Bujumbura

Infobox Settlement |official_name = Bujumbura, Burundi

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nickname=


image_caption = Central Bujumbura, with Lake Tanganyika in the background
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subdivision_type = Province
subdivision_name = Bujumbura-Ville
leader_title =
leader_name =
area_magnitude =
area_total_km2 = 86.54
area_land =
area_water =
population_as_of = 1990
population_urban =
population_note =
population_total = 235,440
population_metro =
area_metro =
population_density =
timezone = CAT
utc_offset = +1
timezone_DST = none
utc_offset_DST = +1
latd=3 |latm=23 |lats=00 |latNS=S
longd=29 |longm=22 |longs=00 |longEW=E
elevation_m = 774
website = http://www.villedebujumbura.org/
footnotes = Bujumbura (pronEng|ˌbuːdʒəmˈbuːrə) is the capital city of Burundi. The city lies at the northeastern corner of Lake Tanganyika and, with an estimated population of 300,000 in 1994, is Burundi's largest city and its administrative, communications, and economic center. Manufactures include textiles and soap. Bujumbura is Burundi's main port and ships most of the country's chief export, coffee, as well as cotton, skins, and tin ore.

Description

The city center is a colonial town with a large market, the national stadium, a large mosque, and the cathedral for the Archdiocese of Bujumbura. Museums in the city include the Burundi Museum of Life and the Burundi Geological Museum. Other nearby attractions include the Rusizi National Park, the Livingstone-Stanley Monument at Mugere (where David Livingstone and Henry Morton Stanley visited 14 days after their first historic meeting at Ujiji in Tanzania), and the source of the southernmost tributary of the Nile, described locally as the source of the Nile.

Ferries sail from Bujumbura to Kigoma in Tanzania, while the city is also home to the Bujumbura International Airport and the University of Bujumbura.

The city is also where a lot of the Disney movie "George of the Jungle" is supposed to take place (though the film's location bears very little resemblance to the real city).

History

Bujumbura grew from a small village after it became a military post in German East Africa in 1889. After World War I it was made the administrative center of the Belgian League of Nations mandate of Ruanda-Urundi. The city's name was changed from Usumbura to Bujumbura when Burundi became independent in 1962. Since independence, Bujumbura has been the scene of frequent fighting between the country's two main ethnic groups, with Hutu militias opposing the Tutsi-dominated Burundi army.

Administration

Bujumbura is governed by a community council and community administrator. It is further divided into 13 "communes", or neighborhoods, each with its own neighborhood council and neighborhood boss. [ [http://www.villedebujumbura.org/spip.php?article3 L’administration de la Municipalité de Bujumbura, official city website] ]

External Links

* [http://www.villedebujumbura.org/ Official Website of Bujumbura]
* [http://www.villedebujumbura.org/images/carte_de_bujumbura.gifMap of Bujumbura]

References