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Libreville (population 578,156 January 1, 2005) is the capital
Capital City

Capital City was a television show produced by Euston Films which focused on the lives of investment bankers in London living and working on the corporate trading floor for the fictional international bank Shane-Longman....
 and largest city of Gabon
Gabon

Gabon is a country in west central Africa sharing borders with the Gulf of Guinea to the west, Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, and Cameroon to the north, with the Republic of the Congo curving around the east and south....
. The city is a port on the Komo River, near the Gulf of Guinea
Gulf of Guinea

The Gulf of Guinea is the part of the Atlantic Ocean southwest of Africa. The intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian is in the gulf. According to the International Hydrographic Organization, the Gulf's oceanic border is the rhumb line that runs from Cape Palmas in Liberia to Cape Lopez in Gabon ....
, and a trade center for a timber
Timber

Timber may refer to:* Lumber, i.e. wood materials* Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S. state of Oregon* Timber , a 1984 arcade game by Bally Midway...
 region.

area was inhabited by the Mpongwé
Mpongwe

The Mpongwe are an ethnic group in Gabon, notable as the earliest known dwellers around the Estuary, where Libreville is now located.Their language identifies them as a subgroup of the My?n? people of the Bantu peoples, who are believed to have been in the area for some 2,000 years, although the Mpongwe clans likely only began arriving in t...
 tribe long before the French
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
 acquired the land in 1839. In 1846, L'Elizia, a Brazilian ship doing slave trade, was captured by the French navy near Loango. The slaves were freed and founded Libreville (French
French language

French is a Romance language spoken around the world by around 80 million people as first language, by 190 million as second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired tongue, with significant speakers in 54 countries....
 for "Freetown") in 1848.






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Libreville (population 578,156 January 1, 2005) is the capital
Capital City

Capital City was a television show produced by Euston Films which focused on the lives of investment bankers in London living and working on the corporate trading floor for the fictional international bank Shane-Longman....
 and largest city of Gabon
Gabon

Gabon is a country in west central Africa sharing borders with the Gulf of Guinea to the west, Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, and Cameroon to the north, with the Republic of the Congo curving around the east and south....
. The city is a port on the Komo River, near the Gulf of Guinea
Gulf of Guinea

The Gulf of Guinea is the part of the Atlantic Ocean southwest of Africa. The intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian is in the gulf. According to the International Hydrographic Organization, the Gulf's oceanic border is the rhumb line that runs from Cape Palmas in Liberia to Cape Lopez in Gabon ....
, and a trade center for a timber
Timber

Timber may refer to:* Lumber, i.e. wood materials* Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S. state of Oregon* Timber , a 1984 arcade game by Bally Midway...
 region.

History

The area was inhabited by the Mpongwé
Mpongwe

The Mpongwe are an ethnic group in Gabon, notable as the earliest known dwellers around the Estuary, where Libreville is now located.Their language identifies them as a subgroup of the My?n? people of the Bantu peoples, who are believed to have been in the area for some 2,000 years, although the Mpongwe clans likely only began arriving in t...
 tribe long before the French
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
 acquired the land in 1839. In 1846, L'Elizia, a Brazilian ship doing slave trade, was captured by the French navy near Loango. The slaves were freed and founded Libreville (French
French language

French is a Romance language spoken around the world by around 80 million people as first language, by 190 million as second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired tongue, with significant speakers in 54 countries....
 for "Freetown") in 1848. It was the chief port of French Equatorial Africa
French Equatorial Africa

French Equatorial Africa was the federation of France colonial possessions in Middle Africa, extending northwards from the Congo River to the Sahara Desert....
 from 1934 to 1946 and was the central focus of the Battle of Gabon
Battle of Gabon

The Battle of Gabon or the Battle of Libreville was part of the West Africa Campaign of World War II fought in November 1940. The battle resulted in the Free French Forces under General Charles de Gaulle taking Libreville, Gabon, and liberating all of French Equatorial Africa from Vichy France forces....
 in 1940.

Libreville was named in imitation of Freetown
Freetown

Freetown is the Capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean located in the Western Area of Sierra Leone and with a population of 1,070,200 ....
 and grew only slowly as a trading post
Trading post

A trading post is a place where the Trade of product takes place. The preferred travel route to a trading post, or between trading posts, is known as a trade route....
 and a minor administrative centre
Administrative Centre

Administrative centre is often used in several countries to refer to a county town, or other seat of regional or local government, or the place where the central administration of a Commune is located....
 to a population of 31,000 on independence in 1960. It only received its first bank branch when Bank of West Africa (BAO) opened a branch in 1930. Since independence, the city has grown rapidly and now houses nearly half the national population.

