Fianarantsoa

History

It was built in the early 19th century by the Merina as the administrative capital for the newly conquered Betsileo kingdoms.

Fianarantsoa means "Good education" in Malagasy. It is a cultural and intellectual center for the whole island. It is home to some of the oldest Protestant and Lutheran cathedrals on the island, the oldest theological seminary (also Lutheran), as well as the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Fianarantsoa (seated in the Cathedral of the Holy Name of Jesus). The city of "good education" also boasts a university named after it and built in 1972. Fianarantsoa is considered to be the capital of wine in Madagascar, because of the presence of many wine industries in the city.

Geography

It is at an average altitude of 1200 m, and has a population of 191,766.

The town is linked to the rest of the country by the National road 7, one of the main highways in Madagascar. The distance is 411 km to the capital Antananarivo, 192 km to Ihosy, 518 km to Tulear.

Ranomafana National Park is a nature park popular among tourists that lies 65 km to the northeast of Fianarantsoa. Another hot spot of tourism is the Isandra geological formations, roughly 30 km Northwest of Fianarantsoa. It can be accessed by the unpaved National road 42 from Fianarantsoa.

Rivers

Two rivers cross this town: the Mandranofotsy in the West, and the Tsiandanitra in the East. Both are affluents of the Matsiatra river.

Transport

The city is at the endpoint of the Fianarantsoa-Côte Est Railway to Manakara. There is also an airport. The city lies on the Route Nationale 7, which goes from the capital in Antananarivo to the coastal city of Toliara. Also the unpaved National road 42 takes its origins in Fianarantsoa.

Education

• Université de Fianarantsoa
• Faculté de médecine de Fianarantsoa French international schools:
• Collège français René-Cassin

Sights

In the Upper Town (Haute Ville), Fianarantsoa's historical centre, where many brick houses were renovated in the original style, various churches on Rue du Rova street are worth a visit. The oldest church in Fianarantsoa is Eglise Antranobiriky dating from 1859. Fahazavana Church was built at the end of the 19th century in a neoromanesque style. Fiangonana Trinité Masombahoaka is a Protestant neogothic church dating from 1885. The largest church, the cathedral Cathédrale du Saint-Nom-de-Jésus de Fianarantsoa, was built from 1871 to 1890.

The train station in the busy district Lower Town (Basse Ville) was inaugurated in 1935. In front of the train station, in the middle of Place de la gare square, a memorial dedicated to the victims of the Malagasy Uprising of 1947 was erected.

File:Fianarantsoa 03.JPG|Train station File:FianarantsoaBahnhofInnen.jpg|Train station File:FianarantsoaPlaceDeLaGare.jpg|Place de la Gare File:FianarantsoaDenkmal.jpg|Monument File:Cathédrale du Saint Nom de Jésus de Fianarantsoa 2.jpg|Cathedral File:FianarantsoaDomInnen.jpg|Cathedral File:FianarantsoaEgliseAntranobiriky.jpg|Eglise Antranobiriky (1859) File:FianarantsoaEgliseTrinité.jpg|Eglise Trinité Mahasombahoaka (1885) File:FianarantsoaEgliseFahazavana.jpg|Eglise Fahazavana File:FianarantsoaRueDuRova.jpg|Rue du Rova

Sports

• Football: the ASF Fianarantsoa and Zanak'Ala FC are the local football teams.

Personalities

• Odon Razanakolona (born 1946), archbishop
• Pety Rakotoniaina (born 1962), politician
• Louis Cambrézy (1874), founder of the newspaper L'Écho du Sud based in Fianarantsoa.

Climate

Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as humid subtropical (Cwa). |Jan record high C = 33.4 |Feb record high C = 32.0 |Mar record high C = 31.9 |Apr record high C = 32.2 |May record high C = 29.9 |Jun record high C = 27.3 |Jul record high C = 28.5 |Aug record high C = 33.0 |Sep record high C = 32.5 |Oct record high C = 35.2 |Nov record high C = 34.8 |Dec record high C = 34.0 |year record high C = |Jan record low C = 12.2 |Feb record low C = 12.8 |Mar record low C = 11.8 |Apr record low C = 9.4 |May record low C = 5.6 |Jun record low C = 2.0 |Jul record low C = 2.9 |Aug record low C = 4.1 |Sep record low C = 5.0 |Oct record low C = 7.0 |Nov record low C = 10.0 |Dec record low C = 11.5 |year record low C = | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200803163337/ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/TABLES/REG__I/MG/67137.TXT | archive-date = 2020-08-03 | url-status = dead | access-date = March 8, 2015}}{{cite web | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230923234825/https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/2.2/data/0-data/Region-1-WMO-Normals-9120/Madagascar/CSV/FIANARANTSOA_67137.csv | archive-date = 23 September 2023 | access-date = 23 September 2023}} | access-date = 9 November 2025}}

References

References

1. TROISIEME RECENSEMENT GENERAL DE LA POPULATION ET DE L’HABITATION
3. "[https://www.facmedfianar.mg/]."
4. "[http://www.aefe.fr/reseau-scolaire-mondial/rechercher-un-etablissement/madagascar-fianarantsoa-college-francais-rene Collège français René-Cassin]{{Dead link. (August 2025)
5. [http://rcassin-fianarantsoa.com/ Home page] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20150430062002/http://rcassin-fianarantsoa.com/ Archive]). Collège français René-Cassin. Retrieved on May 7, 2015.
6. Holger Hooge: ''Madagascar'', p. 76. Ostfildern 2023
7. "Fianarantsoa, Ambalavao Fahazavana Church | Colonial Architecture Project".
8. Holger Hooge: ''Madagascar'', p. 75. Ostfildern 2023
9. [https://www.matin.mg/?p=23040 Zanak'Ala]
10. "Climate: Fianarantsoa - Climate graph, Temperature graph, Climate table". Climate-Data.org.