Bulawayo

City with provincial status

Bulawayo is a city in the southwest of the country Zimbabwe. She has within Zimbabwe Province status and is also the capital of the province of Matabeleland North. With 1,500,000 inhabitants ( census 2005) it is to Harare, the second largest city of the country.

History

Bulawayo was founded in 1893 by Cecil John Rhodes after the British victory over the king of the Matabele Lobengula at the location of the resultant in the middle of the 18th century kraals Gubulawayo new and relocated in 1894 to its present, somewhat south, space. Three years later, she was connected to the railway network. Since 1943, the place is a city. The name Bulawayo comes from the Ndebele language and means place of slaughter.

The city lies on the River Matsheumhlope at about 1340 m above sea level.

Economy

On farms there are textile, metal goods and tire industry and breweries, printers and publishers. The city is the commercial center for the agricultural products of the surrounding region. It is a railway junction with routes to Victoria Falls / Livingstone, Plumtree / Gaborone, Harare and Beitbridge.

Since 1927 there is the Institute of Technology.

Attractions

For the cityscape characteristic are the broad, tree-lined streets and the many preserved Victorian homes.

Bulawayo is home to the 1901 -founded the National Museum. In Douslin House from 1900, now the National Art Gallery is housed. The Natural History Museum was opened to the public in 1964. It owns more than 75,000 pieces, the largest mammal collection on the African continent, showcases the history and geology and exhibits of birds and insects.

The National Railway Museum was opened in 1972. It displays an extensive collection of vehicles. In addition to locomotives and cars especially in the parlor cars of Cecil John Rhodes is worth seeing, in which provides a stylishly laid dinner table for atmosphere. The museum also offers information on the history of railways in Rhodesia and Zimbabwe.

In the near Bulawayo Khami ruins, a UNESCO World Heritage Site located.

35 km south of Bulawayo, in the Matobo National Park, lies the grave of Cecil John Rhodes, the so-called World's View. The Matobo Hills are also part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Sons and daughters of the town

The Afro-pop artist Dorothy Masuka and Taylor Nkomo, Charlene of Monaco, Prince Harry's former girlfriend Chelsy Davy, the jazz musician Dumisani Ngulube, the racing driver John Love and the football player Benjamin Mwaruwari come from Bulawayo. In the 1940 to 1963 worked here the German Jewish Members of the Prussian Landtag Berta Jourdan as a teacher of young people with educational difficulties.

The band Liyana to singer Prudence Mabhena, from the Oscar - winning film Music by Prudence from the year 2010 is, was founded as part of a school project of King George VI School & Centre for Children with Physical Disabilities in Bulawayo.