Cathedral of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception

a) Big white cathedral (starting point): 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 were hundreds of people had the opportunity to see Pope Franscisco during his visit to Mozambique (3rd to 6th September, 2019). The second but not least important visit we have had of a Pope.  Inside there is art work by Francisco Franco (statue of the sacred Heart of Christ, the baptismal figures, the bronze doors), Simões Freitas (the marble statues), and Antonio Lino (marble altars). The stained glass windows were produced in the Netherlands during the war. Today we can see different patterns on the stained glasses as result of an incident that happened in 2007 (explosion of a bunker) and caused a lot of destruction and deaths in Maputo. Nossa Senhora da Conceição is a nice example of the lots of Art Deco buildings we have in Maputo. Some people even say that if we join all the Art Deco buildings we have in Maputo, this could maybe be a little Miami

b) Town hall : was designed and built in the 1940’s by architects Carlos César dos Santos, Franz Keindl and Aranaldo 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. Instead of the present day statue of Samora Machel, there used to be equestrian statue of Mousinho de Albulquerque (now in the fort). The building together with the cathedral used to be the pride of Portuguese Mozambique. Inside we have nice models of the old Lourenço Marques (present day Maputo) and a nice hall to see.