Maputo

Mozambique · 6 sights · guided virtual tour

Welcome to Maputo, the capital and largest city of Mozambique. It lies near the southern end of the country, on a large natural bay of the Indian Ocean where several rivers converge. Until 1976 the city was called Lourenço Marques, after the navigator who explored the area in 1544, and the modern city grew from a Portuguese fort founded in 1781. With wide avenues lined by jacaranda and acacia trees, Maputo has earned the nicknames City of Acacias and Pearl of the Indian Ocean. Its architecture mixes colonial Neoclassical and Manueline styles with art deco and tropical modernism. Let us set off through the city.

Sights

1. Fort Nossa Senhora da Conceição de Lourenço Marques ▶ Listen

   

   In front of you stands the Maputo Fortress, officially the Fort of Nossa Senhora da Conceição, one of the main historical monuments of the city. Built of reddish stone on a square plan, it has just one gate, which opens onto a square central courtyard surrounded by its rooms. In the courtyard stands the equestrian statue of Mouzinho de Albuquerque, which before independence stood in front of the city hall. The fortress also holds the mortal remains of Gungunhana, which were brought here from Terceira Island in the Azores in 1985.

2. Maputo Central Railway Station ▶ Listen

   

   Before you is the Central Railway Station, one of the most admired buildings in Maputo and often described as one of the most beautiful stations in the world. It was built between 1908 and 1916 in the Beaux-Arts style, on a line that links the city to South Africa, Eswatini and Zimbabwe. The first station here was far humbler: a modest structure of wood and zinc, inaugurated in 1895 by Paul Kruger, President of the South African Republic. Plans to replace it with the grand building you see today date from 1904.

3. Cathedral of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception ▶ Listen

   

   Here on Independence Square rises Maputo Cathedral, dedicated to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. Its foundation stone was laid in 1936 and you can still find it inside the narthex. The church was completed in 1944. It was designed free of charge by Marcial Simões de Freitas e Costa, a Portuguese civil engineer who was then a railway director. Inspired by modern European churches, he chose concrete and cement and a simple style, a choice that also reflected the financial difficulties of the time.

4. Casa de Ferro ▶ Listen

   

   Take a look at the Casa de Ferro, the Iron House, a prefabricated building made entirely of iron. It was originally built in Belgium, bought by the Portuguese colonial government, and reassembled here in 1892, when the city was still called Lourenço Marques. It was meant to be the residence of the district governor. The surprise is that nobody ever lived in it. Instead it has housed a series of local and national institutions, and today it stands as a fine example of experiments with iron in late 19th century colonial architecture.

5. Praça da Independência ▶ Listen

   

   You are now standing in Independence Square, the focal point of Maputo. The Portuguese built it as Mouzinho de Albuquerque Square, dominated by a statue of the former governor-general on horseback. After independence in 1975 it was renamed, and that statue was moved to the fortress. In its place stands a statue of Samora Machel, the first president of Mozambique, and in 2011 a much larger Samora Machel statue was dedicated here. Around you are the City Hall to the north and the cathedral to the east, with the Iron House just off the square.

6. Maputo central market ▶ Listen

   

   Step into the Maputo Central Market, also known as the Bazar da Baixa, the downtown bazaar. Its design dates back to around 1900, when the colonial administration expanded the city and built a new market near the port. The architect Carlos Mendes is said to have based his design on the Alsterpavillon in Hamburg. A large entrance portal with a small tower leads into a covered hall, where small arched niches hold the stalls. When the first 18 stalls were sold in 1903, they included 6 butchers, 6 grocers, 3 fruit shops, 2 bakeries and a bar.

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