Bulawayo | Zimbabwe, Map, Population, & Facts

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They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div> <div class="last-updated font-12 font-serif"> <span class="text-gray-700"> Last Updated: <time datetime="2024-11-17T00:00:00CST" >Nov 17, 2024</time> •</span> <a class="byline-edit-history" href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Bulawayo/additional-info#history" rel="nofollow">Article History</a> </div></div> </div> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button d-none d-sm-block js-sections-inline-button module-spacing btn d-lg-none"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <div class="d-flex d-sm-none flex-row"> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button js-sections-inline-button module-spacing"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 ai-ask-button btn border-2 module-spacing btn-sm js-inline-ai-ask-button btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 p-10 ml-5"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> </div> <span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref1"><span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><strong><span id="ref250365"></span>Bulawayo</strong>, second largest city in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Zimbabwe" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Zimbabwe</a> and the chief city of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Matabeleland" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Matabeleland</a> (i.e., the Ndebele-dominated western third of the country). The city lies along the Matsheumlope River in the southwestern part of the country, 4,405 feet (1,341 meters) above <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/sea-level" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">sea level</a> in undulating savanna <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="terrain" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/terrain" data-type="EB">terrain</a>. The original site was the kraal (headquarters) of <span id="ref250366"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Lobengula" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Lobengula</a>, king of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ndebele-Zimbabwean-people" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Ndebele</a>, who fought a major battle against his rivals there; Bulawayo means “place of slaughter.” Occupied by the British in 1893, the settlement was moved in 1894 to its present location 3 miles (5 km) south and declared a town; it became a municipality in 1897 and a city in 1943. Government House, built by <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Cecil-Rhodes" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Cecil John Rhodes</a>, now occupies the original site.</p><div class="one-good-fact-module"> </div><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Bulawayo is Zimbabwe’s principal industrial center; its major products are automobiles, tires, concrete and other building materials, radios, television sets, textiles, furniture, and food. As the headquarters of Zimbabwe railways, Bulawayo is the country’s main transshipment point for goods to and from <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/South-Africa" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">South Africa</a>. The city is laid out on a grid and is modern in appearance, with wide streets and many new buildings. It has two teachers’ colleges, one technical college, and the National Museum. Tourist attractions include Rhodes’s tomb in Matobo National Park, 28 miles (45 km) south, and the Khami Ruins, 12 miles (19 km) west, which was <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="designated" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/designated" data-type="EB">designated</a> a UNESCO <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/World-Heritage-site" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">World Heritage site</a> in 1986. Pop. (2002) 676,650; (2012) 653,337.</p><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="md-signature"><a href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</a></span> <span class="marker end-of-content"></span><span class="marker after-article"></span></div> <div id="chatbot-root"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ai-dialog-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article></div> </div></div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> <script type="text/javascript" id="_informizely_script_tag"> var IzWidget = IzWidget || {}; (function (d) { var scriptElement = d.createElement('script'); scriptElement.type = 'text/javascript'; scriptElement.async = true; scriptElement.src = "https://insitez.blob.core.windows.net/site/f780f33e-a610-4ac2-af81-3eb184037547.js"; var node = d.getElementById('_informizely_script_tag'); node.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, node); } )(document); </script>  <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Topic","templateName":"DESKTOP","pageNumber":1,"pagesTotal":1,"pageId":84005,"pageLength":234,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-131/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.131.7"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-131/dist/topic-page.js?v=3.131.7' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"D","adLeg":"D","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Topic","pageSubtype":null,"articleTemplateType":"SMALL","gisted":false,"pageNumber":1,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":true} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

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