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Coordinates: 12°36′N 37°28′E

Gondar
Gondar or Gonder (Amharic: ጎንደር, Gonder[a] or Gondär;[b]
formerly ጐንደር, Gʷandar or Gʷender) is a city and woreda in Gondar
Amhara Region, Ethiopia. Located in the Semien Gondar Zone of City
the Amhara Region, Gondar is north of Tana Lake on the Lesser
Angereb River and southwest of the Simien Mountains. It has a
latitude and longitude of 12°36′N 37°28′E with an elevation of 2133
meters above sea level. As of 2016, Gondara has a population of
299,969.[1]

Gondar previously served as the capital of both the Ethiopian

Empire and the subsequent Begemder Province. The city holds the
remains of several royal castles, including those in the Fasil Ghebbi
UNESCO World Heritage Site for which Gondar has been called the
"Camelot of Africa".[2] The Mercato, Gondar

Contents Flag
History
Origins
16th century Gondar
17th century
19th century
20th century
Cityscape
Education
Demographics
Documentation with 3D Laser Scanners Location in Ethiopia
Coordinates: 12°36′N 37°28′E
Transport
Country Ethiopia
Climate
Region Amhara
Sister cities Zone Semien Gondar
Notable people Founded 1635
See also Area
Notes • Total 192.27 km2 (74.24 sq mi)

References Elevation 2,133 m (6,998 ft)

External links Population (2016)[1]

• Total 299,969
• Density 1,600/km2 (4,000/sq mi)
History Time zone UTC+3 (EAT)

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Origins

Until the 16th century, the Solomonic Emperors of Ethiopia usually had no fixed capital town, but instead
lived in tents in temporary royal camps as they moved around their realms while their family, bodyguard
and retinue devoured surplus crops and cut down nearby trees for firewood. One exception to this rule was
Debre Berhan, founded by Zara Yaqob in 1456; Tegulet in Shewa was also essentially the capital during the
first century of Solomonic rule. Gondar was founded by Emperor Fasilides around the year 1635, and grew
as an agricultural and market town. There was a superstition at the time that the capital's name should begin
with the letter 'Gʷa' (modern pronunciation 'Gʷe'; Gonder was originally spelt Gʷandar), which also
contributed to Gorgora's (founded as Gʷargʷara) growth in the centuries after 1600. Tradition also states
that a buffalo led the Emperor Fasilides to a pool beside the Angereb, where an "old and venerable hermit"
told the Emperor he would locate his capital there. Fasilides had the pool filled in and built his castle on that
same site.[3] The emperor also built a total of seven churches; the first two, Fit Mikael and Fit Abbo, were
built to end local epidemics. The five emperors who followed him also built their palaces in the town.

16th century

Beginning with Emperor Menas in 1559, the rulers of Ethiopia began

spending the rainy season near Lake Tana, often returning to the same
location each year. These encampments, which flourished as cities for a
short time, include Emfraz, Ayba, Gorgora and Dankaz.

Fasilides Castle, founded by 17th century

Emperor Fasilides
In 1668, as a result of a church council, the Emperor Yohannes I ruled that
the inhabitants of Gondar were to be segregated by religion. This caused
the Muslims to move into their own quarter, Islamge (Amharic: እስላምጌ, "Islam place," or "Islam country")
or Islam Bayt (እስላምቤት"House of Islam," lit. "Islam house"), within two years. This quarter came to be
known as Addis Alem (Amharic for "New World").[4]

During the seventeenth century, the city's population is estimated to have exceeded 60,000. Many of the
buildings from this period survive, despite the turmoil of the eighteenth century. By the reign of Iyasu the
Great, Gondar had acquired a sense of community identity; when the Emperor called upon the inhabitants
to decamp and follow him on his campaign against the Oromo in Damot and Gojjam, as had the court and
subjects of earlier emperors, they refused.[5] Although Gondar was by any definition a city, it was not a
melting pot of diverse traditions, nor Ethiopia's window to the larger world, according to Donald Levine. "It
served rather as an agent for the quickened development of the Amhara's own culture. And thus it became a
focus of national pride... not as a hotbed of alien custom and immorality, as they often regard Addis Ababa
today, but as the most perfect embodiment of their traditional values."[6] As Levine elaborates in a footnote,
it was an orthogenetic pattern of development, as distinguished from an heterogenetic one.[7]

