Harare
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| Harare, Zimbabwe | |
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| Coordinates: | |
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| Province | Harare |
| Population (2006) | |
| - City | 1,600,000 |
| - Urban | 2,800,111 |
| estimated | |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) |
| - Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+1) |
Harare (pronounced /'hʌ ɹɑ' ɹi/, formerly Salisbury) is the capital of Zimbabwe. It has an estimated population 1,600,000, with 2,800,000 in its metropolitan area (2006). It is Zimbabwe's largest city and its administrative, commercial, and communications centre. It is a trade centre for tobacco, maize, cotton, and citrus fruits. Manufactures include textiles, steel, and chemicals, and gold is mined in the area. Harare is situated at an elevation of 4,865 feet (1,483 metres) and has a temperate climate.
Harare is the site of the University of Zimbabwe, the largest and most complete institution of higher learning in Zimbabwe. Despite the renaming of the city, some suburbs have retained their European names, such as Warren Park 'D', Borrowdale, Mount Pleasant, Marlborough, Harare, Tynwald and Avondale.
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[edit] History
The city was founded in 1890 as a fort by the Pioneer Column, a mercenary force organized by Cecil Rhodes. The city was originally named Fort Salisbury after the 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, then British prime minister and it subsequently became known simply as Salisbury. It was declared to be a municipality in 1897 and it became a city in 1935. Salisbury was the capital of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland from 1953 to 1963.
The name of the city was changed to Harare on April 18, 1982, the second anniversary of Zimbabwean independence, taking its name from the Shona chieftain Neharawa. It is also said the name derived from the European corruption of "Haarari" ("He does not sleep"), the epithet of the chief whose citadel was located in the area known today as the Kopje. It was said that no enemy could ever launch a sneak attack on him. Prior to independence, "Harari" was the name of the Black residential area now known as Mbare.
Harare has been the location of several international summits such as the 8th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement(6 September 1986) and Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (1991). In 1995, Harare hosted most of the 6th All-Africa Games, sharing the event with other Zimbabwean cities such as Bulawayo and Chitungwiza.
In the early 21st century Harare has been adversely affected by the political and economic crisis that is currently plaguing Zimbabwe, after the contested 2002 presidential election and 2005 parliamentary elections. The elected council was replaced by a government-appointed commission for alleged inefficiency, but essential services such as rubbish collection and street repairs have rapidly worsened, and are now virtually non-existent. In May 2006 the Zimbabwean newspaper the Financial Gazette, described the city in an editorial as a "sunshine city-turned-sewage farm." [1]
In May 2005 the Zimbabwean government demolished shantytowns in Harare and the other cities in the country in Operation Murambatsvina (Operation "Drive Out Trash"). This caused a sharp reaction in the international community because it took place without prior warning and no advance plans were made to provide alternative housing. It was widely alleged that the true purpose of the campaign was to punish the urban poor for supporting the opposition Movement for Democratic Change and to reduce the likelihood of mass action against the government by driving people out of the cities. The government claimed it was necessitated by a rise of criminality and disease. This was followed by Operation Chikerema (Operation "Better Living") a year later which consisted of building inadequate concrete shacks with no electricity, plumbing or other infrastructure in inaccessible areas.
[edit] Sister cities
Nottingham, United Kingdom
Munich, Germany
Cincinnati, United States- Buxton, United Kingdom
Prato, Italy- Lago, Italy
[edit] Image gallery
 Sam Nujoma Street, view south |
 Anglican cathedral |
 Downtown Harare |
 African Unity Square (formerly Cecil Square) |
[edit] References
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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- Mapping from Multimap or GlobalGuide or Google Maps
- Aerial image from TerraServer
- Satellite image from WikiMapia
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| Provinces | |
| Manicaland | Mashonaland Central | Mashonaland East | Mashonaland West | Masvingo | Matabeleland North | Matabeleland South | Midlands | |
| Cities | |
| Bulawayo | Harare | |
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