Introduction
Ouagadougou is the capital and largest city of Burkina Faso, a small landlocked nation in western Africa. A centuries-old city that was once the capital of a historic African kingdom, Ouagadougou is located near the center of the country.
Places of interest
Photograph:The French embassy is typical of the modern public buildings in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
* The French embassy is typical of the modern public buildings in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
Ouagadougou is a city of modern government buildings and traditional residential neighborhoods. It has a bustling marketplace, a crafts center, the national museum, and the University of Ouagadougou. The city is known for its festival of films made by African filmmakers. People from around the world come to the festival, which is held in odd-numbered years.
Economy
The government and service industries, such as health care and banking, employ a large number of people in Ouagadougou. The city also has a small amount of industry. The city's major products include clothing, carbonated beverages, matches, and footwear.
Burkina Faso has no seacoast, but Ouagadougou is connected by a railroad through the neighboring country of Côte d'Ivoire to the Atlantic port of Abidjan, from which products are shipped. Ouagadougou is also the site of an international airport.
History
Ouagadougou has a long history. It was founded in the 11th or 12th century. Hundreds of years later it became the capital of the historic Mossi Kingdom of Wagadugu. The Mossi are still the largest group of people in Burkina Faso today. In about 1800, the Mossi rulers adopted the religion of Islam and built a house of worship called a mosque.
No Europeans are known to have visited the city until the late 1800s. In 1897, a French military force took control of the country away from the Mossi king. During their reign, the French modernized Ouagadougou with many new building projects. In the first half of the 20th century, the city of Bobo-Dioulasso became the country's business and trade center. However, the completion of the railroad in the 1950s allowed Ouagadougou to become the most important city once again. In 1960 the country gained independence and Ouagadougou became the official capital. Population (1993 estimate), 690,000.
