Marondera

Marondera, originally Marandellas, is the capital of Mashonaland East Province, Zimbabwe, about 72 kilometres east of Harare. It began as Marandella's Kraal, named for the chief Marondera of the Rozvi people, and after being destroyed in the Shona resistance of 1896 the town was moved about six kilometres north to the Beira to Bulawayo railway line. It became a village in 1913 and a town in 1943, and during the Second World War over 600 Polish refugees were admitted there before their camp closed in 1946. The city is multicultural, with a Shona majority, and is known for its schools, among them Peterhouse. The 2022 census counted 66,204 people.