The Portuguese Chapel of Albreda or just Albreda Chapel, also Portuguese Chapel of San Domingo, is the name given to a Catholic chapel built by Portuguese explorers in the fifteenth century in the area of
Albreda which is now a part of the African country of
Gambia
The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the List of African countries by area, smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for ...
. It is currently in ruins and was stabilized for protection in 2000.
It is one of the oldest buildings in
West Africa
West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...
, was declared a
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
by
Unesco
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
,
along with six other places like James Island (James Island and Related Sites) from 2003. Before 1995 the remains were under the protection under the national monument status. The space under the protection of the Portuguese chapel in Albreda as world heritage has an area of 0,006 hectares.
The remains of the chapel (sometimes called a church) are about 100 meters west of the settlement of Albreda, a former
French possession. Slightly more than 50 percent of the walls are still present. The back wall is still in its entirety. In its top a metal cross can be seen.
See also
*
Roman Catholicism in the Gambia
*
Portuguese Empire
The Portuguese Empire was a colonial empire that existed between 1415 and 1999. In conjunction with the Spanish Empire, it ushered in the European Age of Discovery. It achieved a global scale, controlling vast portions of the Americas, Africa ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Portuguese Chapel, Church
Roman Catholic churches in the Gambia
15th-century Roman Catholic church buildings
Chapels in Africa