Travel Guide Butare / Huye
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Now incorporated into the district of Huye, Butare was the largest city in Rwanda before 1965. This very green city near the royal Nyanza was established in 1917 by the Germans. It was originally the post of Rango, intended to gather indigenous porters to be sent to Tabora, in the future Tanzania. In 1928, the new site was named Astrida, in honor of Queen Astrid of Belgium, and became the capital of Rwanda. The next twenty years saw the construction of the city, with the white quarter on the hills, a native quarter in Ngoma, and an Arab quarter in Mamba. From 1950 to 1963, the major infrastructures were put in place: asphalting of tracks, water and electricity supply, research institute (future IRST), veterinary laboratory, social school... At independence in 1962, Astrida was renamed Butare, but lost its status as capital to Kigali, which was more central. A year later, the university was founded, which greatly influenced the development of the city.The genocide of 1994 took away a considerable number of students and professors. However, Butare resisted the killing spree for a long time and was a haven of peace until April 19, 1994, thanks in particular to its Tutsi prefect, the only one in the country, but who was also swept away by the wave of massacres. The military officer who replaced him, Colonel Tharcisse Muvunyi, caused the city to sink in blood. After taking refuge in England, he was arrested in London in 2000 and transferred to the International Tribunal in Arusha.With its university, which has become English-speaking, Butare is still considered the intellectual and cultural heart of the country, and even of the region, because it is almost equidistant from the three major cities: Kigali (135 km), Bujumbura (148 km) and Bukavu (155 km). It attracts many foreign researchers and doctoral students, especially Anglo-Saxons. In any case, the city does not lack charm with its shaded avenues. Its main street is undergoing a complete facelift, and so much the worse for those nostalgic for the colonial architecture, which is not always maintained, it is true. From now on, buildings must have at least two floors. The main tourist attraction is the Ethnographic Museum, one of the most beautiful in Africa.
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