Baucau ( pt, Baucau, tet, Baukau) is the second-largest city in

East Timor East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-weste ...

, after

Dili Dili (Portuguese/Tetum: ''Díli'') is the capital, largest city of East Timor and the second largest city in Timor islands after Kupang (Indonesia). It lies on the northern coast of the island of Timor, in a small area of flat land hemmed in ...

, the capital, which lies to its west. Baucau has about 16,000 inhabitants, and is the capital of

Baucau municipality Baucau (, ) is a municipality, and was formerly a district, of East Timor, on the northern coast in the eastern part of the country. The capital is also called Baucau (formerly Vila Salazar). The population of the municipality is 111,694 (c ...

, located in the eastern part of the country. In the times of

Portuguese Timor Portuguese Timor ( pt, Timor Português) was a colonial possession of Portugal that existed between 1702 and 1975. During most of this period, Portugal shared the island of Timor with the Dutch East Indies. The first Europeans to arrive in the ...

, Baucau was little more than an overgrown village, and for part of those times was called ''Vila Salazar'', after the Portuguese dictator

António de Oliveira Salazar António de Oliveira Salazar (, , ; 28 April 1889 – 27 July 1970) was a Portuguese dictator who served as President of the Council of Ministers from 1932 to 1968. Having come to power under the ("National Dictatorship"), he reframed the re ...

Geography

The administrative post of Baucau is divided into 11 villages ( ''sucos'') * Suco Bahú * Suco Bucoli * Suco Buibau * Suco Buruma * Suco Caibada Uaimua * Suco Samalari * Suco Seiçal * Suco Tirilolo * Suco Triloka * Suco Gariuai * Suco Uailili

Infrastructure

Much of the infrastructure of the city and the surrounding area was damaged or destroyed by

pro-Indonesian militia During the East Timor independence referendum in 1999, pro-Indonesia militias refers to paramilitary militias in East Timor that were loyal to the Indonesian government. They operated during the final years of the Indonesian occupation of East T ...

during the

violence Violence is the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy. Other definitions are also used, such as the World Health Organization's definition of violence as "the intentional use of physical force or Power (social and p ...

that followed the

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

for

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

in 1999. Nevertheless, in the old part of Baucau there survive a few relics from the Portuguese colonial era, such as large colonial houses, churches, and public buildings. One of these is the Pousada de Baucau, a large pink hotel whose restaurant has views of the ocean. The shops, restaurants, and street market stalls (predominantly fruit and vegetable sellers) conduct business, although

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for Work (human activity), w ...

, particularly among the young, is very high. There are a few successful experiments that have converted old war-oriented businesses into light engineering, new businesses such as East Timor Roofing that has generated employment and training opportunities,http://www.easttimorroofing.com/index.htm and a number of small businesses are beginning in the areas of hygiene and health, food production and processing, transport, small retail, and tourism. The convent next to the Pousada de Baucau has a small retail outlet selling locally produced hand crafts. The Instituto Catholico para a Formacao de Professores (ICFP) - the Catholic Teachers College - is owned by the Diocese and is responsible for training future and untrained teachers for Timor-Leste. With more than 300 graduates teaching throughout the country, and more than 400 teachers with upgraded qualifications, ICFP is dedicated to rebuilding the country through education of future generations. Baucau also has a hospital, a nursing school and a swimming pool owned by the Pousada de Baucau.

Climate

Religion

Baucau is the seat of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Baucau The Roman Catholic Diocese of Baucau ( la, Baucan(us)) is a diocese located in the city of Baucau in Timor-Leste. History * November 30, 1996: Established as the Diocese of Baucau from the Diocese of Díli When the diocese was started there w ...

, one of the three Bishoprics in East Timor. It was founded on 30 November 1996, when the bishopric in

split. Its bishop is

Basilio do Nascimento Basilio is a name of Italian, Spanish, or Portuguese origin. It is a cognate of the English name Basil. The name may refer to: Given name * Basilio Augustín (1840–1910), Spanish Governor-General of the Philippines briefly in 1898 *Basilio Badil ...

Transportation

Six kilometers from the city lies the Cakung Airport (code

IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is a trade association of the world's airlines founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff ...

: BCH), a.k.a. LANUD for the local people. It has what is currently the country's longest airport runway, as Dili's Lobato International Airport can only serve small aircraft like the

Boeing 737 The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Renton Factory in Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating with two un ...

. It served as the country's principal airport before the Indonesian invasion in 1975, when it was taken over by the Indonesian military. File:Mercado_Baucau_2014.jpg, Municipal market building in Baucau File:Strand von Uatabo, Baucau.jpg, The beach in Baucau File:Baucau Kirche klein.jpg, Church of Baucau File:View_over_ricefields_towards_Seical,_with_Mt_Matebian_in_background_13_Apr_2013.jpg, Fields of Baucau area File:Baucau, East Timor (314821747).jpg, Colonial building File:Baucau Administration klein.jpg, Administration building File:Baucau Fischer klein.jpg, Fisher on the beach File:Baucau Höhle klein.jpg, Upper part of Baucau city File:Baucau klein.jpg, Huts in the lower part File:Piscina_de_Baucau.jpg, Public pool in Baucau File:Baucau klein3.jpg, Street from city center to the beach File:Baucau Wandbild klein.jpg, Wall painting File:Baucau Wandbild klein2.jpg, Wall painting

References

External links

{{Authority control Populated places in East Timor Baucau Municipality