Масеру: Столица и крупнейший город Лесото

Capital and largest city of Lesotho

Maseru is the capital and largest city of Lesotho. It is also the capital of the Maseru District. Located on the Caledon River, Maseru lies directly on the Lesotho–South Africa border. Maseru had a population of 330,760 in the 2016 census. The city was established as a police camp and assigned as the capital after the country became a British protectorate in 1869. When the country achieved independence in 1966, Maseru retained its status as capital. The name of the city is a Sesotho word meaning "red sandstones".

Maseru was founded by the British as a small police camp in 1869, following the conclusion of the Free State–Basotho Wars when Basutoland became a British protectorate. Maseru is located at the edge of the "conquered territories" relinquished to the Orange Free State (now the Free State province of South Africa) as part of the peace terms. It was located west of Basotho King Moshoeshoe I's stronghold of Thaba Bosiu, the previous de facto capital. A bustling market town soon grew around the area. Maseru initially functioned as the state's administrative capital between 1869 and 1871, before administration of Basutoland was transferred to the Cape Colony. During their rule between 1871 and 1884, Basutoland was treated similarly to territories that had been forcefully annexed, much to the chagrin of the Basotho. This led to the Gun War in 1881 and the burning of many buildings in Maseru. The cost of repairing the damage done to the city was estimated at two billion rand (US$350 million), and until almost 2008, the effects of the riots could still be seen within the city.

The latest (2016) census lists the city's population at 330,760, or around a tenth of the entire population of the country, and half of the total urban population. The population of the city was at 98,017 by the 1986 census, and 137,837 by the 1996 census, demonstrating the early rapid expansion of the city after independence. It remained the only paved road in the country until Lesotho's independence in 1966. The city's products once included candles, carpets and mohair products but these have been overshadowed by South African industries.

Among the places of worship, they are predominantly Christian churches and temples: Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa, Zion Christian Church, Anglican Church of Southern Africa, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Maseru, Our Lady of Victories Cathedra. There are also Muslim mosques.

Most of the traditional thatched roof mud brick houses, called rondavels, have been replaced with modern housing and office blocks which have a tint of traditional architecture. There have recently been some new buildings in the centre of the city, particularly the building across LNDC centre which now houses Good times cafe, a Vodacom shop, offices and the new building of the Ministry of Health which was completed in late 2007. Buildings destroyed in the 1998 political uprising have been rebuilt and have shops like Fruits and Veg City, Woolworths and Mr Price to name a few. The New Lehakoe National sports centre, which is in between the central Bank of Lesotho and the colonial parliament building is equipped with tennis courts, swimming pools, conference centres, bars and gymnasiums. In November 2009, Pioneer Mall opened, providing Maseru with a South African style shopping mall, with many stores,such as a four screen cinema which later closed and restaurants. Pioneer Mall opened way for more modern buildings in the city, the likes of Maseru mall and City Square centre

There are some colonial era buildings around the centre of the city, most notably the Cathedral of Our Lady of Victories of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Maseru, and the Anglican St. John's Church.

Lesotho's national stadium, the multi purpose Setsoto Stadium, is located in Maseru. It has a capacity of between 20,000 and 25,000 people. The stadium is mostly used for football matches and houses the Lesotho national football team, but also holds events in athletics. 12 out of 16 of the teams playing in the Lesotho Premier League reside in Maseru. as of 2020, 36 out of the 51 championships contested in the league have gone to Maseru based teams. Most successful of these have been Matlama FC with ten championship wins and the football team of the Royal Lesotho Defence Force, with eight championship wins.