Butare
Butare, also known as Huye and formerly known as Astrida, is a city with a population of 62,823 in the Southern Province of Rwanda and the capital of Huye district. It is the seventh largest town in Rwanda by population.
History
The Belgian colonial rulers established it in the 1920s and named the city Astrida, in honour of Queen Astrid of the Belgians. The government of Rwanda changed the name of the city when it gained independence in 1962.Climate
Education
The University of Rwanda Butare campus was founded in 2013. Before that, the Butare campus went by the name of National University of Rwanda subsequent its foundation in 1963. Due to the large number of university students and student-centered activities in the city, Butare is often regarded as a university city. It also held the Nyakibanda Seminary and the Rwandan National Institute of Scientific Research.The city of Butare has long been regarded as the intellectual capital of the country, while Kigali holds most political power.
The Groupe Scolaire Officiel de Butare is the largest secondary school in Rwanda.