Ouahigouya is a town in northern

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to ...

. It is the capital of the

Yatenga Province Yatenga is one of the provinces of Burkina Faso, located in the Nord Region of the country. In modern Yatenga, the most prominent city is Ouahigouya (also known as Waiguya). This city served as the capital of the kingdom of Yatenga, a powerful ki ...

and one of its subdivisions the Ouahigouya Department. It is also the biggest town in the Nord Region. It is the fourth largest city in the country with a population of 124,587 (2019) and is situated north-west of

Ouagadougou Ouagadougou ( , , ) is the capital and largest city of Burkina Faso and the administrative, communications, cultural, and economic centre of the nation. It is also the country's largest city, with a population of 2,415,266 in 2019. The city's ...

The city itself has a stadium, a private non-profit Paediatric Hospital with 36 beds for giving birth and 24 beds for children suffering of severe malnutrition, a post office with internet access and at least one Ecobank bank branch.

History

The city was founded in 1757 as the capital of Yatenga one of a number of

Mossi Kingdoms The Mossi Kingdoms, sometimes referred to as the Mossi Empire, were a group of powerful kingdoms in modern-day Burkina Faso which dominated the region of the upper Volta river for hundreds of years. The largest Mossi kingdoms was that of Ouagad ...

. The city still bears testimony to its role as capital of the Yatenga Kingdom in its name, the meaning of which is ''come and prostrate yourselves''. In the Christmas War of 1985, the city's marketplace was bombed by

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mal ...

an forces, almost 100 people being killed.

Economy

Mainly of an agriculturally based economy, Ouahigouya also has some commerce and craft industry. The two dams just north and west of the town permit it to pursue some vegetable planting aided by irrigation, such as tomatoes, carrots, onions and mainly potatoes. But as a whole both the region and the city are heavily dependent on rainfall and it is according to it that the population's well-being mostly depends on. Millet and sorghum though are the basis of the local diet, much like the surrounding regions. The small craft industry here is mainly focused on leather and tanneries. The little industry in the region is mostly geared towards gold prospecting, and is carried out by a large company. In terms of commerce, the city takes advantage of its relative ease of access to the country's capital, Ouagadougou, to buy manufactured products and resell to the local economy. This is greatly facilitated by the asphalted road linking the two cities.

Places of interest

Features of Ouahigouya include

Naaba Kango Naaba Kango or Naba Kango (died 1787) is known as the List of rulers of the Mossi state of Yatenga, greatest of the rulers of Yatenga, an early modern kingdom in present-day Burkina Faso. In the first half of the 18th century, Yatenga had experienc ...

tomb A tomb ( grc-gre, τύμβος ''tumbos'') is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be called ''immureme ...

, the Yatenga Naba's compound and an artificial

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

Geography

Climate

Classified by Köppen-Geiger system as hot semi-arid (BSh).

Sister Cities

Ouahigouya has one

sister city A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inter ...

: * Decatur,

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Notes

References

External links

* {{Authority control Populated places in the Nord Region (Burkina Faso) Populated places established in 1757 Yatenga Province