeting of French resistance forces and representatives of France's African colonies. This meeting produced the Brazzaville Declaration, which tried to redefine the relationship between France and its African colonies. Until the 1960s, the city was divided into a European centre and African areas (Poto-Poto, Bacongo, and Makélékélé). In 1980, it became a "commune" separate from the surrounding Pool Department. It was divided into nine "arrondissements," following the French model of administration. Since the late 20th century, the city has often been a place where wars happened. These included fighting between rebel and government forces, and conflicts involving the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Angola. During the 1990s, civil wars harmed many people and forced many families to leave the city to find safety. More recently, many people leaving the DRC have come to Brazzaville. The local United Nations force and the DRC government have accused the city of sending many of these refugees away. In April 2016, fighting between police and local militia units led to deaths.

Demographics

In 2023, the city had about 2.15 million people. The National Institute of Statistics gave a figure of 1.73 million for 2014. In the same period, Kinshasa in the DR Congo had more than 10 million people. Together with Kinshasa, the conurbation of Kinshasa-Brazzaville has about 12 million people. Big political and building problems make it hard for the two cities to work together.

Since the mid-19th century, the two cities have competed in trade, sports and power. People have suggested building a Brazzaville–Kinshasa Bridge to connect the two capitals. In 2018, with peace returning to the region, the African Development Bank and Africa50 signed a deal with both governments to start the project.

Government

See also: List of mayors of Brazzaville

Brazzaville is a commune, which is a town-level local area. Like Pointe-Noire, it is inside a department with the same name. It has a municipal council and a departmental council. The mayor leads the municipal council.

The commune is split into nine arrondissements, which are districts. Each one has a number: 1. Makélékélé, 2. Bacongo, 3. Poto-Poto, 4. Moungali, 5. Ouenzé, 6. Talangaï, 7. Mfilou, 8. Madibou, and 9. Djiri.

The department of Brazzaville covers the commune's area. Since 2011, it has also included the new district of Ile Mbamou. In October 2024, it also took in the commune of Kintélé, which used to be part of the department of Pool.

Economy

Brazzaville is near the Pool of the Congo River. This helped it grow into a city of industry, trade, and ports. Boats traveling up the river connected it to inland areas, which sent raw materials to the city from the start of the colonial period. The building of the railway to Pointe-Noire made it easier for city businesspeople to send their products to the port to be shipped abroad.

Brazzaville has factories and workshops for machine shops, textiles, tanning, and manufacturing. As an important port on the Congo River, Brazzaville still receives raw materials, such as rubber, wood, and agricultural products. These goods are usually sent on to Pointe-Noire to be sold to other countries.

Many companies, government groups, and NGOs have regional offices in the capital. This lets them work with government officials. The World Health Organization has its regional office for Africa in Brazzaville. Some businesses based in Brazzaville are the country's national airline, Equatorial Congo Airlines, and the mobile phone company Warid Congo.

Culture

Roger Erell, a well-known architect, designed a house in the city for Charles de Gaulle when he was the leader of Free France here. Other buildings include the Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza Mausoleum, the Nabemba Tower, and the Congressional Palace.

Visitors and city residents also go to the Marien Ngouabi Mausoleum, the Brazzaville Zoo, and the Poto-Poto School of Painting.

Places of worship

Many people in the Republic of the Congo became Catholic during the French colonial period. Christian churches are the most common in the city, where the Roman Catholic Church has an archdiocese.

Since then, new churches have been started. Some were started by newcomers to the country. Others were started by local people who followed evangelical Protestantism. Examples include the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-du-Congo in Brazzaville, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Brazzaville and Gabon (Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa), the Evangelical Church of Congo (World Communion of Reformed Churches), and Assemblies of God.

Education

The Marien Ngouabi University is a public university in Brazzaville. It is named after a former leader. The university was started in December 1971, after the country became independent. Today it has many students.

The city also has international schools, including the Lycée Français Saint-Exupéry de Brazzaville (French) and the American International School of Brazzaville.

