Fiche is a town in central

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

. It is the administrative centre of the Northern Shewa Zone in

Oromia Oromia (, ) is a Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in Ethiopia and the homeland of the Oromo people. Under Article 49 of 1995 Constitution of Ethiopia, Ethiopian Constitution, the capital of Oromia is Addis Ababa, also called Finfinne. The ...

. It is located about three kilometers from the main

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; ,) is the capital city of Ethiopia, as well as the regional state of Oromia. With an estimated population of 2,739,551 inhabitants as of the 2007 census, it is the largest city in the country and the List of cities in Africa b ...

Debre Marqos Debre Markos () is a city, separate woreda, and administrative seat of the East Gojjam Zone in Amhara Region, Ethiopia. Etymology Originally named Manqwarar (lit: Cold Place), the town was founded in 1853 by Dejazmach Tedla Gwalu, the then rul ...

road, Fiche has a latitude and longitude of and an elevation between 2,738 and 2,782 metres above sea level. Notable landmarks in Fiche include the Fiche St. George Ethiopian Orthodox and Medhane Alem Bete Kristiyan churches. The town is also home to several notable Ethiopian painters of religious themes:

Alaqa The title Aleqa ("Master", also transliterated Alaqa) is a honorific title used in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. It is used as the title of a chief priest of a major church, the head of a monastery, as well as being an honorific for a h ...

Gebre Selassie Adil (1881–1975), Emealaf Hiruy (1907–1971), and Alefelege Selam (1924– ).

History

Ras

Kassa Haile Darge '' Ras'' Kassa Hailu (Amharic: ካሣ ኀይሉ ዳርጌ; 7 August 1881 – 16 November 1956) was a Shewan Amhara nobleman, the son of Dejazmach Haile Wolde Kiros of Lasta, the ruling heir of Lasta's throne and younger brother of Emperor ...

ruled the former province of Selale from Fiche in the early 20th century. The deposed ''Lij'' Iyasu was imprisoned in Ras Kassa's house until he escaped in 1931. W.E.D. Allen passed through Fiche in 1941, and describes the town as having "the usual character of Abyssinian country towns: an agglomeration of huts standing in rather dreary eucalyptus groves and dominated by a fort and the European villa of the Ras."Allen
"Ethiopian Highlands", ''Geographical Journal''
Vol. 101, No. 1 (Jan., 1943), p. 6 He also noted that "Fiche has a certain strategic importance in the feudal politics of Abyssinia since it lies across the main line of communication between the capital and Gojjam; and in the period of ''coup d'etats'' in the '20s the lord of Salale was always in the position to intervene suddenly in the capital only 70 miles away." In 1936, after Ras

Hailu Tekle Haymanot Hailu Tekle Haymanot (1868 – 1950), also named Hailu II of Gojjam, was an army commander and a member of the nobility of the Ethiopian Empire. He represented a provincial ruling elite who were often at odds with the Ethiopian central government ...

convinced them to surrender at the beginning of the Italian Occupation, Ras Kassa's two sons Aberra and Asfawossen were executed in Fiche. By 1958, Fiche was one of 27 places in Ethiopia officially ranked as a First Class Township. The army base of the 1st brigade of the Ethiopian Territorial Army, located at Fiche, was used by the

Derg The Derg or Dergue (, ), officially the Provisional Military Administrative Council (PMAC), was the military junta that ruled Ethiopia, including present-day Eritrea, from 1974 to 1987, when they formally "Civil government, civilianized" the ...

to put conscripts of the People's Militia (reconstituted in the spring of 1977 as the "Red Army") through a twelve-week basic training with modern weapons. The municipality announced in February 2009 that it had begun various development works totaling 5.6 million birr, which included construction of alleys, ditches, an abattoir, and expansion of water, health and electric power services.

Demographics

The 2007 national census reported a total population for Fiche of 27,493, of whom 12,933 were men and 14,560 were women. The majority of the inhabitants (94.42%) reported that they practiced

Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church () is the largest of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. One of the few Christian churches in Africa originating before European colonization of the continent, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church dates bac ...

, and 3.61% were

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

. Based on figures from the

Central Statistical Agency The Central Statistical Agency, also known as the Ethiopian Statistical Service (ESS; Amharic: የኢትዮጵያ ስታቲስቲክስ አገልግሎት), is an Ethiopian government agency designated to provide all surveys and censuses for that ...

in 2005, Fiche has an estimated total population of 37,861 of whom 18,446 are men and 19,415 women.CSA 2005 National Statistics
, Table B.3 The 1994 census reported this town had a total population of 21,187 of whom 10,004 were men and 11,183 were women.

Notes

{{Districts of the Oromia Region Populated places in the Oromia Cities and towns in Ethiopia