Otjiwarongo

Otjiwarongo, town, north-central Namibia. Otjiwarongo town (at an elevation of 4,790 feet [1,460 metres]) is located in a generally flat, semiarid region of varied grasses, scrub bush, and thorn trees. Sheep and cattle are grazed in the region, which was originally inhabited by the Bergdama (Damara) and San (Bushmen). The latter were displaced in the early 19th century by the cattle-grazing Herero people, who, when moving into the area, gave Otjiwarongo its present name, meaning “the place of the fat cattle.” A Rhenish (German Lutheran) mission station was established in the area in 1891. Between 1904 and 1907 the white settlement of Otjiwarongo evolved from a German military station established to fight the rebellious Herero. Boer trekkers returning from Angola settled in the vicinity in 1933, and the settlement of Otjiwarongo became a municipality in 1939. Otjiwarongo is a local market and railway centre and has a creamery. Corn (maize) and cereals are grown in the area. Pop. (2001) 19,614; (2011) 28,249.