Butare

Butare is a city in southern Rwanda and it is the capital of the Huye district. Butare has about 78,000 inhabitants and is known as a cultural centre of Rwanda.

The city is seen as the intellectual centre of the country, while Kigali is the political center. The national bilingual university is located here, the Rwandan National Institute of Scientific Research and the Ruhande Arboretum. 

The city was founded in 1920, named after the Belgian Queen Astrid (Astrida), and was then under Belgian colonial power. The first catholic mission of the country was only a few kilometres from the city centre, at Save Hill. There still lies a real cathedral in the city.
The National Museum was built in the early nineties and contains much information about the cultural history of the country and the region. 

Since 2006, the city is often referred to as Huye, but most inhabitants still call the city Butare.