Kisantu, is a town in the western

Democratic Republic of 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 ...

, lying south west of

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ln, Kinsásá), formerly Léopoldville ( nl, Leopoldstad), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages situated along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one o ...

, on the

Inkisi River The Inkisi River is the last (closest to the rivermouth) of the larger tributaries of the great Congo River, being the first south bank (left side) tributary, located in Western Central Africa. The township of Zongo is situated close to the conflu ...

. It is known for its large

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

and for its

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

s, which include an

arboretum An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...

of indigenous trees.

Location

Kisantu is located in Kongo Central Province, along the eastern bank of the Inkisi River, as it flows northwards to empty into 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 ...

. On the western bank of the river, is the settlement called Inkisi. Sometimes the metropolitan area is referred to as Inkisi-Kisantu. This is approximately northeast of the city of

Matadi Matadi is the chief sea port of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the capital of the Kongo Central province, adjacent to the border with Angola. It had a population of 245,862 (2004). Matadi is situated on the left bank of the Congo River, ...

, the provincial headquarters. Kisantu is located approximately southwest of the city of

, the national capital. The geographical coordinates of the town are: 05°07'44.0"S, 15°05'05.0"E (Latitude:-5.128889; Longitude:15.084722). The town is located at an average elevation of above

mean sea level There are several kinds of mean in mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. ...

Overview

One of the tourist attractions to he town is the Kisantu Botanical Gardens (French: Jardin Botanique de Kisantu (KISA)). The were established in 1990 by Father Justin Gillet, a

Jesuit priest , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...

. Between 2004 and 2008, the gardens were rehabilitated with "the support of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

and the National Botanic Garden of Belgium". The botanical gardens occupy an area that measures approximately , bordered to the west by the Inkisi River. There are over of roads and pedestrian pathways within the gardens. The gardens attract researchers, botanists, naturalists, school children and ordinary tourists from inside and outside the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Population

As of October 2022, the article in this reference estimated the population of Kisantu Town at approximately 78,000 people.

Transport

Kisantu is served by a station on the national railway system. It also has an

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...

. A good national road (N1), leads north to Kinshasa and southwest to he port city of

Prominent people

The legendary DR Congolese saxophonist, composer, bandleader, producer, record label founder, and music-business executive,

Verckys Kiamuangana Mateta Georges Kiamuangana Mateta (19 May 1944 – 13 October 2022), known professionally as Verckys, was a Congolese saxophonist, composer, bandleader, producer, record label founder, and music-business executive. He was renowned as a talented and ...

(19 May 1944 – 13 October 2022), was born in Kisantu.

References

External links

Prevalence of ''Schistosoma mansoni'' Infection in Four Health Areas of Kisantu Health Zone, Democratic Republic of the Congo
by R. Khonde Kumbu, Mbanzulu Makola, and Lu Bin. ''Hindawi Journal'': Volume 2016 , Article ID 6596095 , https://doi.org/10.1155/2016/6596095 {{Authority control Populated places in Kongo Central