The largest church in the world is here – and it’s… completely absurd. The Westernstadt Pullman City amusement park in Bavaria burns down – millions in damage

In 1950, Yamoussoukro was still a forgotten farming settlement with about 500 inhabitants. Then came Félix Houphouët-Boigny. Ivory Coast’s first president gradually built up his hometown after coming to power in 1960, naming it the new capital in 1983.

Today, almost 400,000 people live here. But the city still feels like an African provincial hole. There is no comparison with the flashy metropolis of Abidjan, a city on the Gulf of Guinea that is about fifteen times larger.

From there I travel with two friends by public bus. Upon arrival, my AirBnB host will be waiting. It would be easier if she just picked me up rather than explaining how to get to the property. Because this is brand new. Without further ado, the other two get into the taxi and we drive them to their apartment. Six adults squeeze into the rumbling vehicle: three in the front, three in the back. More is not possible.

The accommodation is actually new. So new that it is still being built. But my apartment is practically ready. The WiFi is not working at the moment, but the area is safe and so is the apartment. Finally, there is a security guard downstairs in front of the multi-story residential building. The construction noise disappeared during the night.

“Äntli feeders for advanced users”

Before my host leaves, I ask her what else there is to see here besides the Africa Cup of Nations matches and the church. She smiles mischievously, is silent at first and then says with little conviction: “Le lac aux crocodiles, peut-être.”

This is an artificial lake that Houphouët-Boigny had built around his gigantic presidential palace complex. He built a metal fence around it and released some crocodiles. Even today you can buy a dead chicken at the market next door and throw it to the animals, my hostess says. This is a spectacle – “Äntli-Füettere” for the advanced, so to speak. But we have given up.

For architecture lovers, there is also Hôtel Président with its round and staggered restaurant on the roof. "A masterpiece." But today it is closed. In short: you don't have to see tourist highlights 2 and 3. But when it comes to number 1, you will be in a state of disbelief.

Copied from St. Peter's Basilica

Towards the end of his term of office, former President Houphouët-Boigny built some beautiful monuments, for example the Basilica of Notre-Dame-de-la-Paix. He built the monster on the outskirts of the city, surrounded by jungle, within three years until 1989. It has 7,000 seats and 11,000 standing.

St. Peter's Basilica, on which the building is unmistakably based, has the larger capacity, but has the smaller diameter and, at 137 meters, is no less than 21 meters less high than the 'copy' in Yamoussoukro.

The Pope was not just happy

Actually, the top of 60 meters should have been even higher. But apparently the then Pope John Paul II was not happy about it. The dimensions were therefore adjusted, but the golden cross on the roof was built so large at 38 meters that the building was still larger than the original. In 1990 the Pope inaugurated the building and 300,000 people attended. The church was full. She has never been near there since.

Even more superlatives await in the ship itself. The top glows blue and a bright work of art shines above it. The glass mosaic windows show scenes from the Bible in color. There are no lights on, everything is illuminated only by the sun.

Ingenious architecture

However, a glass mosaic window does not show a known scene from the Book of Books. We could somewhat derogatorily call it a “sponsor board”. Jesus is on it and so are his disciples. But then there are other people who were important for the construction of the church: Houphouët-Boigny of course, and others, all of which the guide explains to us. Others are also mentioned in writing. We can only shake our heads.

Other details were not spared either. An air curtain can be activated in front of each of the enormous entrance gates to keep the temperature inside cool. The different sectors also all have air conditioning systems that work independently of each other. The seats even have their own ventilation. Echo dampening ensures that you can whisper on the benches below without disturbing others. But as you walk three steps onto the stage, the voice echoes off the walls.

Wood from Ivory Coast to Italy and back

And yes, these wooden benches are made of wood from Ivory Coast. However, the raw material was shipped to Italy, processed there and transported back to West Africa. The marble floor also comes from Europe.

After all, the gigantic columns are made of local stone. They are built about 30 meters deep into the ground, so that they have the necessary stability. In the six large columns, elevators (which just broke down while I was there) and spiral staircases (196 sweat-inducing steps) lead to the balcony area and to the roof of the basilica. The view from there is breathtaking.

Criticism of the building

No wonder construction cost almost twice as much as originally thought. The construction costs would be around 200 million euros. The then president paid for everything from his own resources that was not accepted everywhere. In any case, there was also strong criticism of the unnecessary construction. The most widespread religion in Ivory Coast is Islam.

Such a large place of worship for Catholics was, is and remains completely over-dimensioned – and all this in a country that, God knows, could have invested the money better. Usually only a few hundred people attend services in the beautiful building. After all, the church was said to have been sought as a refuge during the civil wars in the 1990s.

Highway to nowhere

After leaving the church we walk under the covered area (there is room for 30,000 people) into the gigantic square, which is equipped for 150,000 people. From here the path continues straight for a kilometer through the gardens to the main gate. There you come to a six-lane highway that leads nowhere. Everything is completely absurd.

Behind the ship there are two multi-storey villas. The president had one built for himself. The other is at the disposal of the Pope. Only he and his entourage may use them. It has been there only once since the building was completed 35 years ago.

In the meantime I receive a message from my hostess. Is it okay if she decorates the second room in the apartment? She can rent it to someone today. So now I have a shared apartment partner instead of WiFi.

But when I arrive at the accommodation after the match, there is no one there - except the security guard at the entrance, who is fast asleep on the floor. The electricity is also gone. It will be a fairly humid night. And it fits so well with the somehow completely absurd trip to the capital of Ivory Coast.