Loango, Republic of Congo
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Loango | |
|---|---|
  Loango Location in the Republic of the Congo | |
| Coordinates: 4°39′22″S 11°48′41″E / 4.65611°S 11.81139°E | |
| Country | Republic of the Congo |
| Department | Kouilou |
| District | Loango |
| Founded | c. 16th century |
| Founded by | Bakongo (Bavili), Kingdom of Loango |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 |
Loango (can also be written as Luango, Lwango, Luangu, Lwangu, Luaangu or Lwaangu) is a town of the Republic of the Congo. Located on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, Loango had a population of 21,016 in 2023, the date of the country's last official census.[1]
Since 2011 it has been the capital of the Kouilou Department and of the new Loango District.[2]
Loango lies on the south coast of the Loango Bay, to the southwest of Diosso, a few kilometers north of the city of Pointe-Noire.[3]
History
Diosso was the former capital of the Kingdom of Loango and home to its rulers' mausoleum.[4] Roman Catholic missionaries were active in Diosso, which had a royal palace.[5] The port of Loango was formerly a major slavery port, but the site has now been abandoned and few traces remain.[6]
The first radiotelegraph link in the tropics, between Brazzaville and Loango, was created around 1910 using techniques developed by Joseph Bethenod, chief engineer of the Société française radio-électrique (SFR).[7]
