Fiche 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...

. The administrative centre of the Semien Shewa Zone

Semien Shewa Zone (Oromia)

Semien Shewa is one of the 12 Zones of the Ethiopian Region of Oromia. Semien Shewa takes its name from the kingdom or former province of Shewa. Semien Shewa is bordered on the south by Addis Ababa, on the southwest by Mirab Shewa, on the north by the Amhara Region, and on the southeast by Misraq...

 of the Oromia Region

Oromia Region

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

, located about three km off the main Addis Ababa

Addis Ababa

Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia...

-Debre Marqos

Debre Marqos

Debre Marqos is a city and woreda in east-central Ethiopia. Located in the Misraq Gojjam Zone of the Amhara Region, it has a latitude and longitude of , and an elevation of 2,446 meters. The city is named Debre Marqos after its principal church, which was constructed in 1869 and dedicated to St....

 road, Fiche has a latitude and longitude of 9°48′N 38°44′E and an elevation between 2738 and 2782 metres above sea level.

Notable landmarks in Fiche include the churches Fiche Giyorgis Bete Kristiyan and Fiche Medhane Alem Bete Kristiyan. The town is also home to several notable Ethiopian painters of religious themes: Alaqa Gebre Selassie Adil (1881-1975), Emealaf Hiruy (1907-1971), and Alefelege Selam (1924- ).

History

Ras ("Commander") Kassa Haile Darge

Kassa Haile Darge

Ras Kassa Haile Darge GCVO, GBE , was a Shewan nobleman, the son of Haile Wolde Kiros of Lasta and Tisseme Darge, and grandson of Ras Darge Sahle Selassie the brother of Menelik II's father....

 ruled the former province of Selale from Fiche in the early 20th century.

The deposed Lij Iyasu was imprisoned in Ras Kassa's house until he escaped in 1931. W.E.D. Allen passed through Fiche in 1941, and describes the town as having "the usual character of Abyssinian country towns: an agglomeration of huts standing in rather dreary eucalyptus groves and dominated by a fort and the European villa of the Ras." He also noted that "Fiche has a certain strategic importance in the feudal politics of Abyssinia since it lies across the main line of communication between the capital and Gojjam; and in the period of coup d'etats in the '20s the lord of Salale was always in the position to intervene suddenly in the capital only 70 miles away."

In 1936, after Ras Hailu Tekle Haymanot

Hailu Tekle Haymanot

Hailu Tekle Haymanot, KBE , also named Hailu II of Gojjam, was an army commander and a member of the nobility of the Ethiopian Empire. He represented a provincial ruling elite who were often at odds with the Ethiopian central government...

 convinced them to surrender at the beginning of 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...

, Ras Kassa's two sons Aberra

Aberra Kassa

Aberra Kassa was an army commander and a member of the Royal family of the Ethiopian Empire.-Biography:Leul Dejazmach Aberra Kassa was the second son of Ras Kassa Haile Darge. Kassa Haile Darge was a loyal ally of Negus Tafari Makonnen, who ultimately was crowned Emperor Haile Selassie I of...

 and Asfawossen

Asfawossen Kassa

Asfawossen Kassa was an army commander and a member of the Royal family of the Ethiopian Empire.- Biography :Prince Asfawossen Kassa was the third son of Duke Kassa Haile Darge...

 were executed in Fiche.

By 1958, Fiche was one of 27 places in Ethiopia officially ranked as a First Class Township. The army base of the 1st brigade of the Ethiopian Territorial Army, located at Fiche, was used by the Derg

Derg

The Derg or Dergue was a Communist military junta that came to power in Ethiopia following the ousting of Haile Selassie I. Derg, which means "committee" or "council" in Ge'ez, is the short name of the Coordinating Committee of the Armed Forces, Police, and Territorial Army, a committee of...

 to put conscripts of the People's Militia (reconstituted in the spring of 1977 as the "Red Army") through a twelve-week basic training with modern weapons.

The municipality announced in February 2009 that it had begun various development works totaling 5.6 million Birr

Ethiopian birr

The birr is the unit of currency in Ethiopia. Before 1976, dollar was the official English translation of birr. Today, it is officially birr in English as well....

, which included construction of alleys, ditches, an abattoir, and expansion of water, health and electric power services.

Demographics

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, Fiche has an estimated total population of 37,861 of whom 18,446 are men and 19,415 women. The 1994 census reported this town had a total population of 21,187 of whom 10,004 were men and 11,183 were women. It is the largest settlement in Gerar Jarso

Gerar Jarso

Gerar Jarso is one of the 180 woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Semien Shewa Zone, Gerar Jarso is bordered on the south by Yaya Gulelena Debre Liban, on the west by Degem, and on the east by the Amhara Region...

 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...

.