Geography

From north to south, major districts of the city are the residential area Batterie IV, Quartier Louis (known for its nightlife), Mont-Bouët
Mont-Bouët

The march? Mont-Bou?t , in Libreville is Gabon's largest market, with hundreds of stalls selling fruits, vegetables, meat, poultry , fabric, clothing, jewelry, household goods, traditional medicine and a variety of other goods....
 and Nombakélé (busy commercial areas), Glass (the first European settlement in Gabon), Oloumi (a major industrial
Industry

An industry is the manufacturing of a Good or Service within a category. Although industry is a broad term for any kind of economic production, in economics and urban planning industry is a synonym for the secondary sector, which is a type of economic activity involved in the manufacturing of raw materials into goods and products....
 area) and Lalala, a residential area. The city’s port
Port

||-||-|-||-||-||-||-||-||-|}A port is a facility for receiving ships and transferring cargo. They are usually found at the edge of an ocean, sea, river, or lake....
 and train station
Train station

|}A train station, railway station, railroad station, or station yard is a facility at which passengers may board and alight from trains and/or rail-transported freight may be loaded or unloaded....
 on the Trans-Gabon Railway
Trans-Gabon Railway

The Trans-Gabon Railway is the only railway in Gabon. It runs 670 km east from Owendo port station in Libreville to Franceville via numerous stations, the main ones being Ndjol?, Lop?, Gabon, Boou?, Lastoursville and Moanda....
 line to Franceville
Franceville

Franceville or Masuku is one of the four largest cities in Gabon, with a population of around 22,000 people. It lies on the River Mpassa and at the end of the Trans-Gabon Railway and the N3 road ....
 lie in Owendo
Owendo

Owendo is a port city in Gabon, forming a south western suburb of Libreville. It lies at the western end of the Trans-Gabon Railway, and was opened in 1988....
, south of the main built-up area. Inland from these districts lie poorer residential areas.

Climate


Transport

Libreville International Airport
Libreville International Airport

Libreville Leon M'ba International Airport is an airportsituated in Libreville, Gabon. It is the main international airport in the country.Named after the first president of Gabon, L?on M'ba, It was the hub of former national airline Air Gabon until March 2006....
 is the largest airport in Gabon and is located around north of the city.

Culture and education

Chancery
Sights in Libreville include the National Museum of Arts and Traditions, the French cultural centre, St Marie’s Cathedral, the carved wood church of St Michael, Nkembo, the Arboretum de Sibang and two cultural villages. Libreville's main market
Market

A market is any one of a variety of different systems, institutions, procedures, social relations and infrastructures whereby persons trade, and goods and services are exchanged, forming part of the economy....
 lies in Mont-Bouët. Gabon's school of administration and school of law are in Libreville. Libreville also hosts the Omar Bongo University
Omar Bongo University

Omar Bongo University was founded as the National University of Gabon in 1970. It was renamed in honor of President of Gabon Omar Bongo in 1978. It is based in Libreville....
 (est. 1970), various research institutes and a library. Alongside the Komo estuary is the Pongara National Park
Pongara National Park

Pongara National Park is a national park in Gabon near the capital Libreville along the Komo estuary and the Atlantic Ocean. It covers an area of 929 km?. ...
 of 929 km2. Behind Cap Esterias is Akanda National Park, famed for its large congregations of migrating waterbirds.

Industry


The city is home to a shipbuilding
Shipbuilding

Shipbuilding is the construction of ships. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, originally called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to before recorded history....
 industry, brewing industry and sawmills. The city exports raw materials such as wood, rubber
Rubber

Natural rubber is an elastomer?an Elasticity_ hydrocarbon polymer?that was originally derived from a milky colloidal suspension, or latex , found in the sap of some plants....
 and cocoa from the city's main port, and the deepwater port at Owendo
Owendo

Owendo is a port city in Gabon, forming a south western suburb of Libreville. It lies at the western end of the Trans-Gabon Railway, and was opened in 1988....
.

Notable People

Daniel Cousin
Daniel Cousin

Daniel Cousin is a France-Gabonese soccer striker. He currently plays for Premier League side Hull City A.F.C.....
, football player who plays for Hull City of the English Premier League and the Gabon national team
Gabon national football team

The Gabon national football team, nicknamed Azingo Nationale, is the national team of Gabon and is controlled by the F?d?ration Gabonaise de Football....
, where he is the captain and all-time top scorer.

External links