Monuments of Bamako: squares, statues and memorials, neighbourhood by neighbourhood

Bamako has few ancient monuments, but since independence, and above all in the 1990s, the city has filled with squares, statues and memorials. Under President Alpha Oumar Konaré (1992-2002), a former historian, a building campaign set out to give the country a national identity and a shared memory: heroes of the Manding epic, figures of independence, the martyrs of 1991. This guide presents them by theme, with their neighbourhood.

Top picks

• The Independence Monument, in Quartier du Fleuve.
• The Tower of Africa, a 46-metre baobab at the city entrance, on the airport side.
• The Modibo Keïta Memorial, at the entrance to the King Fahd bridge.
• The National Museum of Mali, about 10,000 objects and a 40,000-picture photo archive.
• On Koulouba hill, the presidential palace, the Explorers' square and the Governors' square.

Monuments to pre-colonial history

Sogolon square, in Kalaban-Coura, on the airport road. It shows the buffalo of Dô from the Manding epic and bears the name of Sogolon Koné, mother of Sundiata Keïta. Its frescoes of Malian women at work make it a tribute to Malian women.

Kontoro ni Saané square, in Niaréla, near the Russian embassy. Built in 1924 and seven metres tall, it shows three figures of traditional hunting on a fortress-shaped (tata) base: the simbo (master hunter), the sora (musician) and the donso (hunter).

The Hippopotamus, on boulevard de l'Indépendance, refers to the Manding legend of Mali Sadio; in Bambara, hippopotamus is màli.

The Ideogram Obelisk, in ACI 2000, bears ideograms from different Malian cultures and N'ko alphabet signs, recalling the Tondi Daru megaliths near Goundam.

The Three Caimans recall the city's name: Bamako means "caiman backwater" in Bambara.

Monuments of the colonial era and independence

The Independence Monument, in Quartier du Fleuve, at the start of the avenue of the same name. Of Sudanese and Middle Eastern inspiration, it is topped by a minaret; tablets at its base carry the names of the independence leaders.

The Modibo Keïta Memorial, at the entrance to the King Fahd bridge. The complex, with a documentation centre, exhibition and conference rooms, follows a Dogon ideogram and bears a statue of Mali's first president.

The Explorers' square and the Governors' square, on Koulouba hill. The first gathers busts of explorers (Eugène Mage, René Caillié, Paul Soleillet) and of Borgnis-Desbordes, who took Bamako in 1883; the second, near the palace entrance, shows twenty-six engraved portraits of governors of French Sudan.

The Monument to the Heroes of the Black Army, place de la Liberté, opposite the District town hall. Sculpted in 1922 by Paul Moreau-Vauthier and unveiled in 1924, it honours African soldiers killed in the First World War.

The Thiaroye Martyrs square, in Bagadadji, remembers the riflemen killed at Thiaroye, near Dakar, on 1 December 1944.

Mamadou Konaté square, in Hamdallaye, avenue Cheikh-Zayed, with an elephant, symbol of the African Democratic Rally (RDA) founded in Bamako in 1946. Ouezzin Coulibaly square, in Médina-Coura, honours a figure of the Upper Volta RDA.

Samory's sofa, on Koniambougou hill in the south-west of the city, recalls the battle of Woyowoyanko, won by Samory Touré's troops against the colonial army.

Pan-African and "new Mali" monuments

The Tower of Africa stands at the city entrance, on a road to the airport. Designed as a 46-metre giant baobab, it is decorated with Bambara ideograms evoking consultation, union and solidarity. Quartier du Fleuve also has the statue of Patrice Lumumba, near the monument to the martyrs of 26 March 1991.

Abdoul Karim Camara square honours the student leader who died under torture on 17 March 1980, an opponent of Moussa Traoré's regime. CAN square, in Lafiabougou, recalls the Africa Cup of Nations hosted by Mali in 2002.

The city has also taken some monuments down: the Monument to Industry was removed in 2007 to make way for goods lorries.

Major buildings to visit

The National Museum of Mali. Opened on 14 February 1953 as the Sudanese Museum, it became the National Museum at independence. It moved in 1982 into a stabilised-earth building by architect Jean-Loup Pivin, extended in 2002 with European Union support. Its collections hold about 10,000 objects (ethnography, archaeology, fine arts) and 40,000 black-and-white photographs. The museum received the Prince Claus Award in 2007 for its work against the looting of cultural property. See also our page on the National Museum and crafts.

The Great Mosque, near the Grand Market north of the river, opened on 30 July 1976 on the site of an old earthen mosque; its two concrete minarets draw on Arabian Peninsula architecture. It opens to non-Muslim visitors on some occasions.

The Sacred Heart Cathedral, begun in 1925 and completed in 1936, is a Romanesque-Byzantine stone building measuring 48 by 12 metres. It was the city's only official Catholic place of worship until 1957.

Koulouba Palace, on the hill of the same name ("the big hill"), was built between 1903 and 1907 as the governor's residence; it has housed the presidency since independence and is not open to visitors.

The BCEAO Tower, avenue Moussa-Travelle in Quartier du Fleuve, nicknamed the "crowned tower": 17 storeys, about 70 metres, designed in 1994 in neo-Sudanese style, it houses the Malian headquarters of the Central Bank of West African States.

Frequently asked questions

What is Bamako's best-known monument?

The Independence Monument in Quartier du Fleuve and the Tower of Africa at the city entrance on the airport side are the most iconic.

Can you visit the Great Mosque of Bamako?

It opens to non-Muslim visitors on some occasions.

Why does Bamako have so many recent monuments?

Many were built in the 1990s under President Alpha Oumar Konaré, to forge a national identity and memory.

Sources: Wikipedia — List of monuments of Bamako (French), Wikipedia — National Museum of Mali (French), Wikipedia — Great Mosque of Bamako (French), Wikipedia — Sacred Heart Cathedral of Bamako (French), Wikipedia — Koulouba Palace (French), Wikipedia — BCEAO Tower, Bamako (French). Further reading: Mary Jo Arnoldi, "Locating History in Concrete and Bronze: Civic Monuments in Bamako, Mali" (Smithsonian Institution).