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The third largest city in Ethiopia, Gondar is about 748 kilometers north of Addis Ababa and served as the Ethiopian capital from the reign of Fasiladas (1632-1665) until the reign of Emperor Tewodros II (1855-1868) who moved his capital, first to Debre Tabor and, then, to Maqdalla, spelling the decline of the town as the permanent capital that it was envisioned to be.

The city was founded by King Susenyos, father of Fasiladas. Before Gondar rose to prominence, the country had gone without a fixed capital for a long period of time. Once Gondar became a fixed capital, it became home to the largest settlement in the country, eventually serving as an important administrative, commercial, religious and cultural center and was noted for the skill of its many craftsmen (Source: ETTE, Spectrum Guide to Ethiopia).

Gondar had not only been home to several kings, who seemed to have had tradition of castle building, with successive rulers after Fasiladas, many of them to be found within the Fasiladas perimeter, but it had also attracted quite a few travelers, including the Scottish traveler, James Bruce, who had come on a mission to discover the sources of the Blue Nile. Two British citizens, Walter Plowden and John Bell also lived in Gondar as councilors to Emperor Tewodros II. Plowden's gravesite is one of tourist attractions.

The town suffered a destruction in the hands of the Sudanese Dervishes in the 1888s and during the British bombing during the Ethiopian liberation campaign of 1941, too, took its toll of several historical buildings with the only consolation, perhaps even blessing, being the fact that most of the town's famous castles have managed to survive the ravages of time, currently constituting the "most fascinating antiquities" the current city boasts.

Until very recently, when a project known as Operation Moses, organized by the Israeli Government, with the tacit cooperation (so the story goes) of the military regime of Mengistu Haile mariam, mass evacuated them in the 80s and early 90s, Gondar was home to the Bete Israel community, who lay claim to the oldest form of Judaism, a community of skillful artisans who provided Gondar's population with clay, metal, cloth and hide products. There are still pockets of this ancient community in areas surrounding Gondar. Currently Gondar is as cosmopolitan as it can be with various ethnic groups having made it their permanent home.