Debre Marqos
Encyclopedia
Debre Marqos is a city and woreda
in east-central Ethiopia
. Located in the Misraq Gojjam Zone
of the Amhara Region
, it has a latitude and longitude of 10°20′N 37°43′E, and an elevation of 2,446 meters. The city is named Debre Marqos after its principal church, which was constructed in 1869 and dedicated to St. Mark. Until the reorganization of the provinces that followed the adoption of the 1995 constitution, this city served as the capital of the province of Gojjam
.
Debre Marqos is served by an airport
(ICAO code HADM, IATA DBM) with an unpaved runway.
Tekle Haymanot
was remodeled in 1926 by his son Ras Hailu Tekle Haymanot
, in the style of European buildings after his tour of Europe in the party of Ras Tefari. By 1935, the town had postal, telegraph, and telephone service.
The Italians arrived in Debre Marqos 20 May 1936. Through an interpreter, Achille Starace
, who had arrived by plane, told the surprised local inhabitants that he had come free them from their oppressors. Debre Marqos was later isolated, and practically besieged by a revolt in 1938. General Ugo Cavallero
, with sixty thousand men and supported by airplanes and tanks, had crushed the revolt by the end of May. A major Italian
fortification was located in the city during the existence of Italian East Africa
, and captured by the British Gideon Force
and Ethiopian Arbegnoch (or Resistance Fighters) 3 April 1941 during the East African Campaign
.
In 1957, Negus Tekle Haimanot School in Debre Marqos was one of 9 provincial secondary schools in Ethiopia. The next year, the town was one of 27 places in Ethiopia ranked as a First Class Township. In 1960 a branch of the Ethiopian Electric Light and Power Authority had started operation in Debre Marqos.
Construction on Africa's first electric bus manufacturing factory began on 43 hectares of land in Debre Marqos in January, 2007 by Rus Afro Trolleybus, a joint Russia
n-Ethiopian partnership. CEO and major shareholder Getachew Eshetu has predicted that the factory will have the capacity to manufacture 500 trolley buses per year, and employ 5,000 people.
in 2005, Debre Marqos has an estimated total population of 85,597, of whom 43,229 are men and 42,368 are women. The woreda has an estimated area of 21.53 square kilometers, which gives Debre Marqos a density of 3,975.70 people per square kilometer.
The 1994 national census reported a total population for Debre Marqos of 49,297 in 9,617 households, of whom 22,745 were men and 26,552 were women. The three largest ethnic groups reported in this town were the Amhara
(97.12%), the Tigrayan
(1.29%), and the Oromo
(0.67%); all other ethnic groups made up 0.92% of the population. The majority of the inhabitants practiced Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, with 97.25% reporting that as their religion, while 1.88% were Muslim
, and 0.81% were Protestant
.
Woreda
Woreda is an administrative division of Ethiopia , equivalent to a district . Woredas are composed of a number of Kebele, or neighborhood associations, which are the smallest unit of local government in Ethiopia...
in east-central Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
. Located in the Misraq Gojjam Zone
Misraq Gojjam Zone
Misraq Gojjam is a Zone in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. Misraq Gojjam is named after the former province of Gojjam.Misraq Gojjam is bordered on the south by the Oromia Region, on the west by Mirab Gojjam, on the north by Debub Gondar, and on the east by Debub Wollo; the bend of the Abay River...
of the Amhara Region
Amhara Region
Amhara is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia, containing the homeland of the Amhara people. Previously known as Region 3, its capital is Bahir Dar....
, it has a latitude and longitude of 10°20′N 37°43′E, and an elevation of 2,446 meters. The city is named Debre Marqos after its principal church, which was constructed in 1869 and dedicated to St. Mark. Until the reorganization of the provinces that followed the adoption of the 1995 constitution, this city served as the capital of the province of Gojjam
Gojjam
Gojjam was a kingdom in the north-western part of Ethiopia, with its capital city at Debre Marqos. This region is distinctive for lying entirely within the bend of the Abbay River from its outflow from Lake Tana to the Sudan...
.
Debre Marqos is served by an airport
Debre Marqos Airport
Debre Marqos Airport is an airport in Debre Marqos, Ethiopia . This airport has a latitude and longitude of with an altitude of 2480 meters above sea level, and one runway 1300 meters long....
(ICAO code HADM, IATA DBM) with an unpaved runway.
History
The palace of NegusNegus
Negus is a title in Ge'ez, Tigrinya, Tigre and Amharic, used for a king and at times also a vassal ruler in pre-1974 Ethiopia and pre-1890 Eritrea. It is subsequently used to translate the word "king" in Biblical and other literature...
