Matadi is the chief sea port of the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

and the capital of the

Kongo Central Kongo Central (), formerly Bas-Congo, is one of the 26 provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its capital is Matadi. History At the time of independence, the area now encompassing Kongo Central was part of the greater province of ...

province, adjacent to the

border Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...

with

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

. It had a population of 245,862 (2004). Matadi is situated on the left bank of the

Congo River The Congo River, formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second-longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the third-largest river in the world list of rivers by discharge, by discharge volume, following the Amazon Ri ...

, from the mouth and below the last navigable point before the rapids that make the river impassable for a long stretch upriver.

History

Matadi was near the site of the state of

Vungu The kingdom of Vungu or Bungu was a historic state located in Mayombe (between the present-day Republic of Congo and the present-day Democratic Republic of Congo). In the 13th century it led a confederation of itself, Ngoyo, and Kakongo. It neighbo ...

, which was first mentioned in 1535 and was said to be destroyed in 1624. Matadi itself was founded by

Sir Henry Morton Stanley Sir Henry Morton Stanley (born John Rowlands; 28 January 1841 – 10 May 1904) was a Welsh-American explorer, journalist, soldier, colonial administrator, author, and politician famous for his exploration of Central Africa and search for mis ...

in 1879. It was strategically important because it was the last navigable port going upstream on the

; it became the furthest inland port in the

Congo Free State The Congo Free State, also known as the Independent State of the Congo (), was a large Sovereign state, state and absolute monarchy in Central Africa from 1885 to 1908. It was privately owned by Leopold II of Belgium, King Leopold II, the const ...

. The construction of the

Matadi–Kinshasa Railway The Matadi–Kinshasa Railway ( French: ''Chemin de fer Matadi-Kinshasa'') is a railway line in Kongo Central province between Kinshasa, the capital of Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the port of Matadi. The Matadi–Kinshasa Railway was bu ...

(built between 1890 and 1898) made it possible to transport goods from deeper within Congo's interior to the port of Matadi, stimulating the city to become an important trading center. Portuguese and French West-African commercial interests influenced the city's architecture and urban design, which borrowed from the neighboring colonies in

and the

Congo-Brazzaville The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast of Central ...

Culture

The word ''Matadi'' means

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

in the local

Kikongo Kongo or Kikongo is one of the Bantu languages spoken by the Kongo people living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Republic of the Congo, Gabon, and Angola. It is a tonal language. The vast majority of present-day speakers li ...

language. The town is built on steep hills. A local saying is that to live in Matadi, you must know the verbs "to go up", "to go down", and "to sweat". Upstream is a series of caves known as the "rock of

Diogo Cão Diogo Cão (; – 1486), also known as Diogo Cam, was a Portuguese mariner and one of the most notable explorers of the fifteenth century. He made two voyages along the west coast of Africa in the 1480s, exploring the Congo River and the coasts ...

", after

graffiti Graffiti (singular ''graffiti'', or ''graffito'' only in graffiti archeology) is writing or drawings made on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written "monikers" to elabor ...

carved by the Portuguese explorer in 1485 marking the limit of his travels up the Congo River.

Yelala Rapids The Yellala Falls (''Rapides de Yelala'' or ''Chutes Yelala''; also spelled as ''Ielala'') are a series of waterfalls and rapids on the Congo River just upstream from Matadi in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The falls are the lowest of a l ...

lies near the city.

Climate

Matadi has a relatively dry

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry "winter") and ''As'' (for a dry "summer"). The driest month has less than ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Aw'') with a lengthy

dry season The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The t ...

from June to September due to the northerly extension of the cold, foggy

Benguela Current The Benguela Current is the broad, northward flowing ocean current that forms the eastern portion of the South Atlantic Ocean gyre. The current extends from roughly Cape Point in the south, to the position of the Angola-Benguela Front in the no ...

Infrastructure

The port of Matadi serves as a major import and export point for the whole nation. Chief exports are coffee and timber. The state fishing company " Pemarza" uses the port to supply fish to Kinshasa.

Tshimpi Airport Matadi Tshimpi Airport is an airport serving the city of Matadi in Kongo Central Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. The runway is north of Matadi, across the Congo River. The Matadi NDB (Ident: MS) is southeast of the runway. Airline ...

is nearby. Matadi Bridge, a suspension bridge 722 m- long with a main span of 520 m, built in 1983, crosses the river just south of Matadi, carrying the main road linking Kinshasa to the coast. After passing through Matadi and over the bridge, it continues to Boma,

Muanda Moanda or Muanda is a town and territory lying on the Atlantic Ocean coast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo at the mouth of the Congo River., United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency It is situated in Kongo Central Province, ...

and Banana. Although built as a mixed rail and road bridge, no rail line is now operating over the bridge. Matadi is the port railhead for the 366 km long Matadi-Kinshasa Railway, constructed to bypass the rapids on the river upstream. A monument to the builders of the railway stands on a nearby hill. A power station on the

M'pozo River The M'pozo ( French: ''Rivière M'pozo'') is a river in the province of Bas-Congo in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its source is located in Angola and it forms part of the Angola–Democratic Republic of the Congo border. The river ends on t ...

supplies power to Matadi.

Port

Album Congo - Cover of trading cards from the Congo

The maximum draft of the port is 8.2m. The

Navy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo The National Navy () is the maritime component of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC). It is a brown-water navy. History Ordinance no.70/295 of 9 November 1970 fixed the organization of the Coast, River, and Lake Guard, a ...

maintains one operational command at the port. Currently, larger ships are required to transfer cargo to smaller vessels in the Republic of Congo's

Pointe-Noire Pointe-Noire (; , with the letter d following French spelling standards) is the second largest city in the Republic of the Congo, following the capital of Brazzaville, and an autonomous department and a commune since the 2002 Constitution. B ...

port. For this reason, the development of a deep-sea port at Port Banana was begun in 2022.

Media

'' La Cité africaine de Matadi'' is a newspaper published in French in Matadi. In Belgium, a small garden city in the

Heverlee Heverlee () is a sub-municipality of the city of Leuven located in the province of Flemish Brabant, Flemish Region, Belgium. It was a separate municipality until 1977. On 1 January 1977, it was merged into Leuven. According to the official websit ...

suburb of

Leuven Leuven (, , ), also called Louvain (, , ), is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipalit ...

was named after Matadi in the 1920s.

Gallery

File:106 Matadi.jpg, Matadi, 1899 File:109 Le marché de Matadi.jpg, The market, 1899 File:110 Un coin de marché à Matadi.jpg, A corner market in Matadi, 1899 File:111 Les élégantes au marché. - Matadi.jpg, Women at the market in Matadi, 1899 File:112 Au marché de Matadi.jpg, The market, 1899 File:113 Les hauteurs de Matadi.jpg, The houses of Matadi, 1899 File:114 Aux environs de Matadi.jpg, The surroundings of Matadi, 1899 File:Matadi port.jpg, Matadi port, circa 1942 Image:Matadi.jpg, Full Congo River at Matadi and the first rapids Image:Matadi05.jpg, Arrival at Matadi station Image:Vivi-matadi.jpg, Map of Matadi and Vivi around 1890 File:Matadi in 1930s.JPG, Matadi in 1930s

References

External links

Description of Matadi
{{Coord, 05, 49, 00, S, 13, 29, 00, E, display=title Populated places in Kongo Central Populated places established in 1879 Library of Congress Africa Collection related 1879 establishments in Africa Cities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo