Pretoria is a Ville of Southern Africa and the Capitale Administrative of the South Africa. It was also of 1860 with 1902 the capital of the Republic of South Africa of Transvaal. It is located today in the Province Gauteng.

Its Surnom is the city of the Jacaranda S in reference to the hundreds of thousands of trees which flower at the time of the southern Printemps and give a dyeing Mauve to the city.

Located at a few 1500 m of Altitude, Pretoria belongs to the Municipalité of Tshwane, Conurbation which includes 13 old administrative structures of which white in the past cities of old Centurion and Pretoria and the Township S of Temba or Hammanskraal.

Pretoria is a city mainly white and afrikaner of 1,3 million inhabitants. The whole of the conurbation of Tshwane includes/understands in all 2 million inhabitants.

Currency of the city

" Praestantia Praevaleat Pretoria" (That Pretoria is the first in excellence).

Other names in the various local languages

The town of Pretoria is known under various names in the 11 following South-African languages:
  • Afrikaans: Pretoria
  • English: Pretoria
  • Isizoulou: ePitoli
  • Isixhosa : iPitoli
  • Setswana : Pitoria and Tshwane
  • Pedi: Tshwane
  • South-Ndebele: iPitori
  • Sesotho: Pitoriya
  • Siswati: iPitoli
  • Tshivenda: Tswane
  • Xitsonga: Pitori

History

It is in 1840 that the first white inhabitant in the future metropolitan surface of Pretoria settles. It was a farmer of the name of J.G.S. Bronkhorst. It was followed in the years which followed by several families Boer S (descendants of colonists Dutch) which baptized the place in the name of Elandspoort then in 1854, made the place of it where the church of the Transvaal center was drawn up where were celebrated the Baptême S and the Mariage S of the area. In 1855, one then counts 300 inhabitants and 80 houses disseminated on the zone.

The Ville of Pretoria is officially founded the November 16th 1855 by the Boer S. Its name is then selected in homage to Andries Pretorius, colonist boer, victorious of the Bataille Blood River against the Zoulous in 1838 at the time of the Grand Trek.

His/her son Marthinus Wessel Pretorius (provisional president of the republic incipient from Transvaal) had spent two years to persuade the twelve members of Volksraad (the Parliament boer) to recognize the statute of city to the religious Congrégation of Pretoria-Philadelphia (fraternity of Pretoria) established on Elandspoort on the grounds of the farm of Andries van der Walt. This zone, surrounded by hill, had been chosen by Pretorius to build the city there because the climate was moderate there and the fertile ground thanks to the very close Apies river. The first buildings were then drawn up on western bank of the river apies.

The geographical era of Pretoria east then wide when Andries of the Roof, presidential adviser of Pretorius, bought for a pony the grounds of the future district of Arcadia which arranged Stephanus Meintjies.

Quickly become the main city of the district, Pretoria évinça Potchefstroom as a capital of the Republic of the Transvaal on May 1st 1860. It took the nickname of city of the pinks owing to the fact that the climate supported the culture of this flower which recovered in abundance the gardens and parks of the city. In 1888, Jacaranda S were imported of Rio de Janeiro by J.D. Cilliers, a gardener amateur of Pretoria. Not less than 50.000 jacarandas combine thereafter to be aligned along the streets of the city and the city of the pinks became the city of the jacarandas.

Symbol of Boer resistance to the British at the time of the War of Boers of 1899 with 1902, Pretoria becomes the administrative Capitale country in 1910 during the formation of the African Southern Union. City very mainly afrikaner, it becomes the symbol of the Apartheid at the time of the second part of the 20th century.

After the elections of 1994, the city is located henceforth in the new province of the Gauteng.

In 2000, Pretoria and 12 other municipalities (of which 5 of the old Bantustan of the Bophuthatswana) are amalgamated to form the conurbation of Tshwane with 151 city council men elected officials.

In December 2000, the municipal elections are gained by the ANC with 57% of the votes compared with 36% with the opposition of the democratic Alliance (DA) although this one remained majority in Pretoria history. In March 2006, the domination of the ANC on the municipality is confirmed just like that of the DA on Pretoria.

Since the March 19th 2006, the mayor of the municipality of Tshwane is Gwen Ramokgopa (ANC), elected by 96 votes against 45 votes with Fred Nel (DA) and 7 votes with Rentia Landman (Front of freedom). Gwen Ramokgopa succeeded the catholic father Smangaliso Mkhatshwa (ANC).

The toponymic battle of Pretoria

In 2003, the authorities ANC of the municipality try to make even rename Pretoria of the name of Tshwane. They end up suspending their decision in front of the torrents of protests of the inhabitants afrikaners of the city.

In 2005, with a cost estimated at 256 million dollars (197 million euros), the elected officials of majority ANC of the municipality, supported by the extreme left of the CAP, make endorse without surprised the choice of Tshwane like official name of the city and capital of South Africa in spite of the unanimous opposition of all the other political parties and the majority of the inhabitants of the city itself.

