Lubumbashi

Lubumbashi (formerly in French: Élisabethville or in Dutch: Elisabethstad) is the second largest city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is located near the border with Zambia, at approximately 1230 m above sea level. n. m. It has a population of approximately 1.5 million inhabitants. It is the capital of the province of Upper Katanga (formerly Shaba). It is the main city in the southeast of the country.

The city is located at the center of the railway lines leading to Ilebo, Kindu and Kolwezi and also has an airport. Among the most important attractions of the town are the botanical garden, the zoo, a brewery and the University of Lubumbashi. The Kasapa prison is also located in the city.

It is located near the border with Zambia and connects with several cities in Zambia.

History

The city was founded by the Belgians in 1910 under the name Élisabethville, and prospered with the regional development of the copper mining industry.

Miners called a strike in Élisabethville in December 1941 to protest the increasing severity of forced labor imposed on the population by the Belgians due to the needs of war.

The Belgians established the University of Élisabethville in 1954-1955 (now the University of Lubumbashi). In the December 1957 elections, the city's population gave a large majority to the Bakongo National Alliance, which immediately called for independence from Belgium.

Elisabethville served as the capital and center of the independent state of Katanga during the bloody Congo Civil War between 1960 and 1963. Moise Tshombe proclaimed independence in July 1960. Congolese leaders arrested him and charged him with treason in April 1961. However, he agreed to dismiss his foreign advisors and troops in exchange for his freedom. Tshombe returned to Élisabethville rejecting these assurances and the fighting began again. United Nations troops opposed the Katanga forces and took control of the city in December 1961 under strong authority.

Finally Mobutu Sese Seko took power and renamed the city Lubumbashi and in 1972 he renamed the Katanga region Shaba.

The Congo suffered another civil war in the 1990s, known as the First Congo War. Rebels from the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of the Congo captured Lubumbashi in April 1997. Rebel leader Laurent-Désiré Kabila settled in Lubumbashi and declared himself president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo on May 17, 1997 following the march of Mobutu Sese Seko of Kinshasa.

When Laurent-Désiré Kabila decided to appoint a transitional parliament in 1999, it was decided to install the parliament in Lubumbashi to consolidate the country's fragile union. The parliament was installed in the National Assembly building of the secessionist state of Katanga, which had its capital in the city in the 1960s. Lubumbashi was the legislative capital of the country between 1999 and 2003, when all the country's institutions were moved to Kinshasa.

The city is located 1000 meters above sea level, between the Cafué and Zambezi rivers, on the border with Zambia. There is also a basin in southern Africa, with the Kafubu River flowing north (Lake Mweru), while the aforementioned rivers flow south of the continent. The other rivers flowing in the city are: Kampemba River, Karvya River, Lubumbashi River, Lwano River, Navyundu River and Rwashi River. The climate is humid subtropical, with hot, rainy summers (November to March) and dry winters (April to October). The average temperature is 20°C, with a maximum of 38°C and a minimum of 10°C. The soil is rich in minerals (copper and cobalt).

Demographics and languages

Although French is the official Quinxassa-Congolese national language, it coexists as a lingua franca in the city with Bemba.

Subdivisions

Lubumbashi is divided into five communes: Annex, Kamalondo, Kampemba, Katuba, Kenya, Lubumbashi and Rwashi.

Infrastructure

Education

In addition to the University of Lubumbashi, there is also the Protestant University of Lubumbashi, the Higher Pedagogical Institute, the Higher Institute of Statistics and the Higher Institute of Social Studies.

Health

The city has several hospitals, among the most important are the Gecamines Sud Hospital and the Sendwe Hospital.

Transportation

The city has the Lubumbashi International Airport, the main airfield in southern Congo.

By road, there are exits to the north, through National Route 05, towards Minga, Kalemie and Bukavu. Towards the coast is the Rodovia Beira–Lobito (or National Route 01), which also leads to the capital, Quinxassa. This same route goes to Zambia (through Sakania). Another road to Zambia is along National Route 37, via Kipushi.

Lubumbashi is one of the main railway stations in the Congo, as it serves as a reference point for the Cape-Cairo railway, which connects it with Ndola, Sakania, Ilebo and Kindu. On the same railway, in Tenque, You can connect with the Benguela Railway, which takes you to Coluezi and [[Puerto de Lobito] ]].

Culture and leisure

In the city there is a zoo, a botanical garden, the marvelous Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul and the National Museum of Lubumbashi.

Sports

Lubumbashi entered the history of world football on December 14, 2010, from the final whistle of Dutch referee Bjorn Kuipers, in Mazembê's match against S.C. Internacional, from Brazil, where he won the match by a score of 2 X 0, thus receiving the right to play in the final of the FIFA Club World Cup, unprecedented for African football. In Lubumbashi, Mazembe plays at the Frederic Kibassa Maliba Stadium, also known as 'Municipal'.

Politics and Administration

Sister cities

It is twinned with the Belgian city of Liege, which is located in the French-speaking area of Wallonia.

Climate

Lubumbashi has a humid subtropical climate (according to the Köppen climate classification Cwa), with warm, rainy summers and pleasant, dry winters, with most precipitation occurring during the summer and early fall.. The average annual rainfall is 1,238 mm (48.75 in).

Average climatic parameters of Lubumbashi
Month	Ene.	Feb.	Mar.	Open up.	May.	Jun.	Jul.	Ago.	Sep.	Oct.	Nov.	Dec.	Annual
Average temperature (°C)	26	26	26	27	26	25	25	27	30	31	28	26	27
Average temperature (°C)	21	21	21	20.5	18	16.5	16.5	18	21	23	22	21	20.0
Temp. medium (°C)	16	16	16	14	10	8	8	9	12	15	16	16	13
Total precipitation (mm)	253	257	202	60	4	1	0	0	4	37	163	257	1238
Precipitation days (≥ 1 mm)	24	23	21	9	2	0	0	0	1	5	17	24	126
Source: https://www.weather2travel.com/climate-guides/congo-kinshasa/lubumbashi.php

Economy

The city's most important sectors of activity include education, administration, mining, commerce and the textile industry. The city is connected by Lubumbashi Airport.