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'''Antsirabe is the third largest city in Madagascar and the capital of the Vakinankaratra region. The mostly Betsileo population of the city is numbers approximately 183,000.'''
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Antsirabe is an agricultural and industrial centre of Madagascar. Industries include brewing, flour, milk processing, oil, textiles and cigarette manufacturing. The city is of home of the headquarters of [[TikoSTAR Brewery]] headquarters and formerly [[STAR BreweryTiko]](its former gigantic storage facilites stand empty north of the city). Agricultural produce include rice, vegetables and fruits and due to the cool climate, apples, pears, plums and other temperate fruit can be grown in the region.
At an altitude of about 1,500 metres, Antsirabe is the coolest city in Madagascar, with winter temperatures between May and September, usually dropping to zero degrees Celsius.
The city was founded in 1872 by Norwegian missionaries who were attracted by the cool climate and healing properties of the many thermal springs and minerals in the area. The city is often nicknamed "Vichy Malgache" and the name Antsirabe literally means "the place of much salt".
There is an airfield <!--(IATA code: ATJ)--> but it is only in use by private planes. A railway connects with Antananarivo but which is only used by freight trains. To reach Antsirabe by car coming from Antananarivo takes 3-4 hours.
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