Holeta ( Oromo: ''Holataa'') is a town in the special zone of

Oromia Region Oromia (Amharic: ) ( om, Oromiyaa) is a regional state in Ethiopia and the homeland of the Oromo people. The capital of Oromia is Addis Ababa. It is bordered by the Somali Region to the east; the Amhara Region, the Afar Region and the Benis ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

. It has a latitude and longitude of and an altitude of 2391 meters above sea level.

History

Holeta came into existence with the construction of the Addis Ababa -

Ejerie Ejerie is a woreda in Oromia Region, Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of ...

road, and houses in the latter town were dismantled and brought to this new settlement. It became the new "country retreat" for Emperor

Menelik II , spoken = ; ''djānhoi'', lit. ''"O steemedroyal"'' , alternative = ; ''getochu'', lit. ''"Our master"'' (pl.) Menelik II ( gez, ዳግማዊ ምኒልክ ; horse name Abba Dagnew ( Amharic: አባ ዳኘው ''abba daññäw''); 17 ...

and Empress

Taytu Betul Taytu Betul ( am, ጣይቱ ብጡል; baptised as Wälättä Mikael; 1851 – 11 February 1918) was Empress of Ethiopia from 1889 to 1913 and the third wife of Emperor Menelik II. An influential figure in anti-colonial resistance during the ...

According to

Richard Pankhurst Richard Marsden Pankhurst (1834 – 5 July 1898) was an English barrister and socialist who was a strong supporter of women's rights. Early life Richard Pankhurst was the son of Henry Francis Pankhurst (1806–1873) and Margaret Marsden (1 ...

, when the couple were in residence, its population would mushroom from about 2,400 to as many as 15,000. It was the first place in Ethiopia to have a permanent water mill, built in 1909 on the Holetta River. Holeta is best known as the location of the Holeta Military Academy. Opened in January 1935, and staffed by five Swedish officers, the first class of 120 cadets did not complete their studies due to the

Second Italo-Ethiopian War The Second Italo-Ethiopian War, also referred to as the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, was a war of aggression which was fought between Italy and Ethiopia from October 1935 to February 1937. In Ethiopia it is often referred to simply as the Itali ...

. It was reopened once Emperor

Haile Selassie Haile Selassie I ( gez, ቀዳማዊ ኀይለ ሥላሴ, Qädamawi Häylä Səllasé, ; born Tafari Makonnen; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as Regent Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia (' ...

returned to Ethiopia, and celebrated its 25th anniversary 20–30 April 1960."Local History in Ethiopia"
The Nordic Africa Institute website (accessed 18 November 2007) After the murder of Hadush Araya on 14 February 1996, the academy was renamed for him. Hadush Araya was one of the military leaders of the

Tigray People's Liberation Front The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF; ti, ህዝባዊ ወያነ ሓርነት ትግራይ, lit=Popular Struggle for the Freedom of Tigray), also called the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front, is a left-wing ethnic nationalist paramilitar ...

Economy

Like much of Ethiopia, the economy is mainly based on agriculture but industry is growing. Habesha Cement has announced that it is constructing a new cement plant within the city limits of Holeta. The town hosts a research station of the

Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research The Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR'')http://www.eiar.gov.et/ is a research institute for agricultural study in Ethiopia. has evolved through several stages since its initiation during the late 1940s, following the establishme ...

. Founded in 1963, this station is the national center for research to improve the yield of

barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley p ...

, highland oil crops,

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...

es, and dairy products.

Demographics

The 2007 national census reported a total population for Holeta of 25,593, of whom 12,605 were men and 12,988 were women. The majority of the inhabitants said they practised

Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church ( am, የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ቤተ ክርስቲያን, ''Yäityop'ya ortodoks täwahedo bétäkrestyan'') is the largest of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. One of the few Chri ...

, with 73% of the population reporting they observed this belief, while 20.44% of the population were

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

, and 5.43% were Muslim.''2007 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia: Results for Oromia Region'', Vol. 1
, Tables 2.1, 2.5, 3.4 (accessed 13 January 2012) According to the 1994 national census, this town has a population of 16,800. The 1994 census reported this town had a total population of 16,785 of whom 8,040 were males and 8,745 were females. It is the largest of three towns in the

Walmara Walmara ( om, Walmaraa) is a district in the Oromia Special Zone Surrounding Finfinne, Oromia Region, Ethiopia. It is bordered on the south by the Sebeta Hawas, on the west by West Shewa Zone, on the north by Mulo, on the northeast by the Sululta ...

Aanaa Districts of Ethiopia, also called woredas ( am, ወረዳ; ''woreda''), are the third level of the administrative divisions of Ethiopia – after ''zones'' and the '' regional states''. These districts are further subdivided into a number of ...

Notes

{{Districts of the Oromia Region Populated places in the Oromia Region