Missahoé is a

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 ...

lese commune located in the

Kloto Prefecture Kloto is a prefecture located in the Plateaux Region of Togo. The prefecture seat is located in Kpalimé. It is home to the Château Vial. The prefecture covers 508 km2, with a population in 2022 of 145,986. Cantons A canton is a type of ...

, in the southwestern part of

in the Plateaux region. It is situated in the center of the Missahoé protected forest, to which it gave its name, and near

Kpalimé Kpalimé is a city in the Plateaux Region, Togo, Plateaux Region of Togo, 120 km north of Lomé and 15 km from the Ghana–Togo border, border with Ghana. It is the administrative capital of Kloto Prefecture. Kpalimé has a population ...

and Agomé-Yoh. The commune retains some colonial remains and is close to the most visited

waterfall A waterfall is any point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in seve ...

in Togo, Kamalo Falls.

History

Pre-colonial situation

Colonization

The small commune was named by the

colonial administrator Colonialism is the control of another territory, natural resources and people by a foreign group. Colonizers control the political and tribal power of the colonised territory. While frequently an Imperialism, imperialist project, colonialism c ...

and governor of German Togoland,

Jesko von Puttkamer Jesko Albert Eugen von Puttkamer (2 July 1855 – 23 January 1917) was a German diplomat, colonial administrator, and military officer who served as colonial governor of German Kamerun from 1895 to 1907. Early life and career Jesko von P ...

, in 1890. It is not an

endonym An endonym (also known as autonym ) is a common, name for a group of people, individual person, geographical place, language, or dialect, meaning that it is used inside a particular group or linguistic community to identify or designate them ...

but an

exonym An endonym (also known as autonym ) is a common, name for a group of people, individual person, geographical place, language, or dialect, meaning that it is used inside a particular group or linguistic community to identify or designate them ...

, as von Puttkamer named the locality 'Misahöhe' in honor of his former lover, a Hungarian princess, Mária Esterházy von Galantha, nicknamed Misa. It was a strategic location for the colonizers due to its high altitude and cool climate, and they made build for them the governor's house, a

courthouse A courthouse or court house is a structure which houses judicial functions for a governmental entity such as a state, region, province, county, prefecture, regency, or similar governmental unit. A courthouse is home to one or more courtrooms, ...

, a prison, and a German cemetery there. During French colonization, which succeeded German colonization, in 1934, a

meteorological station A weather station is a facility, either on land or sea, with instruments and equipment for measuring atmospheric conditions to provide information for weather forecasts and to study the weather and climate. The measurements taken include tempera ...

was installed in the commune.

Post-colonial Togo

At the beginning of the 21st century, the majority of the population in the entire region is composed of the

Ewe people The Ewe people (; , lit. "Ewe people"; or ''Mono Kple Amu (Volta) Tɔ́sisiwo Dome'', lit. "Between the Rivers Mono and Volta"; ''Eʋenyígbá'' Eweland) are a Gbe languages, Gbe-speaking ethnic group. The largest population of Ewe people is in G ...

, and the 11 communes surrounding the protected forest had a combined population of 25,845 inhabitants. The house of the German governor still exists in the village. Coffee and cocoa cultivation is very widespread around the commune.

Climate

In 2013 the region's rainfall varied between 1400 and 1800 mm, with 2 to 3 months of

dry season The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The t ...

each year. The maximum temperature recorded at that time was 34 degrees, and the minimum was 18 degrees.

Hydrography

The commune is located near Kamalo Falls, the most visited waterfall in Togo.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Missahoe Populated places in Plateaux Region, Togo Cities in Kloto (prefecture)