Linguère (or Lingeer in
Serer[Klein, Martin A. "Islam and Imperialism in Senegal Sine-Saloum, 1847–1914." Edinburgh University Press (1968) pp 11-15 & 262 ] and
Wolof) is a town and urban commune located in the
Linguère Department,
Louga Region of
Senegal
Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...
.
History
Linguére was the capital of the
Jolof Empire and its successor, the
Kingdom of Jolof. The name
Lingeer was also used as a title for
Serer and
Wolof queens and royal princesses.
Transport
The town lies on the
N3 road connecting it to
Dakar
Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...
and
Touba to the west and
Ouro Sogui and
Mauretania
Mauretania (; ) is the Latin name for a region in the ancient Maghreb. It extended from central present-day Algeria to the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, encompassing northern present-day Morocco, and from the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean in the ...
to the east.
The town was formally the terminus of a branch railway. The train station is now in ruins and the tracks are non-existent as they have been ripped up and used by locals as part of fences.
Infrastructure
The town has roughly 15,000 inhabitants, and is served by a weekly market that takes place on Fridays.
There are usually one or two US Peace Corps volunteers stationed in the town, and surrounding villages.
There is a post office, a bank, a small daily vegetable market, a bar, a sometimes running internet cafe, and several stores.
There is also a 'Gare Routiere', a public transit hub connecting the town to other cities in the east:
Louga,
Dahra,
Touba, and
Dakar
Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...
.
The village of Nguith nearby is a traditional
Wolof village (4 km to the west), with a deep-bore well, schools, health post, and functioning village government. The village is run by two families, the Coundouls, and Talls.
In 2007, according to official estimates, Linguère had a population of 13,610.
Climate
References
Populated places in Louga region
Communes of Senegal
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