Mausoleum of Agostinho Neto

The Mausoleum of António Agostinho Neto is a monument in Luanda, Angola, where the first president of the country, Agostinho Neto, is buried. A concrete spire 120 metres tall rises from it, and the people of Luanda call it the Foguetão, meaning space rocket. The memorial campus covers 18 hectares at Praia do Bispo, beside the sea.

It can be seen from many places in the city. The spire is meant to recall Neto's poem called Pathway to the Stars, and Angola's flag emblem of a machete, cogwheel and star is shown on its side. Its design is brutalist, a rough concrete style, and it sits among the tallest and most visible landmarks of Luanda.

Building a memorial

Neto died in Moscow in 1979, and the Soviet Union was asked to build the mausoleum. The first stones were laid on 17 September 1982, which would have been his 60th birthday.

Work stopped in the late 1980s because of Angola's civil war and the end of the Soviet Union. It restarted in 2005, was completed in January 2011, and opened on 17 September 2012.

What is on the site

The pyramid at the base holds Neto's sarcophagus. The remains of his successor José Eduardo dos Santos were also placed there. The memorial campus covers 18 hectares.

Visitors find bronze sculptures, plaques with quotes, a museum, an exhibition gallery and a library.

Who was Agostinho Neto?

António Agostinho Neto was the first president of the Republic of Angola. He died of cancer in Moscow in September 1979. The mausoleum that holds his embalmed body was paid for by Angola's governing party, the MPLA, together with North Korea's government, and it cost about 40 million US dollars. It was built by Mansudae Overseas Projects, a company from North Korea. After it opened, it was the tallest structure in Luanda until the 145-metre IMOB Business Tower was built in 2018. The memorial has also hosted the inauguration of President João Lourenço in 2017.

On the globe

The model shows the grey concrete tower shaped like a rocket. Look for the flag emblem on its side.