History
Gweru used to be named Gwelo. Matabele settlement was named iKwelo ("The Steep Place"), after the river's high banks. The modern town, founded in 1894 as a military outpost, developed as an agricultural centre and became a municipality in 1914.Geography
The geographical coordinates for Gweru Urban are 19° 27Climate
Demographics
Nature and wildlife
In and around Gweru there are attractive places, some are man-made and some are natural. There is: * Antelope Park * White Waters * Insukamini RuinsEconomy
Situated along the road and railway between Harare and Bulawayo and near the rail spur toCulture
The Boggie clock tower, located at the intersection of Main Street and Robert Mugabe Way, was built in 1928 in memory of Major William James Boggie. The clock tower is one of the city's most famous landmarks. The Nalatale and Danamombe archaeological sites lie approximately 70 and 85 km to the southwest, the known for their patterned stonework. The remains at these sites date back to as early as the Torwa state during the 17th century, the most substantial being a four hundred-year-old stone wall decorated with motifs known to the tradition of stone-building in Zimbabwe. The surrounding area has rich deposits of gold, chrome, iron, asbestos and platinum and supports several mines.Tourism
The main hotel in the city is the Midlands Hotel, which was opened in 1927 by the Meikles brothers. This hotel was to be demolished but after many protests by the population it was saved. Another important hotel is the Chitukuko (formerly the Hotel Cecil), located in the downtown area of the city. Both hotels were owned by Patrick Kombayi, a former mayor. The Fairmile Motel is just one mile from the city center on the Bulawayo highway .Sports and stadia
Soccer
* Chapungu Football Club As of 2025, TelOne play in the Zimbabwe Premier League Soccer League (ZPSL) at the Bata Stadium. Chapungu F.C was nicknamed Waru Waru and previously played in the ZPSL. Its home was the Ascot Stadium. There is also Gweru Sports club which has grounds for rugby, bowling and cricket.Government and politics
Education
Primary education
Group A *Cecil John Rhodes School *Lundi Park School *Riverside School *Stanley School *Bata Primary School *Anderson Adventist Primary School (private) *Lingfield Academy (private) * Midlands Christian School (private) Group B *Airforce Thornhill Primary School *Bumburwi School *Chikumbiro School *Matongo School *Mkoba 4 Primary School *Mpumelelo Primary School *Muwunga School *Sandara School *Senga Primary School *Takunda Primary School *Takwirira Primary School *St. Michael's Primary School (Catholic) *St. Paul's School (Catholic)Secondary education
Group A * Sacred Heart College * Chaplin High School *Guinea Fowl High School *Nashville Secondary School * Thornhill High School *Anderson Adventist High School (private) * Lingfield Christian Academy (private) * Midlands Christian College (private) Group B * Ascot Secondary School * Fletcher High School * Mambo High School * Matinunura High school * Mkoba 1 High School * Mkoba 3 High School * Senka Secondary SchoolTertiary education
* Ambassador College * Central Africa Correspondence College * Commercial Studies Centre * Educare College * Gweru Polytechnic Institute * Herentals College * International Correspondence Schools * Kaguvi National Technical College * Mkoba Teachers College * Midlands Christian Training Centre * Midlands State University * Rapid Results College * Senka Technical Training Centre * Solars College * TopFlight Secretarial College * Zimbabwe Distance Education College * Zimbabwe Open University *Mount Hermon Theological SeminaryDefunct colleges and universities
* Midlands College of Commerce (closed 1994)Media
Gweru's local newspaper, ''The Gweru Times'', once ceased publishing in 2015 but now operational.Industry
Gweru was famous for housing big companies that are no longer operating, and which left thousands of employees jobless. There is hope that future big SME companies will make up for the loss in economic activity created by this situation. These big companies were previously housed in and around Gweru. Below is the list of these companies grouped according to size and type of the industry. The companies that previously flourished in Gweru were Bata Shoe Company, ZimGlass, ZimCast, ZimAlloys, Delta Corporation, Anchor Yeast. Today most of their previous premises are derelict and are a painful reminder of a vibrant industrial city that Gweru once was. However, Midlands State University is a recent feature of Gweru which has pushed the city to seek positive recognition as an education centre.Transportation
Railway
Railways arrived in Gwelo (Gweru) in 1902. National Railways of Zimbabwe have the country's largest marshalling yard, Dabuka, on the south side of Gweru. Dabuka plays a pivotal role in rail movement in the country as it is the central hub of the rail links to Mozambique in the east, South Africa in the south and Botswana and Namibia in the south west, lying on the Beira–Bulawayo railway. Gwelo was once home to the Gwelo & District Light Railway, a 2 ft gauge steam for pleasure railway.Roads
As a central city (hub), it has direct links to all the other cities and towns of Zimbabwe. It is 164 km from Bulawayo, 183 km from Masvingo, 471 km from Beitbridge, and 275 km from Harare. Road names used are by destination only, for example the Harare-Bulawayo Road. There are only mainroads, no highways or freeways.Notable people
* Brendan Ashby, Olympic swimmer * Patient Charumbira, cricketer * Shimmer Chinodya, writer * Edmore Chirambadare, footballer * Gerald B. Clarke, Rhodesian politician * Malcolm Grainger, cricketer * Gregg Haakonsen, cricketer * Mandy Loots, Olympic swimmer * Orlando Lourenco, tennis player * Paddington Mhondoro, cricketer * Energy Murambadoro, footballer * Kudakwashe Musharu, footballer * Luther Mutyambizi, cricketer * Christopher Muzvuru, Irish Guards piper * Welshman Ncube, politician * Rudolf Nyandoro, Roman Catholic bishop * David Pocock, Australia international rugby union player and politician * Ray Reed, racing driver * Nkululeko Mkastos Sibanda, politician * Alec Smith, Rhodesian Army chaplain, son of Ian Smith * Thomas Sweswe, footballer * Gary Teichmann, South Africa international rugby union playerSister cities
* Basildon, England, United Kingdom *See also
* List of cities and towns in ZimbabweReferences
{{Authority control Gweru District Populated places in Midlands Province Provincial capitals in Zimbabwe Populated places established in 1894