Christ the King Statue

To the left of the giant "LUBANGO" sign, which is located south of the city with the same name, one can encounter a smaller version of Christ the Redeemer standing on an unusually large pedestal. Despite its relative diminution, Cristo Rei (Christ the King) is possibly the largest statue of Jesus in Africa. Another claimant in Nigeria is only 29 feet( 8.53 meters) tall, compared to the 98 feet (30 meters) of Cristo Rei.

Similar to another Cristo Rei in Timor-Leste, Lubango's was originally built as a symbol of foreign domination. It was erected in 1957, during the period when Angola was integrated directly into sovereign Portugal, albeit without rights for its native population. The statue, designed by Madeiran engineer Frazão Sardinha, also particularly represented the 19th-century settlement of Lubango (then called Sá da Bandeira) by colonists from Madeira.

Despite its past, Cristo Rei endures today as a symbol of Lubango in a now independent Angola. The pedestal can be climbed to get a close-up look at the statue and a better view of the surrounding area.