At low tide on Aneho's beach, one can still glimpse metal structures emerging from the sand. These are the last remains of the German wharf of Petit Popo, an infrastructure that was, in the late 19th century, one of the most important on the Guinean coast.
Why a wharf?
The Togolese coast is flat and sandy, with no natural harbor capable of accommodating deep-draft vessels. Goods had to be transshipped on pirogues from the beach to ships anchored offshore — a slow, dangerous and costly process. Each year, piroguiers lost their lives in the violent currents of the Gulf of Guinea while attempting to load or unload ships. The wharf, a metal pier extending into the sea, solved this problem. Built around 1890 by the German colonial administration, it measured nearly 200 meters long.
An economic hub
For a decade, the wharf was Aneho's economic heartbeat. Palm oil, cotton, copra and manufactured goods from Europe transited through it. Woermann-Linie ships stopped regularly. The wharf made Aneho the main port of Togoland, ahead of Lome, and gave Guin merchants direct access to European markets. Travelers' accounts from the period describe the bustling activity on wharf days.
Destruction and legacy
The wharf did not survive the ocean's assaults. Exposed to violent currents, it degraded faster than expected. The colonial administration, having already transferred the capital to Lome in 1897, did not find it worthwhile to rebuild. The wharf was gradually abandoned. Today, only a few rusted pillars visible at low tide bear witness to its existence. The wharf has become a symbol of Aneho's past greatness and of the threat coastal erosion poses to the city's heritage.