Odienné () is a town in the northwestern part of Ivory Coast. It is the seat of both Denguélé District and

Kabadougou Region Kabadougou Region is one of the 31 regions of Ivory Coast. Since its establishment in 2011, it has been one of two regions in Denguélé District. The seat of the region is Odienné and the region's population in the 2021 census was 289,806. Ka ...

. It is also a commune and the seat of and a

sub-prefecture A subprefecture is an administrative division of a country that is below prefecture or province. Albania There are twelve Albanian counties or prefectures, each of which is divided into several districts, sometimes translated as subprefectures. ...

Odienné Department Odienné Department is a department of Kabadougou Region in Denguélé District, Ivory Coast. In 2021, its population was 156,730 and its seat is the settlement of Odienné. The sub-prefectures of the department are Bako, Bougousso, Dioulatiè ...

. The town of Odienné was founded by Malinké people under Vakaba Touré. Later,

Samory Touré Samory Toure ( – June 2, 1900), also known as Samori Toure, Samory Touré, or Almamy Samore Lafiya Toure, was a Muslim cleric, a military strategist, and the founder and leader of the Wassoulou Empire, an Islamic empire that was in present-day ...

founded a support base in the town. Features of Odienné include a large

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

, nearby gold mines, and Vakaba Touré's tomb located in Odienné. The town is served by

Odienné Airport Odienné Airport is an airport serving Odienné, Côte d'Ivoire. Airlines and destinations See also *Transport in Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast invested remarkably in its transport system. Transport Infrastructures are much more developed ...

. The Stade Municipal is a multi-purpose stadium in the town. St. Augustine Cathedral serves as the cathedral and headquarters for the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Odienné The Roman Catholic Diocese of Odienné ( la, Odiennen(sis)) is a diocese located in the city of Odienné in the Ecclesiastical province of Korhogo in Côte d'Ivoire. History * December 19, 1994: Established as Diocese of Odienné from the Dioce ...

, of which Antoine Koné is the bishop.

History

It is thought that the area surrounding Odienné was first settled by the

Senufo people The Senufo people, also known as Siena, Senefo, Sene, Senoufo, and Syénambélé, are a West African ethnolinguistic group. They consist of diverse subgroups living in a region spanning the northern Ivory Coast, the southeastern Mali and the west ...

and the Mandinka people. The founding of the town is credited to Vakaba Touré (1800–58), who also founded the Kabadougou Empire, of which Odienné was the capital. The French explorer René Caillié visited Odienné in 1827. In 1898, during the French occupation of Cote d'Ivoire, a military post was established south of Odienné. During the

First Ivorian Civil War The First Ivorian Civil War was a civil conflict in the Ivory Coast (also known as Côte d'Ivoire) that began with a military rebellion on 19 September 2002 and ended with a peace agreement on 4 March 2007. The conflict pitted the government o ...

, Odienné was a stronghold for Forces Nouvelles de Côte d'Ivoire. Its remote location meant that the town was somewhat peaceful during the war compared to other Ivorian towns.

Economy

Odienné relies on agriculture as its main industry. Fruits, cashews, yams, and cotton is grown in fields located in the Massif du Dienguélé valley. The town houses a rice-processing plant and

manganese Manganese is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese is a transition metal with a multifaceted array of ...

is also produced in the area.

Sports

Stade Municipal is the primary stadium in Odienné, and is the home of

AS Denguélé The Association Sportive Denguélé is an Ivorian football club based in Odienné. Being a member of the Ivorian Football Federation Premiere Division since 2003, their best result was a third place in 2006. Thereby, the club was allowed to p ...

, the main football club, which currently plays in the Ligue 1 division.

Climate

Villages

The 17 villages of the sub-prefecture of Odienné and their population in 2014 are: : In 2014, the total population of the sub-prefecture of Odienné was 50,506.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Odienne Sub-prefectures of Kabadougou District capitals of Ivory Coast Communes of Kabadougou Regional capitals of Ivory Coast