Lusaka heritage has surprising a lot to offer; from prehistoric sites to modern places to visit.
Recent Lusaka heritage places to visit
Located at Embassy park, on Independence Avenue, opposite Cabinet office. This is the burial site for the second, third and fifth presidents of the Republic of Zambia; Fredrick T. J. Chiluba, Levy P. Mwanawasa and Micheal C. Sata, respectively. This is one of the key Lusaka heritage sites.
The design of each Mausoleum tells the story of each of our late presidents, for instance: President Chiluba declared Zambia a Christian nation and there is a cross above his mausoleum; President Mwanawasa was the first president to be lost in office and his mausoleum is designed like a stool, and President Sata declared that his rule would be based on the 10 commandments and they are written around his resting place. It is currently the most visited Lusaka heritage site.
Located on Independence avenue next to the Freedom statue and Government complex, it boasts two galleries, on the ground floor and the on the upper floor (main exhibition space) of the museum building. It was officially opened on October 25, 1996, and shows Zambia’s and Lusaka heritage:
- Archaeology
- History
- Ethnography (people and culture)
Key exhibitions include; archaeological remains, Broken Hill Man (Kabwe), bomb fragment from Kavalamanja attack during the struggle for Zimbabwe’s independence and Zambia’s cultural heritage.
Next to Heroes Stadium, where 30 victims of the April 1993 Gabon Air Disaster are buried including the 18 members of the Zambia national football team, 4 coaching staff, a FAZ official, a public servant, a journalist and 5 ZAF crew members.
Situated along Great East road opposite Arcades shopping centre, it is used for both local and international conferences. It was built, in September 1970, for the third Summit Conference of Non-Aligned Nations in just four (4) months.
Located off Great East road at Manda Hill (ancient burial site) adjacent to Mulungushi International Conference Centre. It was opened in 1967 and has housed parliament, to-date.
Along the Great east road and 4 KM from the CBD, it was opened in 1966 as Zambia’s first university. In November 1963, the Lockwood Commission unanimously recommended the establishment of a University in Lusaka, paving way for its’ establishment. In October 1965, The President Dr Kaunda gave his assent to Act Number 66 of 1965, and its commencement on 12 November 1965 of the same year brought the University of Zambia into legal existence.
Early Industrial Lusaka heritage places to visit
Located between Great East, ZESCO and Sadzu roads, Lusaka. It is Lusaka’s first major source of thermal power, opened in 1943 and closed in 1970. It cost an estimated £60, 000 to construct. Loc@tion
This is one of the most visible Lusaka heritage site, located next to the central business district.
Completed in 1927 and used as an agricultural merchant’s shop (machinery and fertilisers) and has an important place in Lusaka’s agricultural history. It was one of the first shops on Cairo road and is located at the junction of Cairo and Kalundwe roads, In the central business district.
The current location of the National Milling Company Limited. It is located near to north end of Cairo Road, in the central business district.
The Kiln was used from 1919 to 1922, for manufacturing lime for industrial use. Operations ceased soon after the death of its founder, Mr Govianni Marrapodi.
It was built in 1909, at the Cairo and Chiparamba roads junction, it is one of Lusaka’s earliest surviving buildings. It was once called Fisher’s complex but is now called Limbe shopping complex.
Pre-independence Lusaka heritage places to visit
Lusaka heritage includes many pre-independence site; documenting the struggle for independence:
Rhodesian forces bombed the bridge along Great East road adjacent the Zambia National Service Chongwe camp, on 19th October 1079. Eight (8) Zambian army personnel and a boy were killed and buried, on the banks of the Chongwe, less than a kilometre from the bridge.
Kavalamanja camp
Located 22 kilometres west of Luangwa town, it held Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA), the armed wing of the Zimbabwe African People’s Union, Zambian soldiers and Chinese contractors.
On March 6, 1978, the Rhodesian Army attacked Luangwa district, specifically Kavalamanja and nearby Kakaro village in a battle that was to last for 72 hours.
Nampundwe camp
Located 35 kilometres south-west of Lusaka and functioned as a transit camp for male recruits in the Zimbabwe freedom fight. There are defence trenches all around the site and graves of young Zimbabwean fighters that lost their lives during bombing raids.
Chikumbi freedom camp
About 20 kilometres outside Lusaka. It was the Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) headquarters in Zambia. The Chikumbi Massacre happened on 19th October 1978, killing and injuring almost 1000 people. Ian Smith’s Rhodesian air force fighter planes that dropped conventional 1,000-pounders, golf bombs and Alpha ‘bouncing’ bombs on a pass out parade.
Unveiled on October 23, 1974, and situated next to the Government complex and Lusaka National Museum, on independence avenue, is dedicated to those who fought and died for Zambia’s independence. It is a depiction of a man breaking his chains symbolises the country’s break with colonial bondage and is based on Mpundu Mutembo born in 1936 in Mbala, Northern Province. He was a National Youth Chairperson during the independence struggle.
Legend has it that 18 armed soldiers arrested and handcuffed him then ordered him to break free from the chains or be instantly shot dead. He then broke the chains. This is another key Lusaka heritage site.
