Antsirabe () also known as Ville d'eau is the third largest city in

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

and the capital of the

Vakinankaratra Vakinankaratra is a region in central Madagascar. The capital of the region is Antsirabe. Vakinankaratra covers an area of , and had a population of 2,074,358 in 2018. History The kingdom of Vakinankaratra, known as the kingdom of the river Andr ...

region, with a population of 265,018 in 2014. In Madagascar, Antsirabe is known for its relatively cool climate (like the rest of the central region), its industry and the high concentration of

pulled rickshaw A pulled rickshaw (from Japanese language, Japanese ) is a mode of human-powered transport by which a runner draws a two-wheeled cart which seats one or two people. In recent times the use of human-powered rickshaws has been discouraged or outl ...

s or ''pousse-pousse''. It attracts around 30,000 tourists a year.

Etymology and names

The Malagasy name ''Antsirabe'' literally means "the place of much salt". The city has the nicknames ''ville d'eau'' ('city of water' in French) and ''visy gasy'' or ''le Vichy malgache'' ('the Malagasy

Vichy Vichy (, ; ) is a city in the central French department of Allier. Located on the Allier river, it is a major spa and resort town and during World War II was the capital of Vichy France. As of 2021, Vichy has a population of 25,789. Known f ...

' in Malagasy and French respectively), referring to the presence of multiple thermal springs in the area.

History

The area where Antsirabe is found today was part of the Kingdom of Andrantsay which existed from the early 1600s until it was incorporated into the Imerina kingdom in the early 1800s. The area was a farming region, with production of rice, vegetables and fruit. The first Norwegian (Lutheran) missionaries arrived in 1868.

Limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

and

sulphur Sulfur (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphur (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth spelling) is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundance of the chemical ...

were exploited in the area at this time. The city was founded by Norwegian missionary T.G. Rosaas in 1872 as a hill station to serve as a retreat centre because of the much cooler climate. The thermal baths were opened in 1917. In 1886 the Norwegian mission established the

leper Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria '' Mycobacterium leprae'' or '' Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve da ...

hospital of Ambohipiantrana and it quickly developed into a village for lepers. The colonial government decided to make it the leper hospital of Vakinankaratra and the around 950 people with the illness lived there in 1904. During the French colonial rule the centre of the

region shifted from the Andrantsay capital of Fivavahana to Antsirabe. In 1921 it succeeded Betafo as the seat of a Catholic (pre-diocesan)

Apostolic vicariate An apostolic vicariate is a territorial jurisdiction of the Catholic Church under a titular bishop centered in missionary regions and countries where dioceses or parishes have not yet been established. The status of apostolic vicariate is often ...

, and was promoted to a bishopric in 1955.

Population

Languages

The majority of the population belongs to the

Merina The Merina people (also known as the Imerina, Antimerina, Borizany or Ambaniandro) formerly called Amboalambo are the largest ethnic group in Madagascar.

ethnic group, which speaks a highland dialect of Malagasy. As in other urban areas of Madagascar, French is widely understood.

Places of worship

The

places of worship A place of worship is a specially designed structure or space where individuals or a group of people such as a congregation come to perform acts of devotion, veneration, or religious study. A building constructed or used for this purpose is so ...

, are predominantly

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

churches and temples: * Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar * Malagasy Lutheran Church *

Assemblies of God The World Assemblies of God Fellowship (WAGF), commonly known as the Assemblies of God (AG), is a global cooperative body or communion of over 170 Pentecostal denominations that was established on August 15, 1989. The WAGF was created to provi ...

* Association of Bible Baptist Churches in Madagascar * Roman Catholic Diocese of Antsirabe There are also

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

mosques.

Government

Antsirabe -Grande Avenue with station building

The mayor of Antsirabe is Honoré Gabriel Rasamimanana since 2020.

Architecture

Several buildings in central Antsirabe date back to the first decades of the 20th century. These include the thermal bath centre (opened in 1917), Hôtel des Thermes (1922), the railway station (1923), and the residence for French retirees (1934). Other sights are ''la Stèle de l'Indépendance'' (the

Stele A stele ( ) or stela ( )The plural in English is sometimes stelai ( ) based on direct transliteration of the Greek, sometimes stelae or stelæ ( ) based on the inflection of Greek nouns in Latin, and sometimes anglicized to steles ( ) or stela ...

of Independence) on Independence Avenue and the two public markets: Antsenakely ("The Small Market") and the bigger Asabotsy.

Geography and climate

Antsirabe is situated at an altitude of about , making its

subtropical highland climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring c ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''Cwb''), similar to Brazilian high cities of the

southeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, Radius, radially arrayed compass directions (or Azimuth#In navigation, azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A ''compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, ...

. During the winter the temperature can fall below at night, and Antsirabe has recorded the lowest temperature in Madagascar at . May to September form the coldest and driest part of the year with average monthly temperatures between and and an average number of days with precipitation per month of 1–2. From November to March the climate is warmer and wetter with on average 12 to 17 days with precipitation per month and average temperature of approximately . April and October have average temperatures of and respectively and 5–6 days of rain. The Ankaratra volcanic field covers an area about 100 km long from Antsirabe northwards to Arivonimamo where highest peak reaches . This volcanic field is "the most prominent and volcanologically diverse (sic) on Madagascar". Several water-filled craters are found in the area around Antsirabe, including Lake Tritriva to the south-west. There are hot springs which are utilised by the Ranomafana thermal bath in the city.

Bodies of water

* Lake Tritriva (15 km from Antsirabe) *Lake Andraikiba (7 km from Antsirabe) The Mania River is south of Antsirabe.

