Antananarivo: Capital and largest city of Madagascar
Antananarivo is the capital city of Madagascar.
It is the largest city in the country. The city is the administrative, communications and economic center of Madagascar.
Antananarivo Tananarive | |
|---|---|
 Central Antananarivo, including Lake Anosy | |
 Coat of arms | |
| Nickname: Tana | |
  Antananarivo Location in Madagascar & Africa  Antananarivo Antananarivo (Africa) | |
| Coordinates: 18°56′S 47°31′E / 18.933°S 47.517°E | |
| Country | Madagascar |
| Region | Analamanga |
| Founded | 1610 or 1625 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor of Antananarivo | Lalao Ravalomanana |
| Area | |
| • Total | 88 km2 (34 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 1,276 m (4,186 ft) |
| Population (2015) | |
| • Total | 2,610,000 |
| 710,236 | |
| Time zone | UTC+3 (East Africa Time) |
| Area code | (+261) 023 |
| Climate | Cwb |
| Website | www.mairie-antananarivo.mg (in French) |
Antananarivo has a population of over 1.4 million people. Including an Anglican cathedral and a Roman Catholic cathedral, there are about fifty churches in the city and its suburbs. There is also a Muslim mosque. Antananarivo is home of the University of Madagascar and the Collège Rural d'Ambatobe.
History
Antananarivo was founded in about 1625 by King Andrianjaka. The name, Antananarivo, means the City of the Thousand. It comes from the number of soldiers Andrianjaka used to guard the city.
Until 1869 all buildings in the city were of wood or rushes. Since the introduction of stone and brick, the whole city has been rebuilt. It now has many notable structures. For example, the royal palaces, the Anglican and Roman Catholic cathedrals, several stone and brick churches, colleges, schools, hospitals, courts of justice and other government buildings.
The city was captured by the French in 1895. Since then, good roads have been built in the city.
References
Other websites
Antananarivo Renivohitra website Archived 2007-03-30 at the Wayback Machine
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