Kalemie

Kalemie, formerly Albertville or Albertstad, is a town on the western shore of Lake Tanganyika in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The town is next to the outflow of the Lukuga River from Lake Tanganyika to the Lualaba River. Kalemie's twin town is Steinheim in Germany.

History

The military post of Albertville was founded on 30 December 1891 by Captain Jacques of the Congo Free State. It was located 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) south of the Lukuga River. Sergeant Alexis Vrithoff was killed on 5 April 1892 when defending Albertville against an attack by Arab slavers. The station was besieged by the Arabs based at Kataki from 16 August 1892 until 1 January 1893. After the Arabs left the territory, the original Albertville was gradually abandoned, and the name became attached to the military post of M'Toa to the north of the Lukuga, the site of present-day Kalemie.

In 1914 Albertville was the base for the Belgian forces in the East African campaign. The railway reached Albertville in 1915, and in 1916 the port was constructed and the coalworks at Greinerville opened. At the end of 1940 a South African military base was established at Albertville, later British, to manage troops in Kenya and Abyssinia.