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Brazzaville (Congo)

Brazzaville has belonged to the family of Dresden's twin cities since 1975. In 1995, Mayor Kolelas visited Dresden with representatives of the sciences and the city administration. Joint activities were brought to a halt between 1997 and 2002, as the civil war made any kind of contact impossible. Over the more recent years, however, the partnership has gradually been revived. Pupils from the Romain Rolland School, for example, have been meeting since 2006 under the name "Jeunes en action pour Brazzaville" (JAB) to promote a variety of projects in Africa. The Dresden-based humanitarian development organisation "arche noVa" is also very active in Brazzaville. Following successful reconstruction of the "Aube Nouvelle" primary school, work to improve the learning conditions for children at the "Nganga Lingolo" secondary school began at the end of 2009. In spring 2009, artists from the Poto‑Poto School of Painting spent several days in Dresden to present their works and to get to know the city.

Population: 900,000

Geographical location: Central Africa, capital of the Republic of Congo

Profile: Brazzaville owes its name to the French explorer Pierre de Brazza, who founded the city in 1880. It was later the capital of French Equatorial Africa from 1910 to 1958, and served as a base for the French army during the Second World War. After 1945, Brazzaville continued to grow and developed to become the political, economic and cultural centre of the Congo. In June 1997, former president Sassou Nquesso seized power following an outbreak of military violence. A civil war began, foreign institutions and humanitarian organisations were plundered, and diplomatic relations with Germany were suspended. An official peace agreement was signed in 2003, the rebels were disarmed and the people were at last able to return safely to their homes. As a result of the war, the capital Brazzaville became a gathering place for many refugees, and the population rose dramatically to almost one million. The local infrastructure, however, is totally inadequate, and the city thus finds itself fighting all manner of problems: Sprawling slums, mountains of refuse, poor medical care, crime... There are very few initiatives at cultural level, and the Hanns Seidel Foundation has also not returned since the plundering. Nevertheless, Brazzaville is the political, economic and cultural hub of the Republic of the Congo, the seat of the government, and home of the Marien Ngouabi University. The port on the River Congo is especially important for the economic development of the city. From here, wood, food and other goods are transported by rail to the port city Pointe Noire on the Atlantic Ocean.