Cathédrale Thermale d'Antsirabe

Antsirabe owes its destiny as a spa town to Torkild Rosaas, a Norwegian Lutheran missionary who founded the settlement in 1872 as a hill station for its cooler climate, before its thermal springs were discovered in the 1870s and later developed once the baths opened in 1917 under French colonial impetus. The town built a reputation comparable to that of Vichy, known across the Indian Ocean region and even in Africa.

This legacy is also visible in its architecture: Antsirabe's cathedral, dating from the 19th century and remodelled in the 1950s, is regarded as a jewel of Madagascar's colonial heritage, with its bell tower, azure ceiling, golden columns, and colourful stained glass casting a luminous halo reminiscent of European religious buildings.