Maputo, officially named Lourenço Marques until 1976, is the capital and most populous city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is positioned within 120 km (75 miles) of the Eswatini and South Africa borders. The city has a population of 1,101,170 (as of 2017) distributed over a land area of 347 km2 (134 sq mi). The Maputo metropolitan area includes the neighbouring city of Matola, and has a total population of 2,717,437. Maputo is a port city, with an economy centered on commerce. It is also noted for its vibrant cultural scene and distinctive, eclectic architecture. Maputo is a cosmopolitan city, with Bantu, Portuguese, and, to a lesser extent, Arabic, Indian, and Chinese languages and cultures present.
The area on which Maputo stands was first settled as a fishing village in the 1500s. It was soon named Lourenço Marques, after the navigator of the same name who first explored the area in 1544. The modern city traces its origins to a Portuguese fort established on the site in 1781. A town grew around the fort starting around 1850, and in 1877, it was elevated to city status. In 1898, the colony of Portuguese Mozambique relocated its capital there. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Lourenço Marques grew both in population and economic development as a port city. Upon Mozambican independence in 1975, the city became the national capital and was renamed Maputo. During the Mozambican Civil War, the city’s economy was devastated. When the war ended, the FRELIMO government launched a program to revive the city’s economy, and to clean up the city by forcibly removing criminals, squatters, and undocumented residents. Since then, Maputo’s economy has recovered and stability has returned, though crime remains a problem.
Maputo has a number of landmarks, including Independence Square, City Hall, Maputo Fortress, the central market, Tunduru Gardens, and Maputo Railway Station. Maputo is known as an aesthetically attractive, if dilapidated, city. With wide avenues lined by jacaranda and acacia trees, it has earned the nicknames City of Acacias and the Pearl of the Indian Ocean.The city is known for its distinct, eclectic architecture, with Portuguese colonial Neoclassical and Manueline styles alongside modern Art Deco, Bauhaus, and Brutalist buildings.The historic Baixa de Maputo district is the downtown area. Maputo has a vibrant cultural scene, with many restaurants, music and performance venues, and local film industry. Maputo’s economy is centered around its port, through which much of Mozambique’s imports and exports are shipped. The chief exports include cotton, sugar, chromite, sisal, copra, and hardwood. In addition to trade, the city has robust manufacturing and service sectors. Several colleges and universities are located in Maputo, including Pedagogical University, São Tomás University, and Eduardo Mondlane University, the oldest in the country.
The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception (Portuguese language: Catedral de Nossa Senhora da Imaculada Conceição) is a Roman Catholic cathedral in downtown Maputo, the capital of Mozambique. The cathedral is located on Praça da Independência (Independence Square) next to Hotel Rovuma and Maputo City Hall. It is dedicated to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. The foundation stone for the construction of the church was laid on June 28, 1936, and is located inside the narthex and inscribed by the Bishop of Mozambique and Cape Verde, D. Rafael Maria da Asunção. Construction on the cathedral was completed in 1944.
The cathedral was designed by the Portuguese civil engineer Marcial Simões de Freitas e Costa, then a railway director. He designed the church pro bono for the Archdiocese of Lourenço Marques. Freitas was inspired by the simple style and building materials of church construction in Europe of the time; the cathedral was ultimately built of concrete and cement. He was inspired to buildings such as the Notre-Dame du Raincy in Le Raincy (1921-1923) by Auguste Perret and Igreja de Nossa Senhora de Fátima (1934-1938) in Lisbon, built by Pardal Monteiro. The simplicity and the choice of new materials was also a result of financial problems of the period.
(Pictures taken in 2011)
Praça da Independência is a public square and focal point of Maputo, Mozambique. It was built by the Portuguese as Praça Mouzinho de Albuquerque (Mouzinho de Albuquerque Square) and was dominated by a statue of Mouzinho de Albuquerque, the former governor-general of Portuguese Mozambique. The statue of Mouzinho on horseback was inaugurated in 1940. After the independence of Mozambique in 1975 the square was renamed Praça da Independência, and the statue of Mouzinho de Albuquerque was removed to Fortaleza de Nossa Senhora da Conceição and replaced by a statue of Samora Machel (1933-1986), the first president of Mozambique. The square is now dominated by the much larger Samora Machel Statue, which was built and dedicated in 2011.
Praça da Independência is flanked to the north by the Maputo City Hall and to the east by Cathedral of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. Iron House, designed by Gustave Eiffel for the governor of Mozambique, is located just off the square. Tunduru Gardens, designed in 1885 by British gardener Thomas Honney, is located one block south of the square.
The Central Railway Station (Portuguese: Estação Central dos Caminhos de Ferro) is a historic train station in Maputo, Mozambique. Administered by Mozambique Ports and Railways, it is on the CFM Sul line, which links to South Africa, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe. It was constructed from 1908 to 1916 in the Beaux-Arts style. Widely recognized for its attractiveness, the station has been ranked by international publications as one of the world’s most beautiful. In addition to serving as an active train terminus, the station contains a rail museum, food venues, and holds music events
The State Visits - In the city 