GONDAR. - A city in Ethiopia, chosen by the negus Fāsiladas (1632-67) as the capital of the kingdom and enriched with a splendid royal palace composed of several buildings, in whose construction Portuguese workers participated. The ruins of these buildings (the castles of G.) bear witness to the magnificence of the construction. Since 25 March 1937 it has been the seat of an apostolic prefecture dependent on the Sacred Congregation for the Oriental Church.
BIBL.: F. Beguinot, La Cronaca abbreviata d'Abisinia, Rome 1901; Annuario Pontificio, 1930, p. 681. Mariano Baffi