Saurimo [Henrique de Carvalho]

Lat: -9.654806014731300, Long: 20.392102962211000

Saurimo [Henrique de Carvalho]

Lunda Sul, Angola

Historical Background and Urbanism

Saurimo was, in the late colonial stage, the capital of the district of Lunda and was elevated to city status in the late 1950s. In 1923, governor general Norton de Matos changed the name of the city to Henrique de Carvalho in honour of the soldier who, in the late 19th century, was entrusted with a mission involving the emperor of Lunda, to obtain information on the populations of the interior and the physical conditions of the region. After the conclusion of his task, Henrique de Carvalho proposed the creation of the district of Lunda and occupied the position of first governor of the new district in 1895. The city benefitted from its geographical location, connected to the inter-regional road structure, with a geostrategic position within the district of Lunda. It thus played the role of trading hub, whether through being on the route to Luanda, Malanje, Portugália and Dundo (seat of Diamang) or because it was located near to the connection to Luso. Of recent occupation, in the 20th century, the city was erected on a plateau, arranged in a grid pattern with the official and public buildings isolated and prominent, whether by their relationship with the morphology of the public area or for the nature of their design. In August 1973 a Plano de Zonas de Ocupação Imediata (Plan for Areas of Immediate Occupation) by architect Adérito de Barros was presented; it emphasized the urban tenets already absorbed previously but had some novelties such as the establishment of expansion areas and their activities, the creation of new residential zones for the less well off, the reorganization of the road structure and the creation of new accesses, especially by the consolidation of large roundabouts (pre-existing) which, in a monumental way, conveyed a new scale to the city. Monuments and Statuary Before 1963, in front of the Governor’s Palace, was set the statue to Henrique Dias de Carvalho who explored the region at the end of the 19th century and became the first governor of Lunda, a new administrative creation proposed by him.

Religious Architecture

Equipment and Infrastructures

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