page_title: Former place names in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
section_title: Towns and cities
hierarchical_section_title: Former place names in the Democratic Republic of the Congo / Towns and cities
caption_attribution_description: English: Roundabout in central Kisangani. Congo Palace building in the back.
context_page_description: This is a list of place names of towns and cities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo which were subsequently changed after the end of Belgian colonial rule. Place names of the colonial era tended to have two versions, one in French and one in Dutch, reflecting the two main languages of Belgium. Many of these place names were chosen after local geography or eponymous colonial figures.
  Many of the place name changes occurred under the authenticité programme in the 1970s during the dictatorship of Mobutu Sese Seko. Mobutu also changed the country's name from Congo to Zaire. Today, European speakers of both French and Dutch use the modern Congolese place names.
caption: Kisangani, formerly known as Stanleyville or Stanleystad
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