Lubumbashi

According to estimates, Lubumbashi is the second or third most populous town of the Democratic Republic of Congo, a status to which the town of Mbuji-Mayi also lays claim. It is smaller than Kinshasa. Lubumbashi is the capital of the province of Katanga. It is also known as the copper capital.

Founded in 1910 by the Belgians under the name of Elisabethville, often abbreviated to “E'ville”, the town was renamed Lubumbashi in 1965. It was also the name of the capital of the self-proclaimed state of Katanga (1960-1963), at the instigation of Moïse Tshombe.