Praca Independence

Praça da Independência is a public square and the focal point of the city.  It was built by the Portuguese as Praça Mouzinho de Albuquerque (Mouzinho de Albuquerque Square) and was formerly dominated by a statue of Joaquim Augusto Mouzinho de Albuquerque (1855-1902), the former Governor-General of Portuguese Mozambique until 1898.  The statue of Mouzinho on horseback was unveiled in 1940. After independence in 1975, the square was renamed Praça da Independência, and the statue of Mouzinho de Albuquerque was removed to Fortaleza de Nossa Senhora da Conceição (Maputo’s fortress) and replaced by the much larger statue of Samora Machel (1933-1986), the first President of Mozambique, dedicated in 2011. 

The square is flanked to the north by the City Hall and to the east by the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. Iron House, designed by Gustave Eiffel for the governor of Mozambique is located just off the square. Tunduru Gardens, designed in 1885 by British gardener Thomas Honney is located one block south of the square.