Aného, previously known as Anecho, Petit Popo or Little Popo, is a town in southeastern

Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, the east and Burkina Faso to Burkina Faso–Togo border, the north. It is one of the le ...

, lying on the

Gulf of Guinea The Gulf of Guinea (French language, French: ''Golfe de Guinée''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Golfo de Guinea''; Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Golfo da Guiné'') is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean from Cape Lopez i ...

near the border of

Benin Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It was formerly known as Dahomey. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its po ...

. It is situated 45 km east of the capital

Lomé Lomé ( , ) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities in Togo, largest city of Togo. It has an urban population of 837,437

, between the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

and Lake Togo in Maritime Region.

History

Founded in the late 17th century by Ane people fleeing from Denkyira attacks in Elmina (now in Ghana), Aného developed as a Portuguese slave market and commercial center. The town sheltered Ofori, the king of

Accra Accra (; or ''Gaga''; ; Ewe: Gɛ; ) is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , had a population of ...

, after his kingdom was conquered by the Akwamu Kingdom. Little Popo suffered the same fate in April 1702. It was the capital of German Togoland from 1885 to 1887.The nearby town of Zebe became the second

capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

of German Togoland in 1887. It gradually declined in importance after the capital was transferred to Lomé in 1897, a decline exacerbated by

coastal erosion Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the long-term removal of sediment and rocks along the coastline due to the action of Wind wave, waves, Ocean current, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts ...

. Aneho was the capital of the French occupation from 1914 to 1920. Aného remains an important intellectual center for Togo, though it has not grown as rapidly as Togo’s other major cities. Its estimated population in 2005 was 25,400.

Attractions

The town's main industries are

farming Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

and

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

, while it is still a center for Voodoo. Notable buildings include Aneho Protestant Church (built in 1895) and Aneho Peter and Paul Church, cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Aného, dating from 1898. These buildings were together added to the UNESCO Tentative List on December 12, 2000, in the Cultural category.Agglomération Aného-Glidji - UNESCO World Heritage Centre
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Climate

References

External links

Communes page
Populated places in Maritime Region, Togo Cantons of Togo {{Togo-geo-stub

History

Attractions

Climate

See also

References

External links