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The Union Buildings in Pretoria |
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Geography |
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Pretoria is the transitional area between the Highveld and the Bushveld, approximately 50 kilometers north of Johannesburg in the north-east of South Africa. It lies in a warm, well sheltered, fertile valley, surrounded by the hills of the Magaliesberg range, 1,370 m (4,495 ft) above sea level. |
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University of Pretoria's Old Arts building |
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Parks and gardens |
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Pretoria is home to the National Zoological Gardens of South Africa as well as the Pretoria National Botanical Garden, one of the National Botanical Gardens in South Africa. There are also a number of smaller parks and gardens located throughout the city, including the Austin Roberts Bird Sanctuary. |
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The National Botanical Gardens in Pretoria |
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Airports |
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Pretoria does not have an international airport serving it, like South Africa's three other major cities (Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban). Instead, it makes use of OR Tambo International Airport, which serves Johannesburg. Wonderboom Airport to the north of the city serves light aircraft, and there are two military air bases to the south of the city (Swartkop and Waterkloof). |
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About |
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Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive (administrative) and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.
Pretoria is contained in the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality as one of several constituent former administrations (among which also Centurion and Soshanguve), and therefore sometimes incorrectly referred to as Tshwane — this contentious issue is still being decided as of 2009.
The city's original name was Pretoria Philadelphia (‘Pretoria of brotherly love’).
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History |
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- The Southern Transvaal Ndebele occupied the river valley, which was to become the location of the city of Pretoria, by around 1600.
- During the difaqane in Natal, another band of refugees arrived in this area under the leadership of Mzilikazi. However, they were forced to abandon their villages in their flight from a regiment of Zulu raiders in 1832.
- Pretoria itself 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.
- During the First Boer War, the city was besieged by Republican forces in December 1880 and March 1881. The peace treaty which ended the war was signed in Pretoria on 3 August 1881 at the Pretoria Convention.
- The Second Boer War (1899 to 1902) resulted in the end of the Republic of Transvaal and start of British hegemony in South Africa. During the war, Winston Churchill was imprisoned in the Staats Model School in Pretoria but escaped to Mozambique. The city surrendered to British forces under Frederick Roberts on 5 June 1900 and the conflict was ended in Pretoria with the signing of the Peace of Vereeniging on 31 May 1902.
- A number of forts were built for the defense of the city just prior to the Second Boer War, though some are today in ruins, a number of them have been preserved as national monuments.
- The Boer Republics of the ZAR and the Orange Free State were united with the Cape Colony and Natal Colony in 1910 to become the Union of South Africa. Pretoria then became the administrative capital of the whole of South Africa, with Cape Town the legislative capital. Between 1860 and 1994, the city was also the capital of the province of Transvaal, superseding Potchefstroom in that role.
- On 14 October 1931, Pretoria achieved official city status. When South Africa became a republic in 1961, Pretoria remained its administrative capital.
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Street signs in Pretoria |
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Climate |
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Pretoria has a subtropical climate with long, hot summers and short cool winters. The average annual temperature is 18.74OC. This is rather high considering its relatively high altitude of 1340 meters and is due to a combination of its sheltered valley position that acts as a heat trap and also cuts off cold southerly and south-easterly winds for much of the year. Snow is an extremely rare event, which occurs once or twice in a century. |
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Interesting facts |
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- Pretoria's main street, Church Street is the longest urban street in South Africa and one of the longest straight streets in the world. It was announced in September 2008, that the name of this street is due to have its name changed, along with many other streets within the city.
- Many of the city's streets are lined with Jacaranda trees that blossom mauve (purplish blue) in spring, giving rise to the city's nickname "Jacaranda City" (or "Jakarandastad" in Afrikaans).
- The Cullinan Diamond (the largest gem diamond ever found) was discovered in the town of Cullinan near Pretoria at the Premier Mine on 26 January 1905
- Pax Praetoriana was named after Pretoria.
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Suburbs of Pretoria |
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Pretoria is made up of the following suburbs: Alphen Park, Arcadia, Constantia Park, Die Wilgers, Eastmead, Eastwood, Elarduspark, Equestria, Erasmuskloof, Erasmusrand, Faerie Glen, Garsfontein, Groonkloof, Grootfontein, Hatfield, Hazelwood, Hillcrest, La Montagne, Lynnwood, Meyerspark, Mooikloof, Monument OArk, Moreletapark, Murrayfield, Newlands, Rietvalleirand, Riviera Rietondale, Silver Lakes, Sterrewag, Wapadrand, Waterkloof, Waterkloof Glen Waterkloof Park, Wingate Park, Woodhill and Woodlands. |
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