Addis Alem is a town in central Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...

. Located in the Mirab Shewa Zone

Mirab Shewa Zone

Mirab Shewa is one of the 12 zones of the Oromia Region in Ethiopia. This zone takes its name from the kingdom or former province of Shewa...

 of the Oromia Region

Oromia Region

Oromia is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia...

, west of Addis Ababa

Addis Ababa

Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia...

, this town has a latitude and longitude of 9°2′N 38°24′E with an elevation of about 2360 meters above sea level.

Based on figures from the Central Statistical Agency

Central Statistical Agency (Ethiopia)

The Central Statistical Agency is an agency of the government of Ethiopia designated to provide all surveys and censuses for that country used to monitor economic and social growth, as well as to act as an official training center in that field. It is part of the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance and...

 in 2005, this town has an estimated total population of 13,423 of whom 6,420 were males and 7,003 were females. The 1994 census reported this town had a total population of 7,516 of whom 3,482 were males and 4,034 were females. It is the largest settlement in Ejerie

Ejerie

Ejerie is one of the 180 woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Mirab Shewa Zone, it is bordered on the south by the Debub Mirab Shewa Zone, on the west by Dendi, on the northwest by Jeldu, on the north by Meta Robi, on the northeast by Adda Berga, and on the east by Walmara...

 woreda

Woreda

Woreda is an administrative division of Ethiopia , equivalent to a district . Woredas are composed of a number of Kebele, or neighborhood associations, which are the smallest unit of local government in Ethiopia...

.

Addis Alem is known for the Basilica Church of St Maryam. Its adjacent museum

Museum

A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...

 burned to the ground in 1997; however a new one has since opened.

History

Addis Alem was founded in 1900 by Menelik II as a new capital city

Capital City

Capital City was a television show produced by Euston Films which focused on the lives of investment bankers in London living and working on the corporate trading floor for the fictional international bank Shane-Longman....

; Empress Taytu Betul

Taytu Betul

thumb|Taytu BetulTaytu Betul was an Empress of the Ethiopian Empire and the wife of Emperor Menelek II.-Biography:...

 picked he name. Although at one point he had 20,000 members of the Welega Oromo

Welega Oromo

Welega is a branch of the Oromo people who live in Ethiopia in the former Welega Province; a few live across the border in Sudan. They speak West Central Oromo, a dialect of the Oromo language....

 busy in constructing buildings in the new city, by 1903 he decided to keep the capital at Addis Ababa. However, it was used by the Emperor as his summer palace during the following years. The first paved road in Ethiopia was constructed between Addis Alem and the capital, the work beginning in 1903, and reported in quite usable condition the next year.

Around 1930, most of the wood for the buildings and furniture in Addis Ababa was sawn from the forests near Addis Alem. During the Italian occupation

Italian East Africa

Italian East Africa was an Italian colonial administrative subdivision established in 1936, resulting from the merger of the Ethiopian Empire with the old colonies of Italian Somaliland and Italian Eritrea. In August 1940, British Somaliland was conquered and annexed to Italian East Africa...

, a factory for the production of slaked lime was established during the Italian time, and in its first year of production it turned out 30,000 hundredweights of the material. On 2 December 1940 the Arbegnoch, led by Admiqe Besha, attacked the Italian garrison. The Italians lost 78 men, and 2,007 rifles, cannons and hand grenades. On 3 April in the following year, the Italians sent a cavalry regiment 450 strong to recapture Addis Alem; it was promptly cut to ribbons by the Arbagnoch, and only 50 men escaped with their lives.

A number of notable artists are associated with this town. The church has some art work by Abebe Wolde Giorgis (1897-1967), who studied in France for 18 years, has contributed to the art work of the church of St. Maryam. Worku Mammo Dessalegn, born in Addis Alem in 1935, lost both hands in an accident while playing with a bomb at the age of twelve; he attended the Art School in 1960-1962, later studied in the USSR and then returned to the Art School in Addis Ababa as a teacher. A third is Tadesse Bedaso Begna, born in Addis Alem in 1943, who attended a Baptist school, graduated from the Art School in 1966 and then studied graphic arts in London; he has designed stamps, posters and insignia.