Tekle Haymanot
Tekle Haymanot of Gojjam
Tekle Haymanot Tessemma, also Adal Tessemma, Tekle Haymanot of Gojjam, and Tekle Haimanot of Gojjam, was an army commander and a member of the nobility of the Ethiopian Empire.- Biography :...
was remodeled in 1926 by his son Ras Hailu Tekle Haymanot
Hailu Tekle Haymanot
Hailu Tekle Haymanot, KBE , also named Hailu II of Gojjam, was an army commander and a member of the nobility of the Ethiopian Empire. He represented a provincial ruling elite who were often at odds with the Ethiopian central government...
, in the style of European buildings after his tour of Europe in the party of Ras Tefari. By 1935, the town had postal, telegraph, and telephone service.
The Italians arrived in Debre Marqos 20 May 1936. Through an interpreter, Achille Starace
Achille Starace
Achille Starace was a prominent leader of Fascist Italy prior to and during World War II.-Early life and career:Starace was born in Gallipoli in southern Italy near Lecce. He was son of a wine and oil merchant....
, who had arrived by plane, told the surprised local inhabitants that he had come free them from their oppressors. Debre Marqos was later isolated, and practically besieged by a revolt in 1938. General Ugo Cavallero
Ugo Cavallero
Ugo Cavallero was an Italian military commander before and during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross...
, with sixty thousand men and supported by airplanes and tanks, had crushed the revolt by the end of May. A major Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
fortification was located in the city during the existence of Italian East Africa
Italian East Africa
Italian East Africa was an Italian colonial administrative subdivision established in 1936, resulting from the merger of the Ethiopian Empire with the old colonies of Italian Somaliland and Italian Eritrea. In August 1940, British Somaliland was conquered and annexed to Italian East Africa...
, and captured by the British Gideon Force
Gideon Force
The Gideon Force was a small British-led African regular force which acted as a Corps d'Elite amongst the irregular Ethiopian forces fighting the Italian occupation forces in Ethiopia during the East African Campaign of World War II...
and Ethiopian Arbegnoch (or Resistance Fighters) 3 April 1941 during the East African Campaign
East African Campaign (World War II)
The East African Campaign was a series of battles fought in East Africa during World War II by the British Empire, the British Commonwealth of Nations and several allies against the forces of Italy from June 1940 to November 1941....
.
In 1957, Negus Tekle Haimanot School in Debre Marqos was one of 9 provincial secondary schools in Ethiopia. The next year, the town was one of 27 places in Ethiopia ranked as a First Class Township. In 1960 a branch of the Ethiopian Electric Light and Power Authority had started operation in Debre Marqos.
Construction on Africa's first electric bus manufacturing factory began on 43 hectares of land in Debre Marqos in January, 2007 by Rus Afro Trolleybus, a joint Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n-Ethiopian partnership. CEO and major shareholder Getachew Eshetu has predicted that the factory will have the capacity to manufacture 500 trolley buses per year, and employ 5,000 people.
Demographics
Based on figures from the Central Statistical AgencyCentral Statistical Agency (Ethiopia)
The Central Statistical Agency is an agency of the government of Ethiopia designated to provide all surveys and censuses for that country used to monitor economic and social growth, as well as to act as an official training center in that field. It is part of the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance and...
in 2005, Debre Marqos has an estimated total population of 85,597, of whom 43,229 are men and 42,368 are women. The woreda has an estimated area of 21.53 square kilometers, which gives Debre Marqos a density of 3,975.70 people per square kilometer.
The 1994 national census reported a total population for Debre Marqos of 49,297 in 9,617 households, of whom 22,745 were men and 26,552 were women. The three largest ethnic groups reported in this town were the Amhara
Amhara people
Amhara are a highland people inhabiting the Northwestern highlands of Ethiopia. Numbering about 19.8 million people, they comprise 26% of the country's population, according to the 2007 national census...
(97.12%), the Tigrayan
Tigray-Tigrinya people
Tigray-Tigrinya are an ethnic group who live in the southern, central and northern parts of Eritrea and the northern highlands of Ethiopia's Tigray province. They also live in Ethiopia's former provinces of Begemder and Wollo, which are today mostly part of Amhara Region, though a few regions...
(1.29%), and the Oromo
Oromo people
The Oromo are an ethnic group found in Ethiopia, northern Kenya, .and parts of Somalia. With 30 million members, they constitute the single largest ethnic group in Ethiopia and approximately 34.49% of the population according to the 2007 census...
(0.67%); all other ethnic groups made up 0.92% of the population. The majority of the inhabitants practiced Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, with 97.25% reporting that as their religion, while 1.88% were Muslim
Islam in Ethiopia
According to the latest 2007 national census, Islam is the second most widely practised religion in Ethiopia after Christianity, with over 25 million of Ethiopians adhering to Islam according to the 2007 national census, having arrived in Ethiopia in 615...
, and 0.81% were Protestant
P'ent'ay
P'ent'ay or Pentay is a slang term widely used in modern Ethiopia, and among Ethiopians living abroad, to describe Ethiopian Christians who are not members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo, Ethiopian Orthodox Tehadeso, Roman Catholic or Ethiopian Catholic churches...
.