Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul

Flemish Gothic cathedral dominating the city centre, built during the Belgian colonial era

The Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul is the most distinctive building in Lubumbashi's city centre, a large Belgian Gothic church built between the two world wars during the height of colonial development in the Katanga copper belt. The soaring twin towers and pointed arches look improbable in the equatorial setting, which is precisely the point — the Belgian colonial administration was making a statement about permanence and European civilization.

The interior is worth entering for the stained glass and the contrast between the cool stone interior and the heat outside. The cathedral is still very much in active use as the seat of the Archdiocese of Lubumbashi, one of the most important Catholic dioceses in the DRC. The square in front of the cathedral is one of the more pleasant spots in the city centre for sitting and watching urban life go by.

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A story
The cathedral was designed in a deliberate imitation of Belgian Gothic church architecture — the colonial administration wanted Élisabethville (as Lubumbashi was then called) to look like a proper European city. The result is an oddly transplanted piece of Bruges in central Africa, built between 1920 and 1936 using local labour and European plans.