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Island of Mozambique
| Site number: | 599 |
|
| Type of site: | Cultural | |
| Date: | 16th century | |
| Date of Inscription: | 1991 | |
| Location: | Africa, Mozambique, Nampula Province, Ilha de Mocambique District | |
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Six official UN languages:
Arabic,
Chinese,
English,
French,
Russian,
Spanish
Other languages: Afrikaans, Finnish, German, Hebrew, Japanese, Lithuanian, Portuguese, Swahili, Swedish
Other languages: Afrikaans, Finnish, German, Hebrew, Japanese, Lithuanian, Portuguese, Swahili, Swedish
| Description: | Mozambique’s fortified city, previously a Portuguese trading-post on the route to India, is located on this island. Since the 16th century the city has consistently used the same building techniques, building materials (stone or macuti) and decorative principles, thus creating a remarkable architectural unity throughout. --WHMNet paraphrase from the description at WHC Site, where additional information is available. | |
| The island was a major Arab port and boatbuilding centre long before Vasco da Gama visited in 1498. The Portuguese established a port and naval base as early as 1507, while the Chapel of Nossa Senhora de Baluarte, built in 1522, is considered the oldest European building in the southern hemisphere. During the sixteenth century, the Fort of São Sebastião (also: St. Sebastiao) was built, and the Portuguese settlement (now known as Stone Town) became the capital of Portuguese East Africa. The island also became an important missionary centre and is now a World Heritage Site. It withstood Dutch attacks in 1607 and 1608 and remained a major post for the Portuguese on their trips to India. It saw the trading of slaves, spices and gold. With the opening of the Suez canal, the island's fortunes waned. In 1898, the capital was relocated to Lourenço Marques (now Maputo) on the mainland. By the middle of the twentieth century, the new harbour of Nacala took most of the remaining business. --Wikipedia. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. | ||
| Source: | http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/599 | |
| Reference: | 1. UNESCO World Heritage Center, Site Page. | |