Maputo

Overview

Maputo, formerly known as Lourenco Marques after a Portuguese explorer who landed here in 1544, is the capital of Mozambique. Located in the far south-west of the country, it is easily reached from neighbouring Swaziland and South Africa .

The city was founded in the 18-th century but not much from that period remains today. The biggest historic attraction in town in the Portuguese fortress, built in 1787. A more recent landmark is the Mousinho de Albuquerque Square in the centre of town. The beautiful Train Station is definitely worth a look. It was built in 1910 by Gustave Eiffel, of Eiffel Tower fame.

Most of the city's infrastructure (and architecture) was destroyed during the nearly thirty year of war that began with the Portuguese independence movement in 1962 and continued after independence in 1975. A peace treaty was signed in 1992 officially bringing the war to an end. Maputo, like most of the country, was left in shambles. The once picturesque capital is now home to shelled apartment buildings, bullet scared houses and absolute darkness once the sun sets. Dreary images aside, Maputo is however full of life. Mozambicans love to party and Maputo is a great place to listen to live music, dine on phenomenal fresh prawns in pili-pili sauce or simply wander through an art gallery or two.

Accomodations in town include two backpacker lodges. The Base, run by an extremely welcoming staff, is located in the heart of the city and is a perfect base for venturing around Maputo....more

History

Maputo has been the capital of Mozambique since 1907. The name of the city was Lourenço Marques until the independence of the country, in 1975. It is the largest city of Mozambique also with the country's most important harbour. It is situated at the mouth of the Santo River in the extreme south 90 km from the border to South Africa. Compared to some other sub-Saharan African cities the urban area feels small and concentrated with wide avenues and old trees. People are generally out and about in the streets, walking driving and getting on with life. The vibe is healthy and active, with little begging and lots of street vendors and markets. There is no heavy presence of police during the day, and no feeling that it is needed. There are few tourists or white people to be seen and at times the atmosphere is as much South American as African. Buildings range from new high-rise construction to old colonial palaces, but the dominant architecture leans toward anonymous Stalinist-looking concrete-walled boxes of various heights, generally with badly eroded paint and lots of security bars in one or more stages of rusting. Fortunately, these tend to fade into the background as non-descript and uninteresting, and there are enough buildings with old charm or high style and lush enough gardens (cycads, coleus, flamboyant, jacaranda, bouganvillea, etc.) to give an overall pleasing if shabby feel.