Rova from Antananarivo
The Rova of Antananarivo is the former royal palace of Madagascar. It lies at an altitude of 1462 m on the highest elevation of the capital , the Analamanga ("blue forest"), and is thus almost 200 m above the districts of the lower town.
The word rova in Malagasy stands for a fortified structure or a fenced area, but is usually used to describe a royal palace.
history
The Rova of Antananarivo was the headquarters of the kings of Madagascar and the royal power center of the whole island of Madagascar until the end of the 19th century, when Madagascar was occupied by the French. The beginnings of the palace area go back to the year 1610, when King Andrianjaka built the first palace here. At that time, the royal seat of Antananarivo was only the center of one of several kingdoms in Madagascar. With the conquest of Antananarivo by Andrianampoinimerina in 1794, the political unification of Madagascar began.
The area of the Rova of Antananarivo (status 1995) consisted of six palace buildings from different epochs, the royal tombs and an evangelical church. The historical buildings were built between 1610 and 1896, with older constructions repeatedly having to give way to the new and larger palaces. The area of the area has increased steadily over the centuries and today comprises 13,000 m².
The Rova fell victim to a fire on November 6, 1995, only stone buildings such as the Queen's Palace and the temple remained at least from the facade. The reconstruction work dragged on for a long time due to limited financial resources, but could largely be completed by the celebration of Madagascar's 50th anniversary in June 2010.
Web links
Coordinates: 18 ° 55 ′ 26 ″ S , 47 ° 31 ′ 56 ″ E