Introduction
The city of Brazzaville is the capital of the Republic of the Congo. The city is an important inland port on Africa's mighty Congo River. Across the river from Brazzaville is the city of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The two countries are sometimes called Congo-Brazzaville and Congo-Kinshasa.
Places of interest
Photograph:The Roman Catholic cathedral in Brazzaville, Congo, is one of the city's most famous sites.
* The Roman Catholic cathedral in Brazzaville, Congo, is one of the city's most famous sites.
The older, central part of Brazzaville is the site of most government buildings, banks, retail stores, and business offices. The most famous sights are the Roman Catholic cathedral and the National Museum. The city has a national university and several other schools, including the Poto-Poto School of African Art.
The Congo River, which is a broad pool upstream from the city, becomes a swirling mass of rapids and foam a few miles downstream.
Economy
Factories in Brazzaville produce beverages, shoes, chemicals, cement, and furniture. The national government and a regional office of the World Health Organization also employ many people. Brazzaville has several markets for farm produce and local crafts.
Brazzaville is a transportation hub. It has the best river port in the region. An international airport is nearby. A railroad connects the city to the Atlantic Ocean port of Pointe-Noire, and to Gabon.
History
Africans have lived in the region of Brazzaville for many thousands of years. A village known as Ntamo stood on the site until the early 1880s, when the explorer Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza started a French settlement that was named after him. It was part of a colony known as French Congo. In 1910 French Congo was combined with other colonies to form French Equatorial Africa. Brazzaville was made the capital.
River boats can travel the Congo River upstream from Brazzaville to the continent's interior. However, the way downstream to the Atlantic Ocean is blocked by waterfalls and rapids. Because of this the French decided to build a railway from the capital to the coast. The railway, built between 1921 and 1934, made Brazzaville a more useful port but caused widespread suffering. Africans were forced to work on the construction project and thousands of them died.
The Republic of the Congo independence in 1960. As in many other countries, independence was followed by a long period of conflict between groups competing for power. A civil war came in 1997. But Brazzaville, which remained the capital, continued to grow rapidly. Population (1992 estimate), 937,579.
