Travel Guide Gitega

A second town in the country with its area and history (more than 50 000 inhabitants according to estimates), Gitega is located in the middle of Burundi on the map, in the heart of the central plateaus where the country's monarchical and colonial history has settled. This year, the city celebrated its centenary, at the same time as the country celebrated the golden jubilee of its independence.History. Located in the region of the masters of the drums of royalty, the city of Gitega owes its birth to the Germans, who created it in 1912 under the name Kitega and the capital of their "residence" Burundian, in place of Bujumbura (Usumbura at the time). After the departure of the Germans, the Belgians preserved it as the head-place of Burundi and even obtained the mwami that it settled there. However, to independence, the new Burundian leaders préférèrent Bujumbura, who had more infrastructure and more equipment.Since the first time in its existence, with European, Asian and Swahili trading communities well established in the national and international trade circuits, the agglomeration has continued to grow in the background of Bujumbura, while de facto being a second capital, that of «the interior».An essential city. Gitega is a near-forced point for travellers travelling through rural Burundi, and few could complain about it. It is indeed a pleasant city, the mild climate (19-20 ° C on average) and the just sun necessary to revitalize body and mind. The day is very lively around its large central place and the market; In the evening, the districts of the centre, like the most distant, fill with laughter and conversations in cabarets.With all the public services and shops determined to fulfil its status, Gitega deserves a stay of at least two or three days because the potential for visits in or near the centre justifies it: National museum, tambourinaires, German architectural remains in Musinzira, religious perimeter of Mushasha (archdiocese)…City of meeting of all the great religions of the country, where the mosques in the Swahili district side with countless parishes and Christian congregations, Gitega is also the second largest city in education and culture in Burundi after Bujumbura, with its many school structures, from primary to tertiary (Zege campus of the University of Burundi), its specialized research and teaching institutes, and finally, its schools and arts and crafts centres.