Kasubi Tombs

The Kasubi Tombs are the burial grounds of four kabakas, or kings, of the Buganda kingdom, on Kasubi Hill in Kampala, Uganda. The site was originally built in 1882 as a palace for Kabaka Muteesa I and converted into his tomb after his death in 1884, and it remains an active spiritual and political center for the Buganda kingdom today. Its principal structure, the Muzibu Azaala Mpanga, is a large domed building constructed in traditional Ganda vernacular technique, with a timber frame supporting walls and a roof of wood, reed and thatch rather than stone or fired brick. Recognized by UNESCO as a masterpiece of achievement built purely of vegetal materials, the tomb was destroyed by a fire in 2010 and has since been the subject of an ongoing traditional reconstruction using the same building methods.

It was originally constructed from wooden poles, reed wattle and daub, topped by a thick thatched dome, with straw resting on 52 rings of palm fronds (representing the 52 traditional clans of the Baganda people).

It was originally constructed from wooden poles, reed wattle and daub, topped by a thick thatched dome, with straw resting on 52 rings of palm fronds (representing the 52 traditional clans of the Baganda people).

It was originally constructed from wooden poles, reed wattle and daub, topped by a thick thatched dome, with straw resting on 52 rings of palm fronds (representing the 52 traditional clans of the Baganda people).

constructed from wooden poles, reed wattle and daub, topped by a thick thatched dome

The Kasubi Tombs in Kampala, Uganda, is the site of the burial grounds for four kabakas and other members of the Baganda royal family.

a royal palace built in 1882 by Muteesa I

7.5 metres (25 ft) high