Gombe or La Gombe is a municipality (''
commune'') in the
Lukunga district of
Kinshasa, the
capital city
A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city that physically encompasses the ...
of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
. It was formerly known as Kalina, after Lieutenant E. Kallina - an Austro-Hungarian soldier who volunteered in the Congo Free State. Gombe is bounded on the north by the
Congo River
The Congo River ( kg, Nzâdi Kôngo, french: Fleuve Congo, pt, Rio Congo), formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the second largest river in the world by discharge ...
and in the south by the
Boulevard du 30 Juin.
Gombe is both a residential area and Kinshasa's business district. Originally the place that housed colonial administrative offices, ''cités indigènes,'' neighborhoods meant for non-colonists, formed around the neighborhood.
Government and infrastructure
It also houses some of the DRC's principal governing bodies, including the
Palais de la Nation and the
Banque Centrale du Congo on the
Boulevard Colonel Tshatshi. Various ministries, diplomatic and media organizations are also situated there.
The offices of Kinshasa's governor are located in Gombe, making it the capital of Kinshasa Province.
The ''Direction Générale de Migration'' (DGM) of the
Ministry of the Interior and Security is in Gombe. The headquarters of the ''Bureau Permanent d’Enquêtes d’Accidents et Incidents d’Aviation'' (BPEA), an agency of the
Ministry of Transport and Channels of Communication, are also in Gombe.
Economy
Stellar Airways has its head office in Gombe.
Education
Both campuses of the French international school,
Lycée Français René Descartes Kinshasa, are in Gombe: Site Gombe and Site Kalemie; the latter is across from the residence of the Ambassador of France.
Lycée Prince de Liège, a Belgian international school, is in Gombe.
Accueil
." Lycée Prince de Liège. Retrieved 26 October 2015. "Lycée Prince de Liège (Ecole belge), Av. de la Gombe, Kinshasa (Gombe)"
Demographics
See also
References
{{Communes of Kinshasa
Communes of Kinshasa
Lukunga District