19th century

The town served as Ethiopia's capital until Tewodros II moved the Imperial capital to Magadala upon being
crowned Emperor in 1855;[8] Tewodros II plundered and burnt the city in 1864, then devastated it again in
December, 1866.[9][10] Abdallahi ibn Muhammad sacked Gondar when he invaded Ethiopia June 1887.
Gondar was ravaged again on 23 January in the next year, when Sudanese invaders set fire to almost every
one of the city's churches.[11]

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20th century

After the military occupation of Ethiopia by the Kingdom of Italy in

1936, Gondar was further developed under Italian occupation,[12] and
the Comboni missionaries established in 1937 the Latin Catholic
Apostolic Prefecture of Gondar, which would be suppressed after the
death of its only prefect in 1951.

During the Second World War, Mussolini's Italian forces made their last An overview of the medieval city
stand in Gondar in November 1941, after Addis Ababa fell to British buildings
forces six months before. The area of Gondar was one of the main
centers of activity of Italian guerrilla against the British forces until
summer 1943.[13]

During the Ethiopian Civil War, the forces of the Ethiopian Democratic Union gained control of large parts
of Begemder, and during parts of 1977 operated within a few kilometers of Gondar, and appeared to be at the
point of capturing the city.[14] As part of Operation Tewodros near the end of the Civil War, Gondar was
captured by the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front in March 1991.[15]

Cityscape
Gondar traditionally was divided into several neighborhoods or
quarters: Addis Alem, where the Muslim inhabitants dwelt; Kayla Meda,
where the adherents of Beta Israel lived; Abun Bet, centered on the
residence of the Abuna, or nominal head of the Ethiopian Church; and
Qagn Bet, home to the nobility.[16] Gondar is also a noted center of
ecclesiastical learning of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, and
known for having 44 churches – for many years more than any other
settlement in Ethiopia. Gondar and its surrounding countryside
constitute the homeland of most Ethiopian Jews.

The modern city of Gondar is popular as a tourist destination for its

many picturesque ruins in Fasil Ghebbi (the Royal Enclosure), from Crowds gather at the Fasilides' Bath
which the emperors once reigned. The most famous buildings in the city in Gondar to celebrate Timkat – the
lie in the Royal Enclosure, which include Fasilides' castle, Iyasu's palace, Epiphany for the Ethiopian Orthodox
Dawit's Hall, a banqueting hall, stables, Empress Mentewab's castle, a Tewahedo Church.
chancellery, library and three churches. Near the city lie Fasilides' Bath,
home to an annual ceremony where it is blessed and then opened for
bathing; the Qusquam complex, built by Empress Mentewab; the eighteenth century Ras Mikael Sehul's
Palace and the Debre Berhan Selassie Church.

Downtown Gondar shows the influence of the Italian occupation of the late 1930s. The main piazza features
shops, a cinema, and other public buildings in a simplified Italian Moderne style still distinctively of the
period despite later changes and, frequently, neglect. Villas and flats in the nearby quarter that once housed
occupation officials and colonists are also of interest.

Education
The town is home to the University of Gondar, which includes Ethiopia's main faculty of medicine.

