Muzaffarabad

34.35573.470833333333Koordinaten: 34 ° 21 ' N, 73 ° 28' O

Muzaffarabad ( Urdu مظفر آباد ) is the capital of the semi-autonomous region Azad Kashmir, and is located in the north of Pakistan. This area is not a province of Pakistan, as it selects its own parliament. The population was 1998 725.000 inhabitants and had risen to an estimated 741,000 by 1999.

Muzaffarabad is situated very close to the epicenter of the earthquake of 8 October 2005. The quake had a magnitude of 7.6 on the Richter scale. It destroyed half the houses in the city ( including most of the official buildings). An estimated 40,000 people lost their earthquake life ( in the region ).

Muzaffarabad is situated at the confluence of the rivers Jhelum and Nilam. The distance from Rawalpindi and Islamabad is 138 km and to Abbottabad there are 76 kilometers. Set amidst a mountainous backdrop prevails in Muzaffarabad a mixture of languages ​​and cultures. Local attractions include the Red Fort, completed in 1646 at a bend of the Jhelum in the north of the city and the Black Fort on a hill in the south of the Mughal period.

The current name of the city comes from Sultan Muzaffar Khan, a prince of the warrior clans Bomba from the mid-17th century.