According to this decision, the metropolitan conurbation of Tshwane would become a city and the urban center which was called to there Pretoria would cease existing and consequently would be débaptisé and dismantled. The name of Pretoria would be preserved to indicate a district, in fact the known current downtown area until now under the name of “Central Capital”. With Centurion, which preserves his territorial unit, and current districts of Pretoria (Arcadia, Sunnyside, Brooklyn…), they all would become then directly districts of Tshwane.

Tshwane would be then the only conurbation of South Africa to take the statute of city with whole share and would become in title the South-African capital in spite of its territorial and geographical parcelling out. The mayor confirmed quickly that he would consult the inhabitants of Pretoria neither by petition nor by the recourse to a Référendum, whereas in a few days, more than 30 thousand residents of Pretoria signed a petition being opposed to the name change, and that a great demonstration was organized the May 21st 2005.

The business took also the form of a true rout for the municipality when chiefs Ndébélé S contradicted the reality of the historical justifications having led to choose the name of Tshwane and whose existence even was disputed.

The May 26th 2005, it is however without surprise, in spite of the opposition of Praetorian and the warning statements of Frederik de Klerk on the blow carried with the multicultural nation, that the municipal decision was unanimously confirmed of the twenty members of the Council of the geographical names South-African (SAGNC) whose proper president had exempted by advance the municipality of Tshwane to consult the inhabitants of the city to the reason that this one had taken place in 2000 during the formation of the municipality.

The municipality admitted then itself having underestimated the costs, bench at the origin with 150 thousand Rands and today with 1,5 million Rands, supported mainly by the 90% of the white taxpayers and the sector of business.

The recommendation of the SAGNC was not immediately validated by the South-African government. It is indeed the Minister for the culture, Pallo Jordan, authorized by the cabinet, which must ratify or not the recommendations of the SAGNC. It is wrongly that certain African newspapers or European guides indicated the South-African capital by any other name that of Pretoria.

In February 2006, in margin of the top on the governorship progressist, the South African president Thabo Mbeki evoked for the first time this toponymic battle. Wondering whether the residents wanted to continue to live a city baptized in the honor of Andries Pretorius, he recognized that this name had an important significance for an important part of the South-African population which regards it as a hero. (See also Tshwane for more details)

At the time of the municipal elections of March 1st, 2006 transformed by the opposition parties into referendum on the name of Pretoria, the inhabitants of the city give a very vast majority to democratic Alliance (58,90% of the votes) and to the Face of freedom (8,84%) against only 25,06% with the ANC. But at the level of the municipality of Tshwane, with 56% of the votes and the loss of 8 seats (mainly of former elected officials of the New national Party), the ANC was located well in on this side its national average.

The May 12th 2006, Pallo Jordan announced initially during an interview to the radio which the name of Pretoria was preserved to indicate the South-African capital. A few hours later, its ministry rectified by specifying that no official decision still had been made but confirmed that Pretoria remained always the official name of the capital.

Town planning

The town of Pretoria comprises several districts of which:
  • Capital Exchange: the historical center with Church Public garden
  • Arcadia: the district of the Unions Buildings and the embassies
  • Hatfield: district studied
  • Sunnyside: shopping area and popular
  • Brooklyn: district commercial and connected
  • Pretoria North: industrial district.
  • Pretoria West
  • Capital Park
  • Waterkloof: residential district and white.
  • Groenkloof: Jewish district.
  • Menlyn: giant district-badly, first center of trade and leisures in Africa.
  • Brintirion: district of the senior officials with its luxurious houses
  • Laudium: district with Hindu-Pakistani majority.

The main axes (East-West) of the city are Church Street long 26 km, Pretorius street and Schoeman Street.

The main axes (North-South) are Potgieter St, Bosman St, Paul Kruger St, Andries St, Van der Walt St and Nelson Mandela AV

Both only townships of the urban surface of Pretoria are Atteridgeville (200 000 inhabitants) and Mamelodi (350 000 inhabitants). They are located at the west and the North-East of the city.

History of the urbanization of Pretoria

Small capital of Transvaal, Pretoria does not owe anything with the Or and although founded in 1855, it owes its development only as from the moment when it became the Capitale of the Union of South Africa. Town of white civils servant, it counted, in 1921, 110.000 inhabitants of which the half were blacks.

The municipal authorities then started in a disordered way to try to control the Immigration and the urban establishment of African.

In 1950, the urban surface of Pretoria counted however only two districts with nonwhite majority, Marabastad and especially Lady Selborne, where cohabited in freehold about thirty thousands of blacks, mongrels, Indians and about fifty white.

In 1952, the municipality entered some 133.000 squatters (36% of the total population of Pretoria) in the urban surface but the application of the Apartheid was going to modify the geographical and demographic data of the city. The district of Selborne Lady and the camps of squatters were destroyed and the Africans rehoused in two new townships, Atteridgeville and Mamelodi. The Indians were sent in the township of Laudium and the Métis in that of Eersterus. The zones of industrial activities were localized to be a zone of plug between the black districts and the white districts.