Demographics
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Based on the 2019 national census conducted by the Central Statistical

Agency of Ethiopia (CSA), Gondar had a total population of 500,788, of
whom 300,000 were men and 200,788 women. The majority of the
inhabitants practiced Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, with 90.2%
reporting that as their religion, while 8% of the population said they
were Muslim and 1.1% were Protestant.[17]

Historical population
Year Pop. ±%
Debre Birhan Selassie Church in
1984 80,886 —
Gondar
1994 112,249 +38.8%
2007 207,044 +84.5%
2015 323,900 +56.4%
source:[18]

The 1994 national census reported a total population of 112,249 in 21,695 households, of whom 51,366 were
men and 60,883 women. The three largest ethnic groups reported in Gondar Zuria were the Amhara
(88.91%), the Tigrayan (6.74%), and the Qemant (2.37%); all other ethnic groups made up 1.98% of the
population. Amharic was spoken as a first language by 94.57%, and 4.67% spoke Tigrinya; the remaining
0.76% spoke all other primary languages reported. 83.31% adhered to Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, and
15.83% of the population said they were Muslim.[19] Gondar was once the home of a large population of
Ethiopian Jews, most of whom immigrated to Israel in the late 20th and early 21st century, including the
current Israeli Ambassador to Ethiopia, Belaynesh Zevadia.[20]

Languages spoken in
Gondar as of 2007 [21]

Amharic (94.57%)
Tigrinya (4.67%)
Other (0.76000000000001%)

Documentation with 3D Laser Scanners

The Zamani Project documented Fasil Ghebbi in the center of Gondar with terrestrial 3D laser
scanning.[22][23][24] The structures documented include: the Castle of Emperor Fasilides, the Bakaffa Castle,
Dawit III's Hall, the Castle of Emperor Iyasu, the Royal Library, the Chancellery, the Royal Archive Building
.

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Some of the textured 3D models, a panorama tour, elevations, sections and plans are available on
www.zamaniproject.org (https://zamaniproject.org/site-ethiopia-gondar-fasil-ghebbi.html).

Transport
Air transport is served by Gondar Airport (ICAO code HAGN, IATA GDQ), also known as Atse Tewodros
Airport, after the Emperor of Ethiopia (Atse) Tewodros. It is 18 km (11 miles) south of the city.[25] Travel
within Gondar is mostly done by mini-buses and 3-wheeler motorcycles (accommodating 3–4 passengers).

Intercity bus service is provided by the Selam Bus Line Share Company and Sky Bus Transport System, as
well as independently owned buses that depart from the town bus station.

Climate
Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as humid subtropical (Cwa),[26] bordering
with subtropical highland (Cwb).

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Climate data for Gondar (1981–2010, extremes 1924–present)

Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year

Record
31.0 33.4 33.5 34.1 33.4 34.8 26.6 31.0 29.9 29.6 29.7 30.2 34.8
high °C
(87.8) (92.1) (92.3) (93.4) (92.1) (94.6) (79.9) (87.8) (85.8) (85.3) (85.5) (86.4) (94.6)
(°F)

Average
28 29 29 30 29 25 23 23 25 26 27 27 27
high °C
(82) (84) (84) (86) (84) (77) (73) (73) (77) (79) (81) (81) (80)
(°F)

Daily
19.8 21.5 22.7 22.7 21.7 19.7 17.8 17.9 18.7 19.2 19.3 19.4 20.0
mean °C
(67.6) (70.7) (72.9) (72.9) (71.1) (67.5) (64.0) (64.2) (65.7) (66.6) (66.7) (66.9) (68.0)
(°F)

Average
12 13 14 15 15 14 13 13 13 13 12 12 13
low °C
(54) (55) (57) (59) (59) (57) (55) (55) (55) (55) (54) (54) (56)
(°F)

Record
3.0 5.2 6.2 9.2 5.5 6.0 8.4 8.0 7.0 6.0 4.5 1.6 1.6
low °C
(37.4) (41.4) (43.2) (48.6) (41.9) (42.8) (47.1) (46.4) (44.6) (42.8) (40.1) (34.9) (34.9)
(°F)

Average
rainfall 2 2 13 32 72 160 293 275 112 60 12 4 1,037
mm (0.1) (0.1) (0.5) (1.3) (2.8) (6.3) (11.5) (10.8) (4.4) (2.4) (0.5) (0.2) (40.9)
(inches)

