Otjiwarongo

Otjiwarongo
City
Otjiwarongo main road pictured from the south of the town
Seal
Nickname(s): OTT, OT
Motto: Gradatim
Otjiwarongo Location in Namibia
Coordinates: 20°27′51″S 16°39′10″E / 20.46417°S 16.65278°E / -20.46417; 16.65278Coordinates: 20°27′51″S 16°39′10″E / 20.46417°S 16.65278°E / -20.46417; 16.65278
Country	Namibia
Region	Otjozondjupa Region
Constituency	Otjiwarongo Constituency
Government
• Type	Municipal
• Mayor	Hilda Makano Jesaja
Population (2011)
• Total	28,249
Time zone	South African Standard Time (UTC+1)
Area code(s)	067
Climate	BSh
Website	www.otjiwarongomun.org

Otjiwarongo (Otjiherero: pleasant place or place where fat cattle graze) is a city of 70,000 inhabitants in the Otjozondjupa Region of Namibia. It is the district capital of the Otjiwarongo electoral constituency and also the capital of Otjozondjupa.

Otjiwarongo is situated in central-north Namibia on the TransNamib railway. It is the biggest business centre for Otjozondjupa Region. Otjiwarongo is located on the B1 road and its links between Windhoek, the Golden Triangle of Otavi, Tsumeb and Grootfontein, and Etosha National Park. It is one of Namibia’s fast-growing towns, with a neat and peaceful quality environment, and many excellent facilities including supermarkets, banks, lodges and hotels. Some of Namibia's best-known private game farms and nature reserves are located in and around the town.

Otjiwarongo is one of Namibia's towns with a large population of German-speaking people. German influence is also evident on its Germanic buildings. The school "Donatus School Otjiwarongo" (D.S.O.) was once known as "Deutsche Schule Otjiwarongo".

The Herero people were the original settlers of this area, and they called the place Otjiwarongo, meaning "Place Where Fat Cattle Graze". The name is appropriate as Otjiwarongo is home to some of the biggest cattle-breeding companies in Namibia. German Namibians first settled in Otjiwarongo in 1900. A bloody war was fought in the area between the Hereros and the Germans in 1904 where many of the tribes people died. The Hereros were the only African settlers in the town until 1906 when few amount of Ovambo and Damara tribes migrated to the town for settlement. This happened when Otjiwarongo was established as an administration point for the Germans and officially became a town. A narrow-gauge railway was built from Swakopmund on the coast, to the Otavi copper mine which helped Otjiwarongo become a prosperous agricultural centre. The three tribes where separated like in many of Namibia's towns, where each lived in a separate neighborhood: Ovambo Location, Damara Location and Herero Location respectively. The three locations together made up the suburb of Orwetoveni.