Along Freedom Way, in the central business district, from where the United National Independence Party (UNIP) manifesto of 1962 was launched. This was an important building in Zambia’s struggle for independence.
Lusaka occupied by Dr K. D. Kaunda, Zambia’s first republican president from January 1960 to December 1962, from where he directed the struggle for independence. Dr Kaunda officially opened the monument in October 1968. Two exhibitions are available:
- Personal effects, furniture and utensil, of the Kaunda’s
- History of Lusaka from the earliest time to independence, 1964
The Land Rover used by Dr Kaunda and colleagues during the independence struggle is also available on the site. This is a popular Lusaka heritage site that should be visited by all that come to Lusaka city.
Located on Monze Road, Matero Township. Between 1959 and 1961, it was the headquarters of the United National Independence Party (UNIP).
Along Luwembu Street, Old Chilenje, was the first office of the Zambia African National Congress.
Colonial Era Lusaka heritage places to visit
Colonial era Lusaka heritage and also still be found, most of them in good condition:
Now Kabwata Cultural Village where hand carvings, crafts and curios can be bought, it was part of 500 round one-roomed houses with thatched roofs. The artists in the village stem from all the provinces in Zambia. The cultural village is located on Burma Road, off Independence Avenue, in “Kabwata”, named after Chief Lusaaka’s son.
They were built in the late 1930s to 1940s for single male labourers, by the colonial government. Most of the roundaveles have been replaced by houses and high rise flats.
Located at the Katondo street and Freedom way junction, in the central business district, it served as the first post office in Lusaka. It was opened in 1933. It is being used as a post office, again, after many years as a secondary school.
It is a depiction of Dutch architecture and is located on the Great North road, villa Elizabertha, and build in 1933. The residence, however, was built earlier in 1926.
Historic depiction of Dutch architecture in Zambia, it is also located on the Great North Road, villa Elizabertha. It was built in 1932.
Also known as the Old Secretariat. It is located along Independence Avenue, at what in now Cabinet Office, opposite the Presidential Park memorial site. It was built in 1932 and housed colonial and post-colonial assemblies until 1967 when the current Parliament building at Manda Hill was opened.
The building currently housing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and located at the intersection between Independence avenue and Haile Selassie road. It was used by the British South African Company (BSAC), responsible for management and administration of Northern Rhodesia, up to 1924.
It was opened in 1922 and named after Dr Aylmer, the country’s first chief medical officer. It was officially closed in 1958, although there have been some burials after that. It was a burial site for the English, Jews, members of the Dutch Reformed and Roman Catholic churches. It is the only public cemetery with a chapel erected on a grave; the grave of Audrey Mary Elizabeth Murray. The Murray Memorial Chapel was built in 1928.
It is located in Rhodespark, on Lagos road.
As part of Lusaka’s development programme, trees were planted in 1921 and 1994, along the city’s main thoroughfare. The trees divide the wide dual carriageway, Cairo road.
The first residential house in Lusaka and was the residence for Govianni Marrapodi. He was an Italian contractor working on the railway line. It is currently a restaurant and was built in 1921.
Originally called the Counsell’s hotel, it was the first hotel in the city of Lusaka, opened in 1912. It is located on Cairo Road in the central business district. Its main entrance has been moved from Cairo road to Katondo street as part of the hotel’s redevelopment and refurbishment.
Established in 1910, it was the first government school in Lusaka, for children of the European farmers. It is located on Dedan Kimathi road, the site originally established as a European school, in 1908, by the Dutch Reformed church.
When Lusaka girls’ school was opened in 1939, it ceased to be a co-education school and became a boys-only school. The buildings now house the National Heritage Conservation Commission’s East Central Region and Headquarters.
It was built in 1906 as a railway station, making it one of the earliest surviving buildings in Lusaka. White passengers bought their tickets in the foyer inside, while black Africans used the small window in front of the building. An easy to access Lusaka heritage site, right in the centre of the CBD, next to the junction of Heros Pl and Sapele Ave.
Prehistoric Lusaka heritage places to visit
Prehistoric Lusaka heritage can be found in the centre of Lusaka town and also spread around the province:
This important archaeological site was named Ing’ombe Ilede because of a huge Baobab tree to the western end of the site that bears a resemblance to a sleeping cow. The site was discovered in 1960 during the construction of a pump house for the supply of water to surrounding villages. The site was an Iron Age village from about 700-1000AD and about 1400AD and a centre of trade evidenced by textile, copper ore, ceramics, gold, glass beads, copper currency crosses, and copper ore ingots and other findings. It is located in Siavonga near the Kariba dam.
This is a geomorphological and archaeological site with relics from the middle iron age to the early iron age. The geological formation of Lusaka can be seen at the caves.
Chakeluka/ Twickenham Road Archaeological Site, Chakeluka Road, Olympia Park, Lusaka. Evidence of the transition from the Early Iron Age (EIA) to the Later Iron Age (LIA), in the region, comes from this site. This is another easy to access Lusaka heritage site, behind the popular Manda Hill Mall.