Gorée Island.
Museums
Saint-Louis' Research Center and Documentation Museum of Senegal offers interesting panoramas of Senegal's history and ethnic movements over the years, expositions of traditional clothes and musical instruments, etc.
Events and festivals
Saint Louis is famous for its urban culture. The heritage of the signares lives on in the city's many festivals and its cultivated sense of public display, and it is helping Saint-Louis emerge from decades of neglect. "Fanals", which are night-time processions of giant paper lanterns, take place at Christmas time.
The Saint-Louis Jazz Festival is the most important jazz festival in Africa. Jazz first became popular in the 1930s when records produced in
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
were aired on the radio. After
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, visiting
U.S. GIs popularized jazz bands and by the 1950s local groups had adopted a "Cuban" sound. Another music festival, 1, 2, 3 musiques, exhibits various genres of music.
The Festival Métissons, held for the first time in 2010, is a grassroots music festival organized by local communities and small businesses. Every edition sports international, national and local musical talent.
The annual reggata, or pirogue race organized by teams of fishermen from Guet-Ndar, takes place on the "little branch" of the river, between Ndar Island and the Langue de Barbarie.
The Magal of the Niari Rakas, a yearly commemoration of
Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba Mbacké
Ahmadou Bamba Mbacke ( wo, Ahmadu Bamba Mbacke, ar, أحمد بن محمد بن حبيب الله ''Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Ḥabīb Allāh'', 1853–1927) also known to followers as Khādimu 'al-Rasūl () or "The Servant of the Messenger" a ...
's (the founder of Mouridism) two prayers in the Governor's Palace in 1895, is the city's largest religious gathering.
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Saint-Louis' characteristic colonial architecture along with its regular town plan, its location on an island at the mouth of the Senegal River and the system of quays, gives Saint-Louis the distinctive appearance and identity that have raised the Island to the rank of world heritage since 2000. The Island of Saint-Louis is inscribed on the World Heritage list on the basis of criteria ii and iv:
Criterion ii The historic town of Saint-Louis exhibits an important exchange of values and influences on the development of education and culture, architecture, craftsmanship, and services in a large part of West Africa.
Criterion iv The Island of Saint-Louis, a former capital of West Africa, is an outstanding example of a colonial city, characterized by its particular natural setting, and it illustrates the development of colonial government in this region.
Architecture
Among interesting and attractive monuments and edifices are the Governor's Palace, the ''Gouvernance'' where are located the town's administrative offices, the Parc Faidherbe named for the French governor at the centre of town
Louis Faidherbe, colonial-era hotels, the historic airport at
Dakar-Bango on the mainland, the
Faidherbe Bridge
Faidherbe Bridge (french: Pont Faidherbe) is a road bridge over the Senegal River which links the island of the city of Saint-Louis in Senegal to the African mainland. The metal bridge is long and wide, weighing . It has eight spans, of whi ...
that connects the island to the Langue de Barbarie and the Gaol and Servatius bridges that connect the island to the continent.
Places of worship
The
places of worship are predominantly
Muslim mosques. There are also
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...
churches and temples:
Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint-Louis du Sénégal (
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
),
Assemblies of God
The Assemblies of God (AG), officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 144 autonomous self-governing national groupings of churches that together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination."Assemblies of God". ...
,
Universal Church of the Kingdom of God.
Natural sites
Among Saint-Louis' numerous natural sites are the National Park of the Langue de Barbarie, the
National Park of the Birds of Djoudj, the Fauna Reserve of Gueumbeul, beaches like that of the
Langue de Barbarie, the colonial waterworks at Makhana, the palace of at
Richard-Toll
Richard Toll is a town in northern Senegal, lying on the south bank of the River Senegal, just east of Rosso. Originally a colonial town, it was named for the park of the Château de Baron Roger, laid out by botanist Jean Michel Claude Richard. ...
, the
Diama Dam, and various hunting lodges on the south side of the Senegal River.
This park, which is 20 square kilometres large, occupies the southern point of the Langue de Barbarie, the estuary of the Senegal river and part of the continent. It hosts thousands of water birds like cormorants, brushes, pink flamingos, pelicans, herons and ducks each year.
The world's third largest ornithological park, it is located 60 kilometers north of Saint-Louis. This park occupies over 120 km² and includes part of the river, and many lakes, basins, and marshes. About 3 million migrating birds of 400 species visit it each year.
Located at a dozen kilometers south of the city of Saint-Louis, this reserve has an area of 7 square kilometres and shelters birds and endangered species such as the
Dama Gazelle, the
Patas monkey and the
African spurred tortoise.
Education
Education is another important facet of Saint-Louis. With a large influence over education in colonial times, Saint Louis is now a centre of educational excellence. It is home to the University Gaston Berger and The Military Academy Charles Ntchorere.
