Saint-Louis (Senegal)

16.033333333333 - 16.5Koordinaten: 16 ° 2 ' N, 16 ° 30 ' W

Saint- Louis ( Wolof: Ndar ) is a city on the northwestern coast of Senegal at the mouth of the Senegal River. It is the capital of the Senegalese region and has about 170,000 inhabitants.

Saint -Louis was until 1902, when it was replaced by Dakar, the capital of French West Africa. The city is bordered by Mauritania and is a cultural center of Senegal, the population living mainly by fishing and agriculture.

Formation and location of the city

The town was founded in 1659 as the first French settlement in Africa. Because of its location - the heart of the city is a separated from the mainland long island - Saint Louis is known as the Venice of Africa. With the mainland, the island of the 507 meter long " Pont Faidherbe " is connected. Since 2000 she is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Place de Faidherbe, by which the " Rognard barracks " and the arcade- lined " governance " group, divides the city into a northern and a southern part. In the south, the Europeans first settled, there is also the first church in 1828 as West Africa, inaugurated Cathedral. With another bridge leads to a densely populated area, which is on the 25 km long and 100 meters wide headland Langue de Barbarie. Located in the historic city center on the island you can see no poverty.

The daily struggle for survival takes place in the district of Guet ​​N'Dar, characterized by shanties. There, a Moorish cemetery and the fish market can be found. Not far from this market started 1930 Jean Mermoz, a French mail pilot for the first flight from Africa to South America.

North of the Langue de Barbarie to bird sanctuaries are like the 16,000 -acre National Park Djoudj with thousands of breeding grounds of cormorants and flamingos - 360 species of migratory birds can be observed from October to May.

Events

There is an annual international jazz festival in the town in May.

Sons and daughters of the town

  • Battling Siki (1897-1925), French - senegalischer boxer and first world boxing champion from Africa
  • Pape Samba Ba ( b. 1982 ), football player
  • Papa Waigo N'Diaye ( born 1984 ), football player
Saint-Louis Region
596200
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