Serowe, Botswana
| Serowe | |
|---|---|
 Serowe
|
|
| Coordinates: 22°23′S 26°43′E / 22.383°S 26.717°E | |
| Country |
 Botswana
|
| District | Central District |
| Sub-District | Serowe/Palapye |
| Elevation | 1,140 m (3,740 ft) |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Total | 47,447 |
| Time zone | Central Africa Time (UTC+2) |
| • Summer (DST) | not observed (UTC+2) |
| Area code(s) | 463xxxx |
| ISO 3166 code | BW=CE |
| Climate | BSh |
Serowe (population approximately 60,000) is a town in Botswana's Central District. A trade and commercial centre, it is Botswana's largest village. Serowe has played an important role in Botswana's history, as capital for the Bamangwato people in the early 20th century and as birthplace of several of Botswana's presidents. More recently it has undergone significant development as the town and Botswana continue to grow.
Serowe has a memorial to Khama III, chief of the Bamangwato people in the late 19th-early 20th century, who in 1903 founded the town as a new capital of the Bamangwato. It is also the birthplace of Seretse Khama, Botswana's first president, and the traditional center of the Bamangwato tribe.
Swaneng Hill School was the first of the Brigades Movement schools founded by educationalist Patrick van Rensburg.
Serowe is located in a fertile area, well-watered by the Lotsane River. It lies west of the Gaborone–Francistown road, from which it is easily reached. It also marks the beginning of the Serowe-Orapa road, which ends at the diamond mines in Orapa. Construction of this road began in 1986 and was completed several years later.
There are two hills at Swaneng, called Rra-Swaneng and Mma-Swaneng – Father- and Mother-Swaneng – respectively.
Notable features of the local area include a Botswana Defence Force (BDF) base on the road to Paje and the Khama Rhino Sanctuary. The Rhino Sanctuary is a charitable game reserve, 25 km north of Serowe, established in 1992 by the local Ballentine and Watson families and Ian Khama (the current President). Its 4,300 hectares of Kalahari sandveld were established as a haven for black and white Rhinoceros.
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