M'banza Kongo, World Heritage Site

M'banza Kongo, capital of Zaire province, was the political and spiritual seat of the Reino do Kongo (Kingdom of Kongo), one of the largest states in southern Africa between the fourteenth and nineteenth centuries. The city sits on a plateau near the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo and is said to have been founded around 1390 by Lukeni lua Nimi. In 2017 UNESCO inscribed it on the Património Mundial (World Heritage) list as the remains of the capital of the former kingdom.

You explore the historic centre on foot. The Kulumbimbi is the ruin of the church begun in 1491, when King Nzinga a Nkuwu was baptised with the name João I. It was raised to cathedral status in 1596 and is considered one of the oldest in sub-Saharan Africa. The cemetery of the kings of Kongo lies within the same grounds.

Nearby, the former royal palace, dating from 1901, houses the Museu Regional do Reino do Kongo (Regional Museum of the Kingdom of Kongo). In its grounds stands the Yala Nkuwu, a centuries-old tree where the traditional authorities held trials. You complete the circuit with the Tadi dia Bukikua and the tomb of Dona Mpolo.

From the sixteenth century the city was called São Salvador do Congo, and it only regained its old name after independence.