Senegal's second university, the
University Gaston Berger
Gaston Berger University (GBU), or L'Université Gaston Berger (UGB), located some outside Saint-Louis, was the second university established in Senegal (the first being Cheikh Anta Diop University). Originally the University of Saint-Louis, it w ...
, which was created in 1990, offers studies organized in a number of general education and research faculties.
The Military Academy Charles Ntchorere, commonly known as the Prytanee Militaire of Saint Louis, was created in 1922.
The École française
Antoine-de-Saint-Exupéry, a French international school serving preschool through ''collège'' (junior high school), is located in Saint-Louis.
[Présentation de l'école]
Archive
. École française Antoine-de-Saint-Exupéry. Retrieved on 3 May 2015.
Notable inhabitants
Saint Louis has been the birthplace or home of:
*
El Hadj Malick Sy
El-Hadji Malick Sy ( ff, Allaaji Maalik Si, 1853–1922) was a Senegalese religious leader and teacher in the Tijaniyya Sufi Malikite and Ash'arite brotherhood.
Life
Born in Gaya, northern Senegal, to a Fulani family, El-Hadji Malick Sy traveled ...
*
Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba Mbacké
Ahmadou Bamba Mbacke ( wo, Ahmadu Bamba Mbacke, ar, أحمد بن محمد بن حبيب الله ''Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Ḥabīb Allāh'', 1853–1927) also known to followers as Khādimu 'al-Rasūl () or "The Servant of the Messenger" a ...
*
Alfred-Amédée Dodds
*
Jean-Baptiste Labat, Abbé David Boilat, Daniel Brattier, the fathers
*
Michel Adanson, naturalist
*
Louis Faidherbe
*
Blaise Diagne
Blaise Diagne (13 October 1872 – 11 May 1934) was a Senegalese and French political leader and mayor of Dakar. He was the first person of West African origin elected to the French Chamber of Deputies, and the first to hold a position in the Fr ...
,
Lamine Guèye Lamine Gueye may refer to:
* Amadou Lamine-Guèye (1891–1968), Senegalese politician
* Lamine Guèye (skier)
Lamine Guèye (born 18 July 1960) is a Senegalese skier, and the current president of the Senegalese Ski Federation, which he founded i ...
, politicians
* Mbarick Fall aka
Battling Siki boxer
*
El Hadji Diouf football player
*
BK VEF Rīga center
Bamba Fall
Bamba Fall (born May 27, 1986) is a Senegalese professional basketball player who currently plays for Fundación CB Granada of the Spanish LEB Oro league. He played college basketball for the Southern Methodist University and represents the Senega ...
* the French photographer
François-Edmond Fortier
François-Edmond Fortier (2 September 1862, Plaine, France – 8 February 1928, Dakar, Senegal) was a French documentary photographer, editor and ethnographer.
He published over 3500 postcards of French West AfricaMOREAU, Daniela. ''Edmond Fort ...
*
Badara Ndiaye
Badara Ndiaye (born 31 March 1986 in Kaolack) is a Senegalese-born American and French visual artist, journalist, fashion designer, photographer, filmmaker, model, and former NCAA Division I basketball player.
Personal life
Ndiaye was born 31 Ma ...
(born 1986), Senegalese visual concept developer and fashion designer
*
Ismaïla Sarr football player
*
Abdoulaye Seye Senegalese Sprinter & Footballer
Twin towns – sister cities
Saint-Louis is
twinned
Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to:
* In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so;
* Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning
* Twinning inst ...
with:
*
Lille
Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the Nord ...
, France (1978)
*
Fez, Morocco (1979)
*
Liège, Belgium (1980)
*
Bologna
Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...
, Italy (1991)
*
St. Louis, United States (1994)
References
*Aïdara, Abdoul Hadir (2005), Saint-Louis du Sénégal: d'hier à aujourd'hui, Grandvaux, Brinon-sur-Sauldre.
Bibliography
External links
Senegal's decaying city of charm Tidiane Sy,
BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
, 13 May 2005.
saintlouisdusenegal.com "''Le portail touristique et culturel de Saint-Louis du Senegal''". Saint-Louis news and culture portal.
Saint-Louis du Sénégal, Ville de l'élégance et du raffinement Radio France International
Radio France Internationale, usually referred to as RFI, is the state-owned international radio broadcaster of France. With 37.2 million listeners in 2014, it is one of the most-listened-to international radio stations in the world, along with ...
, 2004.
Events in Saint-Louis, Senegal
saintlouisjazz.comfestivalmetissons.com
{{Authority control
Communes of Senegal
Populated places in Saint-Louis Region
Populated coastal places in Senegal
Regional capitals in Senegal
Senegal River
French West Africa
Populated places established in 1659
1659 establishments in Africa
1659 establishments in the French colonial empire
Saint-Louis Region
World Heritage Sites in Senegal