Limbé, Cameroon
4°01′N 9°13′E / 4.017°N 9.217°E
Limbé
Bimbia Victoria | ||
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Divisions Fako | | |
Founded | 1858 | |
Elevation | 150 m (490 ft) | |
Population (2005) | ||
• Total | 84,223 (Census) | |
Climate | Am |
Limbé (known as Victoria from 1858 to 1982) is a seaside city in the
Toponymy
The city name Limbe is generally held to originate from a mispronunciation of the name of a German engineer called Limburgh.[1][2] Oral narratives hold that this engineer is responsible for constructing a bridge across one of the rivers in the city. Over a period of time, this river came to be associated with this engineer. In 1982, a presidential decree signed by president Ahmadou Babatoura Ahidjo, a changed the city name from Victoria to Limbe.
History
Initially Victoria and its vicinity was not part of the new German colony
Victoria became British again in 1915, becoming part of British Cameroon. In 1982 Victoria was renamed "Limbe" by Ahmadou Ahidjo.
Limbe was recently acknowledged by the Cameroonian government for its role played in the trade of slaves. The current site (Bimbia) is being restored for tourists, who would like to understand how slaves made their way from far distances to the coastal city.
Language
The Southwest Province's official language is English, although French is spoken due to the city's geographic proximity to Douala, where the official language is French. Most of the population speaks English and Cameroonian Pidgin English. The native language of the region is Bakweri and a smaller group from Wovia and Bimbia speak Bimbia or Isubu.
Main sights
Limbe is located on a bay against the backdrop of a major mountain range. Black sand beaches make Limbe one of two coastal towns (
Some variety of flowers at
-
Lily Lilium
Transport
Limbe was served by a terminal station of a 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in) gauge plantation railway from Soppo, near Buea, of the West African Planting Society Victoria.[3] It is linked by the National Highway 3 (N3) to Yaoundé (via Tiko, Douala and Edea) and Idenau.
Limbe is also home to a small port which offers ferry services to Calabar, Bakassi and Douala. There were plans to upgrade it to a fully equipped commercial deep sea port with the creation of the Limbe Port authority, but several delays and the ongoing Anglophone Crisis have kept the project in uncertainty (have stalled the project indefinitely).
Limbe once had an airport, the Victoria Airport , which has long gone extinct due to neglect (after unification with Cameroon) and later urbanisation in the area.
Commerce
Limbe is the center of Cameroon's
Economy
In 2008, Limbe became the site of a
Sport
Limbe is a sport loving city especially football which is the most loved and supported sport discipline in the nation. The city is home to a number of football clubs such as Njala Quan Sports academy (NQSA) founded by Mr Henry Njala quan, Victoria United ( Commonly known as OPOPO), and Best Stars Academy just to name a few. The construction of the
Culture
Limbe City Council organizes an annual Festival of Arts and Culture. This event is popularly known as Limbe FESTAC and has been taking place annually since 2014. Activities during this event includes: a caravan to launch the event, fashion parade, election of Miss FESTAC, exhibition, canoe race, traditional dances, display of traditional dishes, etc. It attracts visitors from all corners of the country and even from abroad. Culture from Cameroon as well as neighboring African countries are displayed.
External videos | |
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Cameroon In 4k : Welcome To Limbe Episode 1 - Drone Aerial footage - Cameroun | 22 août 2021 by 237showbiz |
Twin towns – sister cities
Limbe is twinned with:
- Seattle, United States[5]
- Saint John's, Antigua and Barbuda[citation needed]
See also
- Government Bilingual High School Limbe
- National Comprehensive High School
- Railway stations in Cameroon
- Saker Baptist College
- Westafrikanische Pflanzungsgesellschaft Victoria , headquartered in Victoria
References
- ISBN 978-9956558919.
- CiteSeerX 10.1.1.452.1256.
- ^ http://www.gouverneur-ebermaier.de/english/narrow_gauge_railways.htm[permanent dead link]
- ^ "B - SOL:CAMEROON: PORT OF LIMBE FEASIBILITY STUDY DUE 062600 (05/11/00)".
- ^ "Seattle's 21 Sister Cities". seattle.gov. City of Seattle. Retrieved 2020-11-04.
External links
Media related to Limbe at Wikimedia Commons