Braamfontein ( English: ''blackberry spring'', or more prosaicly ''blackberry springs''; also known as Braam) is a central suburb of

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

, in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, seat of the

Constitutional Court of South Africa The Constitutional Court of South Africa is the supreme constitutional court established by the Constitution of South Africa, and is the apex court in the South African judicial system, with general jurisdiction. The Court was first establ ...

and some of South Africa's major corporations such as Liberty Holdings Limited, JD Group (part of Steinhoff Africa), Sappi, and Bidvest (formerly Rennies) Bank and Hollard. Situated due north of the city centre, Braamfontein is the fourth-largest office node in the city of Johannesburg containing many multi-storied buildings representing various architectural styles including Art Deco and Brutalist. Numerous office buildings have and are in the process of being converted to residential apartments. The offices of the Johannesburg City Council and the

University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), commonly known as Wits University or Wits, is a multi-campus Public university, public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg, South Africa. The universit ...

are situated in Braamfontein. The

Nelson Mandela Bridge Nelson Mandela Bridge is a bridge in Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Afric ...

is a landmark that connects Braamfontein to the city centre, traversing South Africa's most extensive passenger train marshalling yard. Jan Smuts Avenue and Empire Road are two major road thoroughfares that run through the suburb.

History

The name "Braamfontein" dates from as early as 1853, when a farm with this name to the north-west of Randjeslaagte belonged to Gert Bezuidenhout. In that year he applied to the government of the Transvaal to have his farm surveyed. In 1858, Gert sold his farm to F.J. Bezuidenhout. Like many farms on the

Witwatersrand The Witwatersrand (, ; ; locally the Rand or, less commonly, the Reef) is a , north-facing scarp in South Africa. It consists of a hard, erosion-resistant quartzite metamorphic rock, over which several north-flowing rivers form waterfalls, w ...

, Braamfontein was subdivided early on, indicating a fairly dense population in the area. Two other Bezuidenhouts, Gerhardus Petrus and Cornelis Willem, each purchased one third of the farm in 1862, and a third part went to Frans Johannes van Dijk. Between 1862 and 1886 different portions were further subdivided. Three other well-known owners were Johannes Jacobus Lindeque, who in 1884, bought a section where the Country Club was later established in 1906, and Frans Eduard and Louwrens Geldenhuys. The first suburb established on the farm Braamfontein in 1888-1889 was unofficially named after the farm, as an official extension of the city of Johannesburg. This area is still called Braamfontein. There was, however, an earlier but unsuccessful effort to create a suburb prior to this. On February 19, 1896, a freight train containing 56 tonnes of

dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern German ...

exploded in Braamfontein, killing 78 people. During the

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

era, large-scale commercial development in the area was encouraged. Until the middle of the 1980s an electric trolley-bus line traversed some of the area's roads. After the abolition of apartheid, the area began to deteriorate. However, intervention by both the

city of Johannesburg The City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality () is a metropolitan municipality that manages the local governance of Johannesburg, the largest city in South Africa. It is divided into several branches and departments in order to expedite se ...

and large corporate business, acting as the "Braamfontein Management District", initiated a process of

urban renewal Urban renewal (sometimes called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address real or perceived urban decay. Urban renewal involves the clearing ...

in this district. Urban renewal efforts and the establishment of the Braamfontein Management District by the Johannesburg Development Agency and property owners have prevented the district from decaying to the same extent as the Johannesburg CBD; however, considerable work remains to be done in order to restore the area's economic infrastructure to developed-country standards, eliminate dangerous and unsanitary buildings owned by the private sector, eliminate violent crime, reduce petty crime to tolerable levels, and prevent infringements of road traffic laws.

References

External links

Braamfontein Management District
{{Authority control Johannesburg Region F Populated places established in 1853