Lake Anosy and the Monument Nobody Explains

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By Jordan Lamont · Last updated 7 October 2026

Say it like a local: Anosy (a-NOO-see) — “island,” for the islet at the lake’s heart.

In the middle of Antananarivo, hemmed in by traffic and markets, lies a heart-shaped lake ringed with purple-flowering trees, and on an island at its centre stands a tall black monument crowned by a golden angel. Thousands of people pass it every day. Almost none of them stop to ask what it is — and the answer reaches all the way to the trenches of the First World War. This is the story of Lake Anosy and the monument nobody explains.

A swamp shaped into a heart

Lake Anosy was not always a lake. The site, in the southern part of the capital, was originally a swamp, reshaped in the 19th century during the era of King Radama I by the remarkable Scottish missionary-engineer James Cameron — the same man who later clad the Queen’s Palace in stone. Cameron formed it, deliberately, into the shape of a heart, with a small islet at its centre linked to the shore by an isthmus. (The island was first intended, practically enough, as a safe site for a blacksmith’s workshop, away from the city’s fire-prone wooden and thatch buildings.)

The Black Angel

The monument on the island is the part everyone sees and no one explains. Called l’Ange Noir — “the Black Angel” — it was created in 1927 by the sculptor Barberis and the architect Perrin, and it is a war memorial. It commemorates the Malagasy soldiers who died fighting for France in the First World War — men from a colonised island sent to die in a European war they had no part in starting. The golden angel atop the dark column is, in effect, Madagascar’s monument to a generation lost in someone else’s trenches.

A city landmark in violet

For all its sombre meaning, Lake Anosy is also simply beautiful, especially in October, when the jacaranda trees that border it erupt in a haze of violet blossom and the whole lake seems framed in purple. Egrets have long rested at its edges, barbers set up along the southern shore, and on Independence Day the sky above it fills with fireworks. It is one of Antananarivo’s defining images — grand, melancholy and alive all at once.

Why it matters today

Lake Anosy rewards the traveller who looks twice: a love-heart lake made by a Scottish engineer, guarding a memorial to Malagasy soldiers of a world war. Give it five minutes on a walk through Antananarivo, visit in jacaranda season, and set it in context with our guide to the central highlands and our Madagascar travel guide.

FAQ

What is Lake Anosy?

A heart-shaped lake in central Antananarivo with a small island, famous for its violet jacaranda trees and a striking war memorial.

What is the monument on it?

A memorial called l’Ange Noir (“the Black Angel”), raised in 1927 to the Malagasy soldiers who died fighting for France in World War I.

Who shaped the lake?

The Scottish missionary James Cameron, during the era of King Radama I, formed the former swamp into its heart shape.

When is it most beautiful?

In October, when the jacarandas ringing the lake burst into violet bloom.