Limbé (known as Victoria from 1858 to 1982) is a seaside city in the South-West Region of Cameroon, At the 2005 Census, the population was 84,223.

Toponymy

The city name Limbe is generally held to originate from a mispronunciation of the name of a German engineer called Limburgh. Oral narratives hold that this engineer is responsible for constructing a bridge across one of the rivers in the city. Over a period of time, this river came to be associated with this engineer. In 1982, a presidential decree signed by president

Ahmadou Babatoura Ahidjo Ahmadou Babatoura Ahidjo (24 August 192430 November 1989) was a Cameroonian politician who was the first President of Cameroon, holding the office from 1960 until 1982. Ahidjo played a major role in Cameroon's independence from France as well as ...

, a changed the city name from Victoria to Limbe.

History

Initially Victoria and its vicinity was not part of the new German colony Kamerun and remained under British administration. On May 7, 1886 Great Britain and Germany agreed to exchange Victoria and its vicinity for German rights at the Forcados River in Nigeria and

St. Lucia, KwaZulu-Natal St Lucia is a settlement in Umkhanyakude District Municipality in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. The small town is mainly a hub for the iSimangaliso Wetland Park. History Evidence of early humans living in the caves up high in the ...

in South Africa. On March 28, 1887 Victoria and its vicinity were handed over to the German administration. At the same time Swiss Presbyterian missionaries bought the land from the Baptist Missionary Society in 1887. Victoria became British again in 1915, becoming part of British Cameroon. In 1982 Victoria was renamed "Limbe" by

Ahmadou Ahidjo Ahmadou Babatoura Ahidjo (24 August 192430 November 1989) was a Cameroonian politician who was the first List of Presidents of Cameroon, President of Cameroon, holding the office from 1960 until 1982. Ahidjo played a major role in Cameroon's inde ...

. Limbe was recently acknowledged by the Cameroonian government for its role played in the trade of slaves. The current site (Bimbia) is being restored for tourists, who would like to understand how slaves made their way from far distances to the coastal city.

Language

The Southwest Province's official language is English, although French is spoken due to the city's geographic proximity to Douala, where the official language is French. Most of the population speaks English and Cameroonian Pidgin English. The native language of the region is Bakweri and a smaller group from Wovia and Bimbia speak Bimbia or Isubu.

Main sights

Limbe is located on a bay against the backdrop of a major mountain range. Black sand beaches make Limbe one of two coastal towns ( Kribi being the other) that are popular among Western tourists. Attractions include the

Limbe Wildlife Centre Limbe or Limbé may refer to: Places * Limbe, Cameroon, a seaside city in the South West Region of Cameroon * Limbé Arrondissement, an arrondissement in the Nord department of Haiti ** Limbé, Nord, a commune in the Limbé Arrondissement * Ri ...

and

Limbe Botanical Gardens Limbe Botanic Garden or Limbe Botanical Gardens (LBG) is the principal botanic garden of Cameroon. It was created in 1892, during the German colonial era, in Victoria (former name of Limbe), between the ocean and Mount Cameroon. Initially with an ...

also the Bimbia slave trade route . The Germans left a

Bismarck tower A Bismarck tower (german: Bismarckturm) is a specific type of monument built according to a more or less standard model across Germany to honour its first chancellor, Otto von Bismarck (d. 1898). A total of 234 of these towers were inventoried b ...

in the vicinity of Limbe. It is the home to the Bakweri people. Some variety of flowers at

: File:Cameroon's Natural lipstick.jpg, '' Bixa orellana'' File:Omphalocarpum procerum 5412.JPG, ''

Omphalocarpum procerum ''Omphalocarpum'' (common name navel fruit) is a genus of plants belonging to the family Sapotaceae. It was first described in 1800 by Palisot de Beauvois. The genus is endemic to tropical Africa. The following species are recognised by Kew ...