Average
rainy
0 0 2 5 12 13 20 21 19 15 3 0 110
days
(≥ 0.1 mm)

Average
relative
44 40 39 39 52 69 79 79 72 65 56 48 57
humidity
(%)

Mean
monthly
291.4 243.0 229.4 249.0 238.7 183.0 114.7 139.5 204.0 229.4 240.0 279.0 2,641.1
sunshine
hours

Mean
daily
9.4 8.6 7.4 8.3 7.7 6.1 3.7 4.5 6.8 7.4 8.0 9.0 7.2
sunshine
hours

Source 1: World Meteorological Organisation (average high and low, and rainfall)[27]

Source 2: Deutscher Wetterdienst (mean temperatures 1954–1990, humidity 1957–1982, and sun 1937–1990)[28] Meteo Climat
(record highs and lows)[29]

Sister cities
As designated by Sister Cities International, Gondar is a sister city with:

Corvallis, Oregon, United States

Montgomery County, Maryland
Rishon LeZion, Israel

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Notable people
Eténèsh Wassié: singer and azmari
Aster awake is an Ethiopian singer. Aster's voice has attracted broader public popularity

See also
List of Gondarine churches
Gultosh – a deserted village near Gondar
Azezo – a nearby village south of Gondar

Notes
a. Based on the BGN/PCGN romanization of Amharic.
b. Based on the EAE romanization of Amharic.

References
1. "HCE 2016 Statistical Report Amhara region" (http://www.csa.gov.et/ehioinfo-internal?download=857:hc
e-2016-statistical-report-amhara-region). Central Statistical Agency. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
2. http://bjtoursandtrekking.com/tours/index.htm (https://web.archive.org/web/20101214215247/http://bjtour
sandtrekking.com/tours/index.htm) Gondar World Heritage Site
3. Richard K.P. Pankhurst, History of Ethiopian Towns: From the Middle Ages to the Early Nineteenth
Century (Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag, 1982), vol. 1 p. 117.
4. Solomon Getamun, History of the City of Gondar (Africa World Press, 2005), p. 16
5. Getamun, City of Gondar, p. 5
6. Donald N. Levine, Wax and Gold: Tradition and Innovation in Ethiopia Culture (Chicago: University
Press, 1972), p. 42
7. Levine, Wax and Gold, p. 42 n. 42
8. Stuart Munro-Hay (2002). Ethiopia: The Unknown Land. I.B. Tauris. p. 69. ISBN 1860647448.
9. Sven Rubenson, King of Kings: Tewodros of Ethiopia (Addis Ababa: Haile Selassie I University, 1966),
pp.71
10. R. Pankhurst, in UNESCO General History of Africa, Vol VI: Africa in the Nineteenth Century p.397
11. "Local History in Ethiopia" (http://130.238.24.99/library/resources/dossiers/local_history_of_ethiopia/g/O
RTGON.pdf) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20080529193204/http://130.238.24.99/library/resour
ces/dossiers/local_history_of_ethiopia/g/ORTGON.pdf) 2008-05-29 at the Wayback Machine (pdf) The
Nordic Africa Institute website (accessed 9 May 2008)
12. Getamun, City of Gondar, pp. 28–37
13. Getamun, City of Gondar, pp. 55–60
14. Marina and David Ottaway, Ethiopia: Empire in Revolution (New York: Africana, 1978), p. 171
15. Paul B. Henze, Layers of Time: A History of Ethiopia (New York: Palgrave, 2000), p. 322
16. Getamun describes the various quarters in his monograph City of Gondar, pp. 16ff
17. Census 2007 Tables: Amhara Region (https://web.archive.org/web/20101114004005/http://www.csa.gov.
et/index.php?option=com_rubberdoc&view=doc&id=266&format=raw&Itemid=521), Tables 2.1, 2.4, 2.5,
3.1, 3.2 and 3.4.
18. Gondar population statistics (https://www.citypopulation.de/Ethiopia.html)