From 1960, Pretoria had become a model of urban apartheid with the taking into account of the policy of Bantoustan isation. New townships like Garankuwa, Mabopane and Temba was built out of the urban area of Pretoria, inside the borders of the Bantustan of the Bophuthatswana or on grounds intended to be integrated there. The township of Shoshanguve, gathering the populations sotho, shangaan and venda remained however attached to the town of Pretoria after the refusal of Bophuthatswana to integrate this township not tswana.

In the Eighties, all the surrounding area of Winterveld had become an immense suburb of more than one million people, transformed into a true urban area, phagocytant the rural villages.

The town of Pretoria constrastait with its immediate environment. Peaceful city located in the middle of its hills of which highest were capped official buildings (Union Buildings, (Université of South Africa) or monuments (Voortrekker Monument), with its drawn streets in the chalk line, Pretoria was for a long time attended by all the racial groups, at least, during the day. Its banlieuex residential white was walled a long time little and some of them following the example Verwoerdburg did not finish constituting a municipality with whole share.

In 1994, Pretoria counted to 31% civils servant whereas 45% of white employees worked for the government.

Universities

Pretoria is the seat of the largest university in the world by correspondence (Université of South Africa - UNISA) with 130 thousand registered students.

The Université of Pretoria is also one of the most important universities of the country with its 30 thousand annual students. Formerly university exlusivement of language Afrikaans, it opened depusi 1994 with the other languages and other races. In 2001, 69% of its students are white but the percentage of African believes year by year whereas only 54% of the students preferred to follow a teaching in Afrikaans against English 46%.

Service road

The international airport of Pretoria is the same one as that of known Johannesburg under the name of International airport of Johannesburg (ex- Jan Smuts).

Another airport of small size is located at Midrand, as well as an important military air base located at the periphery of the city.

Tourism

Pretoria is of true tourist interest ; she does not suffer as much from in Sécurité which prevails with Johannesburg and can be also visited mainly with foot to reach its principal points of interest. This is why often the tourists prefer to remain there before launching out to discovered of the reserves of the Transvaal.

The best season to visit it is southern spring (October-November) when the jacarandas are in flowers, giving an indigo color to the streets of the city.

Remarkable monuments and places

The principal artery of Pretoria east Church Street, and centers it city is Church Square.

It is in Church Square that the first church of Pretoria was set up besides.

  • On Church Public garden throne the statue of Paul Kruger, true statue symbol of the city, realized by Anton van Wouw. The place is surrounded by monuments afrikaner typical like Raadsaal (old Parliament of Transvaal) going back to 1889, the Court of justice (where was judged Nelson Mandela in 1963), the modern building of the provincial administration, the principal post office and the Rich Coffee (1905).
  • the house of Paul Kruger who contains several personal objects of the former president of Transvaal, fits with body it presidential, the barouche of voyage and the private parlor car.
  • the old man Cimetière where Kruger, Hendrik Verwoerd and other Praetorian are buried.
  • Strijdom Public garden, dominated by the Sculpture of the howling horses of Danie de Jager.
  • the City Hall (town hall), famous for its chime and its 32 bells, has gardens where one can see the statues of Pretorius, father and wire, founders of the city.
  • public gardens like Burgers Park (1882), Princes Park, Springbok Park and the botanical gardens,
  • the Museum off Art which presents a collection of South-African art,
  • the central station with colonial architecture néo,
  • Melrose House (where was signed peace between Britanniques and Boers in 1902),
  • the Transvaal Museum, devoted mainly to the Géologie, the Archéologie and the natural history,
  • the Zoo of the city,
  • the " Farming national History and Open Air Museum" introduce a collection of rupestral art prehistoric and a department devoted to the ethnos groups and pioneers afrikaners of Transvaal.
  • the seat of the government (Union Buildings) was built by the architect Herbert Baker in 1910. He proposes a point of view on the city but is closed with the public. The gardens downwards contain a famous equestrian statue of Louis Botha, as well as a war memorial of the First World War.
  • the Voortrekker Monument, inaugurated in 1949, the monument more visited city, is a kind of the Pantheon of the Afrikaner History and is on a hill which overhangs Pretoria.
  • Menlyn Park, the greatest shopping mall of Africa
  • Strong Klapperkop: old military Boer military base today museum, it overhangs Pretoria offering a panorama to 360 degrees on all the city. It shelters many statues and the hydraulic station of the capital.
  • Hartbeespoort Prejudice, in the surroundings of Pretoria, constitutes a goal of excursion of the amateurs of water sports. An animalist park was arranged with the accesses and a few kilometres from there, a cable car takes along the visitors to the top of the Magaliesberg.
  • the Cullinan mine, to 40 km in the east of Pretoria, where in 1905 the largest diamond of the world was discovered, the “Cullinan” of 3.106 carats from which 9 large diamonds result and 96 unquestionable stones decorating the Crown jewels British.

Archbishop's palace

Twinnings

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