Economy

Textile (COTONA, Cottonline, Aquarelle), Beverages (Star Brasseries, Malto), Food industry ( Socolait, Tsarafy), Tobacco (SACIMEM), Mineral water (Sté. des Eaux Minerales, Ranovisy), soap production (Soba). An Export Processing Zone is located in Antsirabe and the town is the home of several factories, including Star Brasseries (beverages), Cotona (textiles) and Kobama (grain). Antsirabe is also the major apple producing town of Madagascar, with some 10,000 tons produced per year.

Infrastructure

The city is at the end of the TA (Tananarive-Antsirabe) railway line, part of the Network North railway, which links Antsirabe to the capital and the port city of

Toamasina Toamasina (), meaning "like salt" or "salty", unofficially and in French language, French Tamatave or in the past as Port aux prunes, is the capital of the Atsinanana region on the east coast of Madagascar on the Indian Ocean. The city is the chief ...

. The line is operated by

Madarail The government of Madagascar has granted Madarail a 25-year concession to operate the northern of the two national rail lines. The company is investing in Madagascar's rail system. Operations began in 2003 with one locomotive; 7 more locomotiv ...

, currently only with freight trains. The line has been extended southwards through Vinaninkarena, but this extension is not in use. National road 7 (RN7) connects the city to

Antananarivo Antananarivo (Malagasy language, Malagasy: ; French language, French: ''Tananarive'', ), also known by its colonial shorthand form Tana (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Madagascar. The administrative area of the city, known ...

in the north and to

Fianarantsoa Fianarantsoa is a city (commune urbaine) in south central Madagascar, and is the capital of Haute Matsiatra Region. History It was built in the early 19th century by the Merina as the administrative capital for the newly conquered Betsileo kin ...

and

Toliara Toliara (also known as ''Toliary'', ; formerly ''Tuléar'') is a city in southern Madagascar. It is the capital of the Atsimo-Andrefana region, located 936 km southwest of the national capital Antananarivo. The current spelling of the name ...

to the south. Antsirabe is connected with

Morondava Morondava (, from "long coast") is a city located in Menabe Region, of which it is the capital, in Madagascar. It is located in the delta of the Morondava River at . Its population as of the 2018 census, was 53,510. Population The predominant ...

on the west coast through RN34 and RN 35. Public transport to and from Antsirabe are provided by taxi-brousses (share taxis) and buses. Most taxi-brousses operate from the main bus station in the north of the city. Within the city public transport consists of small buses and numerous pulled rickshaws ("pousse-pousse"), as well as

cycle rickshaw The cycle rickshaw is a small-scale local means of transport. It is a type of tricycle designed to carry passengers on a vehicle for hire, for-hire basis. It is also known by a variety of other names such as bike taxi, velotaxi, pedicab, bi ...

("cyclo-pousse"),

auto rickshaw An auto rickshaw is a motorized version of the pulled rickshaw or cycle rickshaw. Most have three wheels and do not tilt. They are known by many other terms in various countries, including three-wheeler, Adaidaita Sahu, Keke-napep, Maruwa, auto, ...

("touktouks") and private taxis. The pousse-pousse is something of an emblem of the city; 5600 of them were recorded in 2006. There is also an airport.

Sports

Football: * FC Vakinankaratra * FC Jirama Antsirabe Basketball: * GNBC (winner of the Malagasy N1A league in 2016 and 2019)

Education

The Institute of Higher Education of Antsirabe Vakinankaratra is the regional branch of the

University of Antananarivo University of Antananarivo () is the primary public university of Madagascar, located in the capital Antananarivo. History The university traces its founding to 16 December 1955 and the formation of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Antan ...

Museums

The Military Academy of Antsirabe hosts the Akamia museum, a military museum.

Twin cities

Antsirabe is twinned with: *

Vacoas-Phoenix Vacoas-Phoenix () also known as French language, French: ''Villes Jumelles'' (Twin Cities), is a town in Mauritius, located in the Plaines Wilhems District, the eastern part also lies in the Moka District. The town is administered by the Municipal ...

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

* Montluçon,

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Levallois-Perret Levallois-Perret () is a Communes of France, commune in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department and Île-de-France Regions of France, region of north-central France. It lies on the right bank of the Seine, some from the Kilometre z ...

/ref> Antsirabe has collaborations with: *

Stavanger Stavanger, officially the Stavanger Municipality, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the third largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

Notable locals

* Olga Ramalason, mayor of Antsirabe ( TIM) until November 2011 when she became Minister of Commerce *

Mohammed V of Morocco Mohammed al-Khamis bin Yusef bin Hassan al-Alawi, better known simply as Mohammed V (10 August 1909 – 26 February 1961), was the last Sultan of Morocco from 1927 to 1953 and from 1955 to 1957, and first King of Morocco from 1957 to 1961. A ...

and his family, including the later

Hassan II Hassan, Hasan, Hassane, Haasana, Hassaan, Asan, Hassun, Hasun, Hassen, Hasson or Hasani may refer to: People *Hassan (given name), Arabic given name and a list of people with that given name *Hassan (surname), Arabic, Jewish, Irish, and Scotti ...

, lived in exile at Hôtel des Thermes in Antsirabe in 1955 * Henri de Laulanie, S.J., who developed an agricultural school for the area, where he developed a

System of Rice Intensification The System of Rice Intensification (SRI) is a farming methodology that aims to increase the yield of rice while using fewer resources and reducing environmental impacts. The method was developed by a France, French Jesuit Priest, Father Henri de L ...

that has spread worldwide * Members of the folk-pop band Mahaleo got their start in Antsirabe as secondary school students. * President Andry Rajoelina was born in Antsirabe

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Cities in Madagascar Populated places in Vakinankaratra Regional capitals in Madagascar