Pretoria
Jacaranda City
General Information
Other Name: -, , State: Gauteng, South Africa
Area: 1644 km²
Languages Spoken: Tswana, Afrikaans, Ndebele, and English.
Long Distance Code: +27(0)12
Importance: Jacaranda trees in spring.
Best Time to Visit: October to - and -
International Access: -Description
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 and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital. Although largely a government-based city, it is also a place of culture, with theatres, museums and monuments.Greater Pretoria is a city of science and technology, knowledge and industry in the true sense of the word.Location
50 km north of Johannesburg.Climate
subtropical with hot, wet summers and relatively mild, dry winters.
Southeast of the Natural History Museum is Burgers Park, Pretoria's oldest park, laid out in 1892 and named after Thomas François Burgers, second President of the Transvaal. With its well cared-for lawns, pretty ponds and attractive coffee-house it is a good place to relax after a sightseeing tour.
The Blue Train is one of the world's most unique and luxurious experiences, a beautiful combination of classic elegance, old world charm, and contemporary service and cuisine. The train is so much more than a journey, it truly is a once in a lifetime experience that is absolutely ideal for adventurous clientele that seek true luxury in an extremely exotic and intriguing destination. The overnight journeys are roughly 27-hours in length, and include beautifully appointed cabin accommodations with en-suite bath or shower, private butler/valet service, exquisite gourmet meals, unlimited premium wines and liquors, cigars, use of lounge and club car, as well as a side excursion during a brief stop along the way.The train runs currently from Pretoria to Cape Town and back. Pretoria is a most intriguing city with so many facets to it, it really should be explored while visiting South Africa.
Pretoria's first settlement grew up round historic Church Square, in the center of which is a statue (by Anton van Wouw) of President Paul Kruger. Round the square are a number of important buildings, including the Palace of Justice and Sir Herbert Baker's South African Reserve Bank on the north side and the Renaissance-style Republikeinse Raadsaal, the former seat of government, on the south side.
The Hartbeespoort Dam (area 1,883 ha/4,651ac), with the help of a 544km/338mi network of water channels, irrigates an extensive agricultural area in which tobacco, grain, fruit and flowers are grown.This is now a popular recreation area with accommodation for visitors, camping sites and amusement parks. There are numerous hiking trails in the Hartbeespoort Nature Reserve (on the southeast side of the reservoir) on which visitors can observe the large numbers of birds and antelopes which live in the reserve.Cruises on the lake in small steamers are enjoyed.
Situated west of Church Street, this house belonged to the late former President Paul Kruger (1884-1901). The house has been fully restored and refurbished and all of his personal belongings, his private railway carriage, and the State coach are on view here. Look out for the President's reception room which contains many historically significant pieces such as the table at which he talked with Cecil John Rhodes, Mark Twain, Henry Stanley and many more.
Melrose House is a National Monument. Built by George Heys in 1866, this handsome Victorian house was where the Treaty of Vereeniging (Peace Treaty terminating the Anglo Boer War) was signed in 1902. The house is an example of preserved Victorian architecture in South Africa and is used for art exhibitions and concerts.
This celebrated museum, has an extraordinary collection of mammals, amphibians, fossils, geological specimens and archaeological material. In the Austin Roberts Bird Hall visitors can see all the 875 species of birds indigenous to South Africa.
The 60ha/150ac National Zoological Gardens with 4,300 animals, is one of the largest zoos in the world. There are 97 species of mammals and 160 species of birds housed in a walk-through aviary. The aquarium displays 275 species of fish while and the reptile house has a collection of 105 reptiles from all over the world.
The Union Buildings (by Sir Herbert Baker, 1913), set in beautiful gardens, are commandingly situated on Meintjieskop Hill on the east side of the city. This impressive range of sandstone buildings is the seat of government and of Parliament (though in the first half of the year Parliament sits in Cape Town). Here too are housed the state archives.In the gardens which slope down in terraces to Church Street are the Delville Wood Memorial, commemorating the South African soldiers who fell in the First World War, statues of the South African prime ministers Louis Botha, J. B. M. Hertzog and J. C. Smuts, and a Police Memorial.
This massive granite building was built as a national shrine to commemorate the heroes of the epic Great Trek of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The four walls of the Hall of Heroes, which is the main body of the building, are decorated with an Italian frieze depicting the history of the Great Trek in 1838, when Afrikaaners left Cape Town for the hinterland. One of the most interesting features of the monument is the 260-step stairway which leads to the dome, and the spectacular view it offers of the city.