Matadi

The market, 1899

Matadi was near the site of the state of Vungu, which was first mentioned in 1535 [4] and was said to be destroyed in 1624.

Matadi itself was founded by Sir Henry Morton Stanley in 1879. It was strategically important because it was the last navigable port going upstream on the Congo River; it became the furthest inland port in the Congo Free State. The construction of the Matadi–Kinshasa Railway (built between 1890 and 1898) made it possible to transport goods from deeper within Congo's interior to the port of Matadi, stimulating the city to become an important trading center. Portuguese and French West-African commercial interests influenced the city's architecture and urban design, which borrowed from the neighboring colonies in Angola and the Congo-Brazzaville.[5]

The word Matadi means stone in the local Kikongo language. The town is built on steep hills. A local saying is that to live in Matadi, you must know the verbs "to go up", "to go down", and "to sweat". Upstream is a series of caves known as the "rock of Diogo Cão", after graffiti carved by the Portuguese explorer in 1485 marking the limit of his travels up the Congo River.

Yelala Rapids lies near the city.

Matadi has a relatively dry tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw) with a lengthy dry season from June to September due to the northerly extension of the cold, foggy Benguela Current.

Former building of M'pozo dam in Matadi.

Matadi train station, September 2015

The mouth of the Congo forms one of Africa's largest harbours. In addition to Matadi, which is the furthest upriver, three ports are located within it, the others being Boma and Banana in DR Congo and Soyo in Angola. Matadi serves as a major import and export point for the whole nation. Chief exports are coffee and timber. The state fishing company "Pemarza" uses the port to supply fish to Kinshasa. Tshimpi Airport is nearby but is reportedly inactive because of continued warfare.

Matadi Bridge, a suspension bridge 722 m- long with a main span of 520 m, built in 1983, crosses the river just south of Matadi, carrying the main road linking Kinshasa to the coast. After passing through Matadi and over the bridge, it continues to Boma, Muanda and Banana. Although built as a mixed rail and road bridge, no rail line is now operating over the bridge. Matadi is the port railhead for the 366 km long Matadi-Kinshasa Railway, constructed to bypass the rapids on the river upstream. A monument to the builders of the railway stands on a nearby hill.

A power station on the M'pozo River supplies power to Matadi.

Port of Matadi, on the cover of trading cards from the Congo

The maximum draft of the port is 8.2m.[7] The Navy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo maintains one operational command at the port.

Currently, larger ships are required to transfer cargo to smaller vessels in the Republic of Congo's Pointe-Noire port. For this reason, the development of a deep-sea port at Port Banana was begun in 2022.[8]

La Cité africaine de Matadi is a newspaper published in French in Matadi.[9]

In Belgium, a small garden city in the Heverlee suburb of Leuven was named after Matadi in the 1920s.[10]

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  Matadi, 1899
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  The market, 1899
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  A corner market in Matadi, 1899
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  Women at the market in Matadi, 1899
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  The market, 1899
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  The houses of Matadi, 1899
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  The surroundings of Matadi, 1899
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  Matadi port, circa 1942
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  Full Congo River at Matadi and the first rapids
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  Arrival at Matadi station
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  Map of Matadi and Vivi around 1890
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  Matadi in 1930s

• Lake Chad replenishment project
• Waterway

• Lagae, J. (2019). ""Pour Matadi la question [de la ségrégation] est encore plus grave qu'ailleurs": The Making and Shaping of a Congolese Port City during the Interwar Years". In Vanderlinden, J. (ed.). The Belgian Congo between the Two World Wars. Brussels: Royal Academy of Overseas Sciences. pp. 129–158. ISBN 9789075652628.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Matadi.

• Description of Matadi

05°49′00″S 13°29′00″E