Kongo Kingdom Regional Museum

The Museu Regional do Reino do Kongo (Regional Museum of the Kingdom of Kongo), known until 2023 as the Museu dos Reis do Kongo, occupies the former royal palace of M'banza Kongo, built in 1901, at the heart of the UNESCO-listed historic centre.

There are six small rooms. At the entrance you will see portraits of the kings and an image of D. Henrique, son of the King of Kongo and the first Black African bishop, consecrated in 1520. The collection is divided into four sections: the history, geography and politics of the kingdom; social and economic organisation, including iron and metalwork; music and instruments for long-distance communication; and the kingdom's opening up to the Western world.

In the display cases you will find zimbos, the small shells that were used as currency, symbols of royal power, clothing, traditional medicine objects and a replica of the Pedra de Yalala (Yalala Stone), bearing inscriptions left by Diogo Cão.

The museum once held more than 2 000 pieces. It was closed from 1982 to 2007, and war and neglect took many of them; today it displays just over a hundred, and the State is trying to recover pieces held abroad. Within the grounds stands the Yala Nkuwu, the centuries-old tree where traditional trials were held.