Abomey, or Agbome, is the capital of the Zou Department of Benin. The commune of Abomey covers an area of 142 square kilometres and, as of 2025, it has a population of 96,974 people.
Abomey houses the Royal Palaces of Abomey, a collection of small traditional houses that were inhabited by the Kings of Dahomey from 1600 to 1900, and which were designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985.
History
thumb|250px|Gates of Abomey depicted in the [[Le Tour du Monde by Valentin Foulquier in 1863]]
Abomey was founded in the 17th century as the capital of the Kingdom of Dahomey (1600–1904), on the site of the former village of Kana. By the 1840s it had an estimated population of 24,000.
After several attempts, the French conquered the kingdom on 16 November 1892, prompting King Béhanzin to torch the city and flee northward. Thereafter the town declined in importance, a process hastened when the French built the new administrative centre of Bohicon immediately to the east. The fire was the most recent disaster to have plagued the site, coming after a powerful tornado damaged the site in 1984.
Demographics
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Population
|-
| 1860s
| 24 000
|-
| 1979
| 38 412
|-
| 1992
| 65 725
|-
| 2002
| 77 997
|-
| 2008 (estimate)
| 87 344
|-
| 2012
| 90 195
|}
Gallery
<gallery>
File:Celebration at Abomey.- Important witchdoctors.jpg|"Important witchdoctors" (1908)
File:The célébration at Abomey(1908). - Dance of the Fon chiefs.jpg|Dance of the Fon chiefs 1908
File:The celebration at Abomey. - Young girl with wooden statue of mystic chair.jpg|Young girl with wooden statue of mystic chair (1908)
File:Abomey-Palais du Gouverneur (1).jpg|Town Hall, located in the former Governor's Palace
File:Royal Palaces of Abomey-133471.jpg|One of the royal palaces.
</gallery>
See also
- The city is twinned with Albi, France.
References
External links
- UNESCO assessment of threats to the site, after tornado damage in 1984.
- Historical Museum of Abomey