Lambaréné is a town and the capital of Moyen-Ogooué in

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the nort ...

. It has a population of 38,775 as of 2013, and is located 75 kilometres south of the

equator The equator is a circle of latitude, about in circumference, that divides Earth into the Northern and Southern hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, halfway between the North and South poles. The term can also ...

. Lambaréné is based in the Central African Rainforest at the river Ogooué. This river divides the city into 3 districts: Rive Gauche, Ile Lambaréné and Rive Droite. The

Albert Schweitzer Hospital Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Albert C ...

and the districts Adouma and Abongo are located on Rive Droite. The districts Atongowanga, Sahoty, Dakar, Grand Village, Château, Lalala and Bordamur build the Ile Lambaréné. The majority of the people in Lambaréné live in the district Isaac located on Rive Gauche. This district hosts the

Lambaréné Airport Lambaréné Airport is an airport serving the city of Lambaréné in the Moyen-Ogooué Province of Gabon. The runway has and additional of unpaved overrun on the northeastern end. The Lambarene non-directional beacon (Ident: LB) is located so ...

. Today Lambaréné is inhabited mainly by

Bantu Bantu may refer to: *Bantu languages, constitute the largest sub-branch of the Niger–Congo languages *Bantu peoples, over 400 peoples of Africa speaking a Bantu language * Bantu knots, a type of African hairstyle * Black Association for Nationa ...

ethnic groups such as the

Fang A fang is a long, pointed tooth. In mammals, a fang is a modified maxillary tooth, used for biting and tearing flesh. In snakes, it is a specialized tooth that is associated with a venom gland (see snake venom). Spiders also have external fa ...

Bapounou The Punu or Bapunu (Pungwe, Pungu, Uréwé) (''Sira, Ban Sira''), are a Bantu meta-ethnicity of Gabon and the Republic of Congo. History According to Magang-Ma-Mbuju and Mbumb Bwass the Punu people come from the people called «Jagas» and come ...

, Eshira, and Myéné; these displaced the Pygmies to the east and north of Gabon. The main economic activity in the town is the fishery and a new port is under construction.

Schweitzer

The Franco-German

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winner

Albert Schweitzer Ludwig Philipp Albert Schweitzer (; 14 January 1875 – 4 September 1965) was an Alsatian-German/French polymath. He was a theologian, organist, musicologist, writer, humanitarian, philosopher, and physician. A Lutheran minister, Schweit ...

(1875–1965) founded his hospital in Lambaréné in 1913. Today, the Hôpital Albert Schweitzer comprises departments of Internal Medicine,

Surgery Surgery ''cheirourgikē'' (composed of χείρ, "hand", and ἔργον, "work"), via la, chirurgiae, meaning "hand work". is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a person to investigate or treat a pa ...

Paediatric Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until the ...

s, a maternity clinic, a dentistry clinic and since 1981 a Medical Research Unit, which focuses on

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. ...

research.

Climate

Lambaréné has a

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry winter) and ''As'' (for a dry summer). The driest month has less than of ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

''Aw''). The average temperature at Lambaréné is 27 °C. The rainy season starts in October and ends in June (including a short dry season in December/January). The long dry season is from July to September.

Notable residents

Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza Pietro Paolo Savorgnan di Brazzà, later known as Pierre Paul François Camille Savorgnan de Brazza; 26 January 1852 – 14 September 1905), was an Italian-born, naturalized French explorer. With his family's financial help, he explored the Ogoou ...

, Italo-French explorer and later colonial governor of French Equatorial Africa, resided at Lambaréné on several occasions. *

Rose Francine Rogombé Rose Francine Rogombé (''née'' Etomba) (20 September 1942 – 10 April 2015) was a Gabonese politician who was Acting President of Gabon from June 2009 to October 2009, following the death of long-time President Omar Bongo. She constitutional ...

, Interim President following the death of

Omar Bongo El Hadj Omar Bongo Ondimba (born Albert-Bernard Bongo; 30 December 1935 – 8 June 2009) was a Gabonese politician who was the second President of Gabon for 42 years, from 1967 until his death in 2009. Omar Bongo was promoted to key positions as ...

, was born in Lambaréné. *

André Raponda Walker André Raponda Walker (1871–1968) was a Gabonese author, ethnographer, Catholic priest, and missionary. Walker wrote extensively about Gabonese language and culture.Biography of Raponds Walker
Serigne Ahmadou Bamaba Mbacke - spiritual leader of Mouridism was exiled in Lambrene by The French Colonialist for 7 years accessed 11 August 2008

References

Bibliography

*Maria Petringa, ''Brazza, A Life for Africa''. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse, 2006.

External links

Medical Research Unit, Albert Schweitzer Hospital Lambaréné

Austrian Social Service in Lambaréne
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lambarene Populated places in Moyen-Ogooué Province