Antananarivo

Tananarive
Tananarive
	Coat of arms
	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)
Climate	Cwb
Website	www.mairie-antananarivo.mg (in French)

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 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.

Antananarivo Media

Old city gate
Sovereigns addressed the public at the historic town square of Andohalo.
Lake Anosy was created in the 19th century to provide hydraulic power to industrial factories.
Ranavalona I built the staircases connecting the market at Analakely to Antaninarenina (pictured) and Ambondrona in 1832.
Andafiavaratra Palace was the home of Prime Minister Rainilaiarivony.
The colonial French Residency serves today as a presidential office and has been renamed the Ambohitsorohitra Palace.
Jacarandas planted during the French colonial period bloom in October around Lake Anosy.
Madagascar senate
Map of the Country 20 Miles around Antananarivo, Madagascar (LMS, 1869, p.44)
The royal palace is built on the peak of Analamanga, the city's highest hill, which dominates its skyline.