Iringa – A brief Historical and Cultural Tour

One of Malcolm’s interests is the history of places, so last Sunday he went on a walking tour of Iringa. This was led by a resident, Darlene, who described some of the history of the town.

 

The Germans first colonized Tanzania in the 1880’s and fortified Iringa in 1890. One of the oldest buildings, built by the Germans as a hospital, is the ‘Boma’. This has recently been renovated and houses the small museum and was the start of the tour.

The Germans did not have an easy job holding onto Iringa. One of the heroes of the country is Chief Mkwawa who defeated an expeditionary force of German soldiers (mainly Askaris) in 1891 using spears to defeat muskets. The site of the battle, Lugalo, is now used as the name of the Tanzanian military base in Dar es Salaam.

The memorial to the German 'Askaris' (Foreign mercenary troops) stands in front of the original German military headquarters.

 After the battle Chief Mkwawa continued to harass the Germans using Guerilla tactics until his death, by suicide, in 1898 to avoid being captured.

 

One interesting thing about the German occupation, is that they didn’t build a prison.  So much more efficient to ’interrogate’ any suspects – and then hang them!

The Germans lost Tanzania in 1916 when it became a British Protectorate.

The German’s also built the original market hall, which still stands but is difficult to see as it is surrounded by the new market and shops. 

Here you can by a wide range of vegetable, spices and other day to day necessities.

The tour concluded with a visit to the war cemetery which contains graves of British, Commonwealth and German soldiers killed in both world wars as well as those of the early settlers,