Benguela exists in the country’s collective psyche in a way no other city does. It’s a place that’s inspired poets, musicians, writers and artists.
Benguela, the second-oldest Portuguese-founded city in Angola, has existed since 1617 and is in the western part of the country. As a coastal city — a as Benguela is known — it is spoilt for beaches, fresh seafood, the type of climate that makes you want to be outdoors and gorgeous people with open hearts.Perhaps the darkest part of this city’s history coincides with its colonial past, when Benguela was a slave port.
Paradoxically, Benguela’s colonial past richly contributes to the architecture that gives this city its charm. The wide, tree-lined avenues are dotted with centuries-old churches and palaces, gardens and plazas, and on the edges of the city are sprawling shanty towns to remind us of all the refugees that arrived from the interior, driven by Angola’s decades-long civil war .
To further delve into Benguela’s past, the Archeology Museum, one of the oldest buildings still standing in the city, is a must. The museum no longer houses much, but in centuries past slaves were held here before being put on wooden vessels that sailed to Brazil and Cuba. A deeply Catholic city, Benguela has several significant churches. Among the more famous ones are the Our Lady of Fátima Cathedral, an imposing triangular structure that took 40 years to complete, and the unmistakable Our Lady of Pópulo, an architectural treasure built in the 17th century with stones brought over from Brazil to steady the slave ships as they made their journey back.
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