Limbé (known as Victoria from 1858 to 1982) is a seaside city in the South-West Region of Cameroon. At the 2005 Census, the population was 84,223. Toponymy The city name Limbe is generally held to originate from a mispronunciation of the name of a German engineer called Limburgh. Oral narratives hold that this engineer is responsible for constructing a bridge across one of the rivers in the city. Over a period of time, this river came to be associated with this engineer. In 1982, a presidential decree signed by president Ahmadou Babatoura Ahidjo, a changed the city name from Victoria to Limbe. History Initially Victoria and its vicinity was not part of the new German colony Kamerun and remained under British administration. On May 7, 1886 Great Britain and Germany agreed to exchange Victoria and its vicinity for German rights at the Forcados River in Nigeria and St. Lucia, KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. On March 28, 1887 Victoria and its vicinity were handed over to the German administration. At the same time Swiss Presbyterian missionaries bought the land from the Baptist Missionary Society in 1887. Victoria became British again in 1915. In 1982 Victoria was renamed "Limbe" by Ahmadou Ahidjo. Limbe was recently acknowledged by the Cameroonian government for its role played in the trade of slaves. The current site (Bimbia) is being restored for tourists, who would like to understand how slaves made their way from far distances to the coastal city. Language The Southwest Province's official language is English, although French is spoken due to the city's geographic proximity to Douala, where the official language is French. Most of the population speaks English and Cameroonian Pidgin English. The native language of the region is Bakweri and a smaller group from Wovia and Bimbia speak Bimbia or Isubu. Main sights Limbe is located on a bay against the backdrop of a major mountain range. Black sand beaches make Limbe one of two coastal towns (Kribi being the other) that are popular among Western tourists. Attractions include the Limbe Wildlife Centre and Limbe Botanical Gardens also the Bimbia slave trade route . The Germans left a Bismarck tower in the vicinity of Limbe. It is the home to the Bakweri people. Some variety of flowers at Limbe Botanical Gardens: Transport Limbe was served by a terminal station of a gauge plantation railway from Soppo, near Buea, of the West African