Help
Add this page to your book
Show book (0 pages)
Suggest pagesKalemie
| Kalemie | |
|---|---|
 Kalemie
|
|
| Coordinates: 5°56′S 29°12′E / 5.933°S 29.2°E | |
| Country |  Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| Province | Katanga |
Kalemie, formerly Albertville/Albertstad, is a town on the western shore of Lake Tanganyika in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The town is next to the exit of the Lukuga River flowing out from Lake Tanganyika to the Lualaba River.
Kalemie's twin town is Steinheim in Germany.
Then-Albertville was attacked by mercenaries under Major Mike Hoare during operations against the Simba Rebellion in August 1964.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Creation
Albertville was created on January 3, 1892 by a captain of the then Belgian Colonial Army, Jacques de Dismund, who named it after prince Albert, the heir of the Kingdom of Belgium at that time.
In 1971, as a result of Zairianization, Albertville changed its name to Kalemie.
[edit] Kalemie Port
The port at Kalemie was built to connect the Great Lakes rail line (from the Kabalo junction on the Lualaba River) to the Tanzanian lake port and railhead at Kigoma, from where the Tanzanian Central Railway Line runs to the seaport of Dar es Salaam. The port was built with a 130 m wharf and 3 mobile cranes, giving it a capacity of 500 tonnes per day with two shifts. However, the cranes are non functional, and vessels cannot reach the wharf due to silting up of the lake next to it. The buildings of the port also require rehabilitation.[2] Moreover, the railway line for 100 km west of Kalemie is 'very degraded' and not fully operational.
Kalemie Port is also used by boat services to the northern Lake Tanganyika ports of Kalundu-Uvira and Bujumbura in Burundi, and southwards to Moba and Mpulungu in Zambia.
Kalemie Port is operated by the railway company SNCC which also operates the railways in DR Congo (except for the Matadi-Kinshasa line) as well as boat services on the eastern waterways in the country.
[edit] 2005 earthquake
The Lake Tanganyika earthquake struck on December 5, 2005. The epicentre was approximately 10 km (6.2 mi) below the surface of Lake Tanganyika, some 55 km south-east of Kalemie. At least dozens of houses were destroyed.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ S.J.G. Clarke, 'The Congo Mercenary: A History and Analysis,' South African Institute of International Affairs, Johannesburg, 1968, p.43-45
- ^ UNJLC
- ^ BBC news website.
[edit] External links
- "Villes de RD Congo - Kalemie" (in French). MONUC. 2006-05-29. http://www.monuc.org/news.aspx?newsID=11211. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
- Web site of Kalemie / Bukavu / Kalima area
|
|||||||||||
Coordinates: 5°56′S 29°12′E / 5.933°S 29.2°E
 |
This Democratic Republic of the Congo location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
