Lubango, formerly known asSá da Bandeira, is a municipality inAngola, capital of theHuíla Province, with a population of 914,456 in 2022.[2] The city center had a population of 600,751 in 2014[3] making it the second-most populous city inAngola after the capital cityLuanda.
In 1882 approximately one thousandPortuguese settlers came from the island ofMadeira to the area of current-dayLubango. These Portuguese farmers helped develop the region and founded the settlement. The city, originally established in 1885 to serve colonists from the Madeira Islands, lies at an elevation of 1,760 metres in a valley of theHuíla Plateau and was surrounded by a scenic park spreading up the mountain slopes.[citation needed]
By 1910 there were over 1,700 ethnic Portuguese living in the settlement, which was referred to as "Lubango". By 1923 theMoçâmedes Railway had connected the settlement to the town ofMoçâmedes in the coast. ThePortuguese government made it a city and renamed it "Sá da Bandeira", afterBernardo de Sá, 1st Marquess of Sá da Bandeira. Once the major centre ofPortuguese settlement, it was built in aPortuguese style of architecture, with acathedral,commerce hall, industrial hall, and asecondary school, and, like every Portuguese city or town in the mainland and the overseas territories, it would have the Portuguese town hall, the hospital and the typicalCTT post office, besides banking (most prominently theBanco Nacional Ultramarino - BNU), insurance and other services as well. The city developed as a notableagricultural andtransportation centre, with its own airport and railway station, as well as major maintenance and repair facilities for them.[citation needed]
SeveralBasters (children of African andCape ColonyDutch descent) emigrated fromNamibia to Angola and settled inLubango, where they are known as the Ouivamo. Many of them were forced to return toNamibia between 1928 and 1930 by white South Africans.
After Angola's Independence fromPortugal due to the events of the April 25, 1974Carnation Revolution inLisbon, the city was once again renamed Lubango. During theAngolan Civil War (1975–2002),Lubango served as a major base ofCuban,SWAPO, and government troops. Its once-thriving economy plummeted.
A number of Angolan banks, like BAI or BPC offer good financial services, and it is possible to receive funds from outside Angola by way of electronic fund transfer into these banks. ATMs are available around the city, but they disbursekwanza, which is the local currency. In the markets US dollars orkwanza are both acceptable.
The main shopping plaza inLubango is a newly built Mall called "Milleneum", where most products of daily use as well as other products like cosmetics, shoes, clothes, etc. are available.
The town is served by theMoçâmedes Railway, known as CFM. It is the junction for the branch railway toChiange. Also the town is serviced by taxis (mostly shared) which run in circles around the city. One can hire personal taxis which are marked "PARTICULAR". Walking around town is also a good way to exploreLubango. Bus services are available from Lubito and the buses run by a firm called "SGO" are pretty comfortable.
The town has aPortuguese international school, theEscola Portuguesa do Lubango (Portuguese School of Lubango),[6] and theInstituto Superior Politécnico Gregório Semedo (Gregório Semedo Polytechnical Institute)[7] that offers degree courses in various disciplines.
With an altitude of 1,760 metres (5,774 ft) above sea level,Lubango is one of the highest places inAngola. The city features asubtropical highland climate (Cwb) under theKöppen climate classification. The climate is hot and humid during the day and cool to cold at night. The annual average temperature is 18.6 °C (65.5 °F), though there are extremes of 0 to 34.4 °C (32.0 to 93.9 °F). June and July are cold when frosts are possible, albeit rare. The heaviest rains are between December and March, and the warmest months are September and October.
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