Bagamoyo

Bagamoyo played various historical roles in Tanzania. Apart from being a slave and ivory port, it was also a German headquarter in 1891. Explorers such as Burton, Speke, Grant, Livingston and Stanley all passed in this town. The name Bagamoyo comes from Swahili words “bwaga moyo” (throw down your heart), a despair expressed by people who were captured as slaves of knowing that they face a long uncertain future. Lies 75 kilometers north of Dar es Salaam

The Bagamoyo Church: It was was built in 1868 and considered to be the first church in East Coast of Africa . A cemetery, where the early missionaries were buried and a small shrine which was built by freed slaves in 1876 are all seen. “We are told that between 1934 and 1991, 35 Dutch priests worked here” The last of this long line of priests from the Netherlands was Father Frits Versteijnen who stayed in Bagamoyo for 30 years and started the first museum in the old Fathers’ House in March 1968.

The second Fathers’ House in Bagamoyo, constructed close to the Mother of all Churches in East Africa, has also fallen victim to the corrosive effects of the coast region’s relentlessly humid climate. Its ground floor was built in 1873, the first floor in 1877 and the second floor in 1903.

Bagamoyo Museum: It is a small museum, which displays Bagamoyo history in relation to its contact with foreigners. It has old photographs, documents and relics from slave trade. On the same compound there is a small chapel know as Anglican church of Holly Cross. The church is famous for being a place where the remains of David Livingstone were laid before taken to Zanzibar en route to Westminster abbey for burial.

Bomani: The German Colonial administration headquarters, as a memorial site for the first German East African Capital.

Mwembe Kinyongo: The place that people who found guilty of misconduct, during the German colonialism in Tanganyika, used to be hanged.

German Grave Yard: the historical place where the German soldiers were buried.

Chuo cha Sanaa (College of Arts): Is the only major arts college in Tanzania, teaching various fields: dancing, music, drama and painting. It is situated along the Kaole road, close to Kaole ruins.

Ruvu River Delta: well know as Ruvu River basin, an ornithological paradise with a lot bird species, Hippo’s and other reptiles can be seen here. It is only reached by boat.