Independence Square) is a public square and focal point of Maputo, Mozambique. It was built by the Portuguese as Praça Mouzinho de Albuquerque (Mouzinho de Albuquerque Square) and was dominated by a statue of Mouzinho de Albuquerque,the former governor-general of Portuguese. The statue of Mouzinho on horseback was inaugurated in 1940. After the independence of Mozambique in 1975 the square was renamed Praça da Independência, and the statue of Mouzinho de Albuquerque was removed to the Fortress and replaced by a statue of Samora Machael (1933-1986), the first president of Mozambique.

It is officially called Nossa Senhora da Conceição, the cathedral (as it is mostly known) or demon’s cathedral was built in the 1930’s – 1940’s by Marcial Simões Freitas e Costa, who was a deputy director of the railways at the time and worked free of charge. The construction was a major feat for the catholic church of the time, which was still reeling under the effects of the revolution of the 1910 in Portugal and had a very weak presence in Mozambique. This was one of the places in the city where hundreds of people had the opportunity to see Pope Francisco during his visit to Mozambique (3rd to 6th September, 2019). The second but not least important visit we have had of a Pope.

It was designed and built in the 1940’s by architects Carlos César dos Santos, Franz Keindl and Arnaldo Pacheco Pereira Leite. In front of it, in the Lisbon–style pavement used to be inscribed the words, “Aqui é Portugal” (this is Portugal), the words of president Américo Tomás when he visited Mozambique in 1964.

Statue of the first president: The Samora Machel Statue is a bronze sculpture located in the center of Praça da Independência. The statue depicts Samora Machel (1933-1986), military, revolutionary, and the first President of Mozambique. The statue was designed and constructed in Pyongyang, North Korea, by the Mansudae Overseas Projects, an arm of the Mansudae Art Studio. It stands 9 meters and weighs 4.8 tons.

Iron house was designed by Gustave Eiffel, the building was brought pre-fabricated from Belgium in 1892 and assembled outside what was the town by those days. He liked neither the building (lets imagine why – an iron house in a hot country like Mozambique + no air conditioners) nor the isolated site. So the court of justice was supposed to move in but did not want to.

Before independence, the garden was called Vasco da Gama, in homage to the Portuguese explorer but right after independence the name changed, just like the name of the city, avenues

Central Market: The best market in Maputo –fresh and clean– was built in 1901 by David Carvalho with iron elements imported from Belgium. Come here if you want to get ingredients for a very Mozambican dish. You can buy here Cassava leaves here to prepare the famous Matapa with prawns and even get tips from the ladies on how to make it.

It is sometimes said to be the most beautiful in southern Africa. The Maputo central station is on an America magazine list of the most beautiful train stations worldwide as the 3rd most beautiful.

Located in the Praça Travessia do Zambeze, the museum used to be called Museu Álvaro de Castro and was built in 1931–1933 in neo–Manueline (a kind of Portuguese gothic style) by the municipal engineer António Ribeiro de Mendonça. The original idea had been to build a school. Worth mentioning are the collection of elephant fetuses aged 1 month to 20 months and realistic wildlife scenes (e.g. lioness tearing a zebra carcass), both are to be found in the big room downstairs.

Artists association, school for many Mozambican artists. There is a really nice gallery and ateliers of the artists working there. The artists are always happy to let people see them working on their paintings and sculptures. Eugenio Mucavele, always calm and concentrated, is one of the most if not the most experienced artists we always meet when we go to Núcleo.

Handicraft market with nice restaurants. This is the ideal place to buy souvenirs to take back home. From fridge magnets to capulanas!

The Jewish Synagogue was designed in 1926 by Couto Martins of the Public Works Department in the Portuguese Baroque revival style; the constructor was Raimundo Moreira. The congregation was founded in 1899 by Reverend Dr. Joseph Herman Hertz who stayed in Lourenço Marques for a week on his way into exile to Durban from Johannesburg where president Kruger had made him leave because of his pro-British opinions.

We will be visiting Gonçalo Mabunda's workshop! He is an artist and anti-war activist. Mabunda has exhibited important museums such as in Paris the Venice Biennale, the Museum of Art in New York , the Hayward Gallery in London, Mabunda’s workshop is filled with remains of shotguns, AK-47s, rockets and chairs made using these artefacts. In his online site, Mabunda says the thrones – one of his trademark images – function as attributes of power, tribal symbols and traditional pieces of ethnic African art.