Masvingo

== History ==
The city was known as Fort Victoria until 1982, when its name was briefly changed to '''Nyanda''', after a mountain about 10 kilometres south of the town, on the Masvingo to Beitbridge Road. That led to protests, because "nyanda" means "one who has lice", and public sentiment was that '''Masvingo''' would be more reflective of the history of the city. Within a few months, the name was changed to Masvingo, which means "fort" in [[Shona language|Shona]], and the [[Great Zimbabwe]], which is essentially a walled fort, is often referred to as "Masvingo eZimbabwe" or sometimes "Masvingo eVitori", a translation of the original name.

Masvingo is the oldest colonial settlement in Zimbabwe which developed around an encampment established in 1890, when the [[British South Africa Company]] "Pioneer Column" of the first European colonists passed through on their way to what became Salisbury, now [[Harare]]. The Old Fort national monument is located in the centre of town, and was erected in 1891 as one of a series of fortifications to guard the route from Salisbury to the south. The very first [[cricket]] [[match]] in Zimbabwe is said to have taken place close by, in 1890.<ref>{{Cite web |title=International Cricket Council |url=https://www.icc-cricket.com/about/members/africa/full/18#:~:text=The%20first%20cricket%20match%20staged,competition%20(the%20Currie%20Cup). |access-date=2022-10-18 |website=www.icc-cricket.com}}</ref>