Dschang is a city located in the West (Ouest)

Province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

, with an estimated population of 87,000 (est) in 2001, growing dramatically from 21,705 recorded in 1981. The 2006 Population is estimated to be 200,000 inhabitants. Dschang is the capital of the division of

Ménoua Menoua is a department of West Province in Cameroon. The department covers an area of 1,380 km and as of 2019 had a total population of 276,000. The capital of the department lies at Dschang. Subdivisions The department is divided administ ...

. The

Bamiléké The Bamileke are a Central African people who inhabit the Western High Plateau of Cameroon. Languages The Bamileke languages belong to the Grassfields branch of the Niger-Congo language family, which is sometimes labeled as a " Bantuoid lang ...

are the predominant ethnic tribe.

History

Colonial era

The documented history of Dschang began in 1895, when it was invaded by a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

military mission. In 1909, the city replaced

Fontem Fontem is one the three subdivisions of Lebialem division located in the South West Region of Cameroon. It is west of Dschang. It is made up of three Fondoms namely Lebang, Essoh Attah Njoagwi ( Fotabong III) it has as sub divisional headquarte ...

as the capital of a Germany military district. The region where Dschang now exists was then not the place of any major settlement but, instead, was an area that two bordering chiefdoms fought over. The name Dschang translates to "dispute" in the local language. Following Germany's defeat during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Cameroon became both a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

and French possession, France declared Dschang to be the capital of West Province, and developed the city's vacation resort in the 1940s. This resort now forms the basis of Dschang's plans to promote the city as a tourist destination. Dschang-pjt1

Post-colonial era

On January 1, 1960, Cameroon became an independent state, and the regional administration was moved to the city of

Bafoussam Bafoussam is the capital and largest city of the West Region of Cameroon, in the Bamboutos Mountains. It is the 3rd most important (financially) city in Cameroon, after Yaoundé and Douala. The ''communauté urbaine'' (Urban Community) of Bafous ...

. Dschang suffered from this move, as much more effort was invested in the infrastructure of Bafoussam. Following the opening of the

Université de Dschang The University of Dschang is located in the town of Dschang, West Cameroon, about 425 kilometers northwest of Yaoundé. It has its roots in three agricultural training schools, and evolved from an agricultural institution to a university in 1993. ...

(University of Dschang) in 1993, however, foreign interest and developmental investment of the city began to increase, and plans for a drive to increase tourism and the exploitation of mineral deposits will contribute to the city's current development. The curren
Mayor of Dschang
is Baudelaire Donfack.

Economy and infrastructure

Due to its high elevation of over 1400 m, Dschang is favoured by relatively cool temperatures and attractive scenery. It is therefore regarded as a mountain tourist resort. Since colonial times, Dschang has been an important agricultural center. Pig production plays a major role. Deposits of the aluminum-bearing ore

bauxite Bauxite is a sedimentary rock with a relatively high aluminium content. It is the world's main source of aluminium and gallium. Bauxite consists mostly of the aluminium minerals gibbsite (Al(OH)3), boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)) and diaspore (α-AlO(O ...

have been discovered nearby; however, a lack of infrastructure has prevented full-scale mining operations to date.

Transport

The town is reached by year-round trafficable dust roads or asphalt roads. There are bus connections to

and

Yaoundé Yaoundé (; , ) is the capital of Cameroon and, with a population of more than 2.8 million, the second-largest city in the country after the port city Douala. It lies in the Centre Region of the nation at an elevation of about 750 metres (2,50 ...

. There is also an airstrip.

Higher education

Since 1993, Dschang has a

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

with faculties for Agricultural Sciences; Economic Sciences and Business Management; Humanities; Law and Political Sciences; and Sciences. The Faculty for Agricultural Sciences, has been the first faculty and the university continues to be very strong in this thematic area.

Culture

The population of Dschang mainly speaks

Yemba language Yɛmba or Yemba, also Yémba or Bamiléké Dschang, is a major Bamileke language of Cameroon. It was spoken by 300,000 or so people in the West Region in 1992. Despite originally being exclusively a spoken language, Yemba writing was developed ...

, a

Bamileke The Bamileke are a Central African people who inhabit the Western High Plateau of Cameroon. Languages The Bamileke languages belong to the Grassfields branch of the Niger-Congo language family, which is sometimes labeled as a " Bantuoid lang ...

language. In early 2011, the Musée des Civilisations du Cameroun à Dschang was inaugurated. This museum offers to discover the origin of the Cameroonian people and the diversity of the country's four large cultural domains via their history, but also their artistic productions, their architectures, and their political and social organizations.

Gallery

File:Lac-Municipal-Dschang. 03.jpg, Dschang Municipal Lake File:Mamy Wata.jpg, Mamy Wata waterfalls File:Chutes de Nsem-Tsa à Dschang.jpg, Nsem-Tsa waterfall in Dschange File:Dschang 14.jpg, Front view of the entrance to the Climate Center File:Dschang 13.jpg, Climate Centre in Dschang File:Dschang 05.jpg, Front view of the Nautical Base in Dschang File:Basseek Fils Miséricorde à DSCHANG.jpg, Inhabitants of Dschang File:Baguettes stall, Dschang, Cameroon.jpg, Bread selling on a street in Dschang File:Entrée de l'Université de Dschang.jpg, Entrance to the University of Dschang File:Pirogue sur les eaux du lac municipal de Dschang 01.jpg, Canoe on the Dschang Municipal Lake File:Pirogue sur les eaux du lac municipal de Dschang 02.jpg

References

External links

University of Dschang

Tourist office of Dschang

{{Authority control Populated places in West Region (Cameroon)