'''Gweru''' (formerly '''Gwelo''') is a city near the centre of Zimbabwe at {{coor dm|19|25|S|29|50|E|}}. It has a population of about 137,000 (2002), making it the fourth largest city in the nation. The city was founded in 1894 by Dr. Leander_Starr_Jameson. It is also home to Thornhill Air Base, an army garrison, the Zimbabwe_Military_Museum and the Antelope_Game_Park. The Nalatale and Danangombe enclosures lie nearby, the first known for its patterned brickwork, the second for its Portuguese remains. =Industry= Industries include Zimbabwe_Alloys, a chrome smelting plant, and Bata Shoe Company. Both are leading employers in Gweru. Gweru is situated in one of Zimbabwe's finest cattle rearing areas and surrounding agricultural activity revolves around the Cattle industry (both beef and dairy). Bata have their own Tanning plant for Cattle_hides and the Cold Storage Commission CSC have an Abattoir in Gweru. Flowers are also grown in the area for the export market and Zimbabwe's largest Distiller, Afdis, have extensive Vineyards in Gweru for the production of wine. Mining is also prevalent, mainly Chrome ore from rich deposits along the Great_Dyke to the East of Gweru. =Links with Southern Africa= ==Railway== The 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 Bulawayo_-_Harare_Line. ==Road== As a central city of cities, it has direct links all the other cities of Zimbabwe and other towns. =Politics= Like other urban areas of Zimbabwe, the majority supports the MDC. =Population= The population of the urban is thought to be around 300 000 people but could be even more had it not that most of the people in Zimbabwe still maintain their rural background thereby having 2 'homes'. The majority are Shona speakers and some few Ndebele speakers who can make up 10% of the entire population. =Education= Gweru is a home to higher educational institutions such as Gweru_Polytechnic_College, Midlands_State_University and Mkoba_Teachers_College. Gweru's high schools include Thornhill High School, Chaplin_High_School, Midlands_Christian_College and others. =Residential Areas= The biggest surburb in '''Gweru''' is Mkoba which is divided into sections. Mkoba started as a '''village''' so it still maintains village 1, village 2 upto village 26. It is the only surbuban area in Zimbabwe to the village suffix. Mtapa, Senga, Mambo are some of the surbubs around '''Gweru''' where black people used to stay during the colonial period. Sundowns, Northend, Riverside, Thornhill etc are among the elite residential areas of Gweru.. =Hotels= There is a victorian style hotel, the Midlands_Hotel which is thought to be the oldest building in the city centre with more than 100 years. It was about to demolished but after much protest, it was spared. Fairmile_Motel is just a mile from the city centre on Bulawayo road. =Mining= Gweru lies very close to Great_Dyke therefore is also minerally rich. Former Rhodesian prime minister Ian_Smith was born in the city. ==External links== *Gweru city web site *Midlands State University web site *Street map of colonial-era Gweru Category:Cities_in_Zimbabwe De:Gweru Pl:Gweru Sr:Гверу Fi:Gweru