Gondar , a town of Abyssinia, the seat of the abuna or archbishop of the Abyssinian church, and formerly the residence of the negus or king, about 25 m. N. of Lake Tzana or Dem-bea; lat. 12° 35' N., Ion. 37° 50' E.; pop. about 7,000. It is built on a hill 1,000 ft, above the lake, which is itself upward of 6,000 ft. above the sea. The town consists of a number of scattered groups of houses, occupying an area of about 11 m. in circumference. The Debra birhan, "hill of light," is the principal quarter, situated S. W. of the ruins of a palace of the former Abyssinian kings, built in the 16th century by the Portuguese. On the east of the town flows the Magetzeh, on the west the Gaha, which after uniting in one stream empty into Lake Tzana. The houses, of which but few are two stories high, are built of rough blocks of volcanic stone. There are 44 churches and 1,200 clergy. The churches are round, and have conical thatched roofs projecting beyond the walls, with rows of wooden pillars for support, forming a circular alley in which the women remain while the men worship within. The Jews and Mohammedans have their own temples, and are allowed considerable religious liberty. There are manufactures of cotton goods, ornaments, jewelry, parchment, saddles, parasols, and braided ware.

The currency consists partly of European gold and silver coin, and partly of lumps of rock salt. Gondar was during the middle ages, and as late as the 18th century, the capital of the Abyssinian kingdom, and contained more than 50,000 inhabitants. It became afterward the capital of the independent state of Amhara, which Theodore subdued in 1853, making Gondar once more the capital of Abyssinia, which it continued to be till his death in 18G8.