Franceville

This article is about the city in Gabon. For other uses, see Franceville (disambiguation).

"Masuku" redirects here. For the TV show, see Masukuman.

Franceville Masuku
Francevillite, Curienite, and Mounanaite, Mounana Mine
Franceville Location in Gabon
Coordinates: 1°38′S 13°35′E / 1.633°S 13.583°E / -1.633; 13.583
Country	Gabon
Province	Haut-Ogooué Province
Department	Mpassa Department

Franceville or Masuku is one of the four largest cities in Gabon, with a population of around 22,000 people. It lies on the River Mpassa and at the end of the Trans-Gabon Railway and the N3 road. It grew from a village named Masuku when Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza chose it to resettle former slaves and renamed it "Francheville" (meaning "city of the freed" in French) in 1880. The city later came to be called Franceville.

Overview

Franceville was founded by Brazza as "Francheville" (meaning "city of the freed" in French) on June 13, 1880. As time went on, it became known as Franceville.^[1]

Features of the town include St Hilaire's Church (built in 1899), a large statue of President Omar Bongo (who was born in Franceville), and a primate medical research institute. The town also has a golf course, while its airport lies 20 km west in Mvengué.

There is a market where numerous items can be purchased, including clothing, fruit and vegetables, electronics, meats, and the market also sells bushmeat, which includes African Rock Python, monkey and local species of animals.

The infrastructure of Franceville is overall of better quality than the rest of the country, most probably because of the city's significance.

There are a few of hotels of which the best known is the Hotel Poubara, overlooking the president's holiday (vacation) home.

Franceville also has many waterfalls, of which one the best known is the Poubara Falls, which is co-located with a hydroelectric plant, which provides the area with constant electricity. President of Gabon Omar Bongo was buried in Franceville on June 18, 2009.

Industry

Franceville has a cement works.

See also

• Oklo
• Natural nuclear fission reactor
• Franceville, New Hebrides
• Cement in Africa
• Railway stations in Gabon

References

1. ^ "Gabon : Franceville s'apprête à célébrer son 125ème anniversaire", Xinhua, May 21, 2005 (French).

Bibliography

• Maria Petringa, Brazza, A Life for Africa. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse, 2006. ISBN 978-1-4259-1198-0

External links

• Franceville map and weather
• Mounana mine info at Mindat.org
• Oklo mine info, site of over a dozen Precambrian natural nuclear reactors

Coordinates: 1°38′S 13°35′E / 1.633°S 13.583°E / -1.633; 13.583