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About Pretoria


 

Generally on Pretoria: a city in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. One of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive (administrative) and de facto national capital (Cape Town is the legislative capital and Bloemfontein the judicial capital). Pretoria is contained within the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality as one of several constituent former administrations (among which also Centurion and Soshanguve). Pretoria itself is sometimes referred to as "Tshwane" due to a long-running and controversial proposed name change, which has, as of 2015, yet to be decided.

History notes: Pretoria was founded in 1855 by Marthinus Pretorius, a leader of the Voortrekkers, who named it after his father Andries Pretorius. The elder Pretorius had become a national hero of the Voortrekkers after his victory over the Zulus in the Battle of Blood River. Andries Pretorius also negotiated the Sand River Convention (1852), in which Britain acknowledged the independence of the Transvaal. It became the capital of the South African Republic (ZAR) on 1 May 1860. The founding of Pretoria as the capital of the South African Republic can be seen as marking the end of the Boers' settlement movements of the Great Trek.

Geography notes: Pretoria is situated approximately 55 km (34 mi) north-northeast of Johannesburg in the northeast of South Africa, in a transitional belt between the plateau of the Highveld to the south and the lower-lying Bushveld to the north. It lies at an altitude of about 1,339 m (4,393 ft) above sea level, in a warm, sheltered, fertile valley, surrounded by the hills of the Magaliesberg range.

Climate notes: The city has a humid subtropical climate with long hot rainy summers and short cool to cold,dry winters. The city experiences the typical winters of South Africa with cold, clear nights and mild to moderately warm days.

Temperature for the month of February in Pretoria: average high is 28 degrees C, 8, degrees F, daily mean is 22,5 C, 82,5 F.

Demographics: Depending on the extent of the area understood to constitute "Pretoria", the population ranges from 500,000 to 2.95 million. The main language spoken in Pretoria is Afrikaans; also widely spoken are Pedi, Sotho, Tswana, Tsonga, Zulu and English. The city of Pretoria has the largest white population on the African continent. Since its founding it has been a major Afrikaner population centre, and currently there are roughly 1 million Afrikaners living in or around the city.

Even since the end of Apartheid, Pretoria itself still has a white majority, albeit an ever increasing black middle-class. However, in the townships of Soshanguve and Atteridgeville blacks make up close to all of the population. The largest white ethnic group are the Afrikaners and the largest black ethnic group are the Northern Sothos.

Architecture notes: Pretoria has over the years had very diverse cultural influences and this is reflected in the architectural styles that can be found in the city. It ranges from 19th century Dutch, German and British Colonial Architecture to modern, postmodern, neomodern, and art deco architecture styles with a good mix of a uniquely South African style.

Some of the notable structures in Pretoria include the late 19th century Palace of Justice, the early 20th century Union Buildings, the post-war Voortrekker Monument, the diverse buildings dotting the main campuses of both the University of Pretoria and the University of South Africa, traditional Cape Dutch style Mahlamba Ndlopfu (the President's House), the more modern Reserve Bank of South Africa (Office skyscraper) and the Telkom Lukas Rand Transmission Tower. Other well-known structures and buildings include the Loftus Versfeld Stadium, The South African State Theatre and the Oliver Tambo building which is the Headquarters of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (which is a good example of neo-modern architecture in South Africa).

(information from wikipedia)

 


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