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19. 1994 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia: Results for Amhara Region, Volume. 1, part 1 (http://
www.csa.gov.et/newcsaweb/images/documents/surveys/Population%20and%20Housing%20Census%2
01994/survey0/data/docs/report/Statistical_Report/K03/K03_partI.pdf) Archived (https://web.archive.org/
web/20150923211726/http://www.csa.gov.et/newcsaweb/images/documents/surveys/Population%20an
d%20Housing%20Census%201994/survey0/data/docs/report/Statistical_Report/K03/K03_partI.pdf)
2015-09-23 at the Wayback Machine, Tables 2.1, 2.7, 2.10, 2.13, 2.17, Annex II.1 (accessed 9 April
2009)
20. Keinon, Herb (July 2016). "From Ethiopia to Israel – and back again" (http://www.jpost.com/Magazine/Fr
om-Ethiopia-to-Israel-and-back-again-460367). Jerusalem Post.
21. Central Statistical Agency. 2010. Population and Housing Census 2007 Report, National. [ONLINE]
Available at: http://catalog.ihsn.org/index.php/catalog/3583/download/50086. [Accessed 10 January
2017].
22. "Site - Fassil Ghebbi - Gondar" (https://zamaniproject.org/site-ethiopia-gondar-fasil-ghebbi.html#header5
-d). zamaniproject.org. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
23. Rüther, Heinz; Rajan, Rahim S. (2007). "Documenting African Sites: The Aluka Project". Journal of the
Society of Architectural Historians. 66 (4): 437–443. doi:10.1525/jsah.2007.66.4.437 (https://doi.org/10.1
525%2Fjsah.2007.66.4.437). ISSN 0037-9808 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0037-9808).
JSTOR 10.1525/jsah.2007.66.4.437 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/jsah.2007.66.4.437).
24. Rüther, Heinz (2002). "An African Heritage Database: The Virtual Preservation of Africa's Past" (https://w
ww.isprs.org/proceedings/xxxiv/6-w6/papers/ruther.pdf) (PDF). International Society for Photogrammetry
and Remote Sensing. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
25. "Gondar Atse Tewodros Airport" (http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:armu_UiNjzs
J:www.ethiopianairports.com/GonderAirport.aspx). Ethiopian Airports Enterprise. Archived from the
original (http://www.ethiopianairports.com/GonderAirport.aspx) on 18 August 2012.
26. "Gonder – Climate graph, Temperature graph, Climate table" (http://en.climate-data.org/location/1183/).
Climate-Data.org. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
27. "World Weather Information Service – Gondar" (http://worldweather.wmo.int/060/c01921.htm). World
Meteorological Organisation. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20131023020441/http://worldweathe
r.wmo.int/060/c01921.htm) from the original on 23 October 2013. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
28. "Klimatafel von Gondar (Gonder), Provinz Gondar / Äthiopien" (https://www.dwd.de/DWD/klima/beratun
g/ak/ak_633310_kt.pdf) (PDF). Baseline climate means (1961–1990) from stations all over the world (in
German). Deutscher Wetterdienst. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
29. "Station Gondar" (http://meteo-climat-bzh.dyndns.org/index.php?page=stati&id=1838) (in French).
Météo Climat. Retrieved 31 March 2019.

External links
"Gondar" (https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica/Gondar). Encyclopædia
Britannica. 11 (11th ed.). 1911.
Ethiopian Treasures – Fasilados Castle, Felasha Village – Gonder (http://www.ethiopiantreasures.toucan
surf.com/pages/gonder.htm)
Pictures from Gonder (https://web.archive.org/web/20090304023551/http://www.impetusinmundum.de/d
ocumentation/Album.html?Bildliste=590517cf-5a0518f4&Region=Gonder)

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