Climate

Brazzaville has a tropical wet and dry climate. The rainy season lasts from October to May. It is longer than the dry season, which covers the other months. July and August are the driest months, and they usually have almost no rain. Brazzaville is south of the equator, so its dry season starts around June, which is winter there. Temperatures stay fairly steady all year.

Transport

Brazzaville has an airport, Maya-Maya Airport, in the centre of the city. It has regular flights to Pointe-Noire and to places in Africa, Europe and the Middle East. A flight goes between Brazzaville and Kinshasa twice a week. The trip takes only five minutes.

The Congo-Ocean Railway has a station in the city. In 2014, it ran the La Gazelle train every other day to Pointe-Noire and nearby stops. The city is also an important river port. Ferries sail to Kinshasa and to Bangui through Impfondo. Ferries and fast private boats are the main way to travel between Kinshasa and Brazzaville.

The Livingstone Falls are on the edge of the city, where the Djoué River meets the Congo. Because of the falls, boats cannot travel from the river to the coast. For this reason, the railway is called a portage railway. There is no organised public transport system, but privately owned buses are available in the capital. Taxis are easy to spot on every street, with green bodies and white tops. A short trip costs CF700. Shared taxis follow certain routes and charge CF150. A road-rail bridge has been proposed to connect Brazzaville with Kinshasa.

Notable people

See Category:People from Brazzaville

Many people connected to Brazzaville have become well known. In politics and religion, they include Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza, the city's founder, and Prosper Philippe Augouard, a French Catholic priest, missionary and explorer who settled Brazzaville in 1887. Others are Ambroise Noumazalaye, who was Prime Minister of Congo-Brazzaville from 1966 to 1968, and Antoinette Sassou Nguesso, who has been First Lady of the Republic of the Congo since 1997. Charles Richard Mondjo was Chief of Staff of the Congo Armed Forces from 2002 to 2012. Also listed are Dominique Ntsiété, a senator, and Ali Bongo Ondimba, who has been the 3rd President of Gabon since 2009. Alain Akouala Atipault is a politician and government minister. Frédéric Bintsamou, also known as Pasteur Ntumi, is a Protestant clergyman and leader of the "semi-religious" group The Ninjas. Alice Badiangana is a trade unionist and politician.

In the arts, people include Aurlus Mabélé, a Congolese singer and composer, and Bill Kouélany, a Congolese artist, writer and set designer. Sardoine Mia is an artist. Jean Serge Essous is a Congolese saxophonist and clarinetist. Patience Dabany is a singer and musician who was First Lady of Gabon from 1967 to 1987. Others are Gaitana, a Ukrainian singer who lived in Brazzaville for five years, and Cyril Kongo, a French painter and graffiti artist who lived in Brazzaville in the 1980s. Franklin Boukaka was a Congolese singer, guitarist and songwriter. He is recognized as a pioneer of Congolese popular music.

In media and science, the list includes Emmanuel Dongala, a Congolese chemist and novelist, and Alain Mabanckou, a novelist, journalist, poet and academic. Dominique Tchimbakala is a journalist and TV presenter who was a news anchor for TV5Monde. Scholastique Dianzinga is a professor and specialist in women's history. Didier Roustan is a French sports journalist.

In sport, people include André Merlin, a French tennis player, and François M'Pelé, a former footballer. Rolf-Christel Guié-Mien and Oscar Ewolo are both former footballers. Lorène Bazolo is a track and field athlete who was Congolese flag bearer at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Other sportspeople are Ladislas Douniama, a former footballer, and Pamela Mouele-Mboussi, a long and triple jumper who was national flag carrier at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Serge Ibaka is a professional basketball player. Férébory Doré is a footballer. Brice Samba is a Congolese international soccer player. Darcel Yandzi is a French international judoka. Guy Mbenza is a professional footballer for Liaoning Tieren.

Twin towns and sister cities

Brazzaville has sister cities in three places. They are Dresden in Germany, Weihai in China, and Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.