Ondjiva
| Ondjiva | |
|---|---|
| Commune and City | |
 Ondjiva
|
|
| Coordinates: 17°04′S 15°44′E / 17.067°S 15.733°E | |
| Country |
 Angola
|
| Province | Cunene |
| Municipality | Cuanhama |
| Elevation | 1,098 m (3,602 ft) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 19,602 |
| Time zone | WAT (UTC+1) |
| Climate | BSh |
Ondjiva (formerly Pereira d'Eça or Vila Pereira de Eça) is a town and commune in the municipality of Cuanhama, province of Cunene, Angola. It is also the administrative capital of Cunene Province and is located at the extreme south of the country. The city is located 42 kilometres (26 mi) from the border with Namibia. It was traditionally the seat of the Ovambo king of the Oukwanyama tribe. Ondjiva was greatly affected by the Angolan Civil War (1975-2002).
The Ondjiva mission station was established first in 1891 by Friedrich Meisenholl and August Wulfhorst of the Rhenish Mission Society, and with the help of Friedrich Bernsmann and with the permission of King Weyulu Hedimbi. They thought that Ondjiva would have been in the territory of German South West Africa, which later turned out not to be the case. The following year they established the mission station of Omupanda.
Meisenholl stayed in Ondjiva for some four years, before he had to leave due to a serious illness. Wilhelm Stahlhut came to replace him in the mid-1890s. Stahlhut’s three children died in Africa, and finally he himself fell ill with blackwater fever and died in Outjo on 1 May 1900. His widow stayed for many years, first in Oukwanyama and then in Hereroland.
In August 1915, King Mandume had the mission station burned, and the Germans had to flee to Ondonga in South West Africa.
Ondjiva later became a Catholic mission and the see of the bishop of the Ondjiva Diocese. Fernando Guimaraes Kevanu was the bishop until 2011, and he was to be succeeded by Rev. Pio Hipunyati.
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Wikipedia