'' File:Tapeinochilos ananassae 5313.JPG, '' Tapeinochilos ananassae'' Ginger flower Botanic garden Limbe Cameroon 3.jpg, '' Etlingera elatior'' Hibiscus flower Botanic garden Limbe Cameroon.jpg, '' Hibiscus rosa-sinensis'' Allamanda blanchetii flower Botanic garden Limbe 2.jpg, '' Mandevilla sanderi'' Lily Lilium botanic garden Limbe Cameroon.jpg, ''Lily Lilium''

Transport

Limbe was served by a terminal station of a gauge plantation railway from Soppo, near Buea, of the West African Planting Society Victoria. It is linked by the National Highway 3 (N3) to Yaoundé (via

Tiko Tiko, originally called ‘Keka’ by the Bakweris, is a town and important port in the southwest region of Cameroon. The settlement grew as a market town for Duala (or Douala) fishermen, Bakweri (Kpwe people) farmers and hunters from Molyko, ...

, Douala and Edea) and

Idenau Idenau is a town and commune in Cameroon, near Bibundi west of Mount Cameroon. The name was given to this place while Cameroon was a German colony. Today, Idenau has a small harbour and some oil palm plantations. See also *Communes of Cameroo ...

. Limbe is also home to a small port which offers ferry services to Calabar,

Bakassi Bakassi is a peninsula on the Gulf of Guinea. It lies between the Cross River estuary, near the city of Calabar and the Rio del Ray estuary on the east. It is governed by Cameroon, following the transfer of sovereignty from neighbouring Niger ...

and Douala. There were plans to upgrade it to a fully equipped commercial deep sea port with the creation of the Limbe Port authority, but several delays and the ongoing Anglophone Crisis have kept the project in uncertainty (have stalled the project indefinitely). Limbe once had an airport, the Victoria Airport , which has long gone extinct due to neglect ( after unification with Cameroon) and later urbanisation in the area.

Commerce

Limbe is the center of Cameroon's oil industry. Other important industries are fishery and tourism. The Port of Limbe is one of four commercial ports in Cameroon.

Economy

In 2008, Limbe became the site of a

cement works A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mix ...

. The city is also host to the head office (located at Bota, Limbe) of one of Cameroon's largest companies known as the Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC). The head office is at Bota, Limbe. Limbe has the only oil refinery company SONARA. Bundes Construction is also the largest civil engineering company. Limbe also has a non-operational natural sea port. Limbe, along with the rest of Cameroon, Central African Republic, and Chad, rely on all import / export activities through the port of Douala, the economic capital of Cameroon. Limbe, which is a viable tourist destination in Cameroon, has a number of tourist attractions such as the Limbe Wildlife Center, the Limbe Botanic Garden, and an extensive and almost unique dark sand public and private beaches. There are several small inns and motels, including the LK Hotel, Musango Beach Hotel, Atlantic Beach, Guest House, Park and Mirama, Trinity, Savoy Palms, and First International Inn (Fini). These accommodate both business and tourist guests. Amongst these, the LK Hotel is situated above a view (mile 4) of the Atlantic Ocean, a vantage point from which to view the sunsets that envelop the Atlantic Ocean, mount Cameroon and the Malabo Islands.

Sport

Limbe is a sport loving city especially football which is the most loved and supported sport discipline in the nation. The city is home to a number of football clubs such as Njala Quan Sports academy (NQSA) founded by Mr Henry Njala quan, Victoria United ( Commonly known as OPOPO), and Best Stars Academy just to name a few. The construction of the

Limbe Stadium Limbe Omnisport Stadium (French: Stade Omnisport de Limbé) is a multi-purpose stadium in Limbe, Cameroon, Limbe, Cameroon. It is used mostly for Association football, football matches and it also has athletics facilities. The stadium has seats f ...

in Limbe is planned, financed by the state-owned Chinese company, the Exim Bank of China.

Culture

Limbe City Council organizes an annual Festival of Arts and Culture. This event is popularly known as Limbe FESTAC and has been taking place annually since 2014. Activities during this event includes: a caravan to launch the event, fashion parade, election of Miss FESTAC, exhibition, canoe race, traditional dances, display of traditional dishes, etc. It attracts visitors from all corners of the country and even from abroad. Culture from Cameroon as well as neighboring African countries are displayed. Cameroon handicraft

Twin towns – sister cities

Limbe is twinned with: * Seattle, United States * Saint John's, Antigua and Barbuda

References

External links

Seattle-Limbe Sister City Association website
{{Authority control 1858 establishments in the British Empire Populated coastal places in Cameroon Populated places established in 1858 Communes of Southwest Region (Cameroon)