Pretoria ( ; ) is the

administrative capital A capital city, or just capital, is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, department, or other subnational division, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city that physically encom ...

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 ...

, serving as the seat of the

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria straddles the

Apies River __NOTOC__ The Apies River is a river that flows through the city of Pretoria, South Africa. Its source is located just south of the city (south of Erasmus Park) and it flows northward until it drains into the Pienaars River. The word "Apies" is ...

and extends eastward into the foothills of the

Magaliesberg The Magaliesberg (historically also known as ''Macalisberg'' or ''Cashan Mountains'') of northern South Africa, is a modest but well-defined mountain range composed mainly of quartzites. It rises at a point south of the Pilanesberg (and the ...

mountains. It has a reputation as an academic city and centre of research, being home to the

Tshwane University of Technology Tshwane University of Technology (TUT; ) is a higher education institution in South Africa that came into being through a merger of three technikons — Technikon Northern Gauteng, Technikon North-West and Technikon Pretoria. As the number of ...

(TUT), the

University of Pretoria The University of Pretoria (, ) is a multi-campus public university, public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and ''de facto'' capital of South Africa. The university was established in 1908 as the Pretoria campus of the Johan ...

(UP), the

University of South Africa The University of South Africa (UNISA) is the largest university system in South Africa by enrollment. It attracts a third of all higher education students in South Africa. Through various colleges and affiliates, UNISA has over 400,000 student ...

(UNISA), the

Council for Scientific and Industrial Research A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...

(CSIR), and the

Human Sciences Research Council The Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) of South Africa is Africa's largest dedicated social science and humanities research agency and policy think tank. It primarily conducts large-scale, policy-relevant, social science, social-scientific ...

. It also hosts the National Research Foundation and the

South African Bureau of Standards The South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) is a South African statutory body established in terms of the Standards Act (Act No. 24 of 1945). It continues to operate in terms of the latest edition of the Standards Act (Act No. 29 of 2008) as ...

. Pretoria was one of the host cities of the

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

. Pretoria is the central part of the

City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality The City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality (; ; ), also known as the City of Tshwane (), is the Metropolitan municipality (South Africa), metropolitan municipality that forms the local government of northern Gauteng in South Africa. The metro ...

which was formed by the amalgamation of several former local authorities, including

Bronkhorstspruit Bronkhorstspruit is a town 50 km east of Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa along the N4 highway towards eMalahleni. It also includes three townships called Zithobeni, Rethabiseng and Ekangala. On 18 May 2011, the Tshwane Metropolitan Munic ...

Centurion In the Roman army during classical antiquity, a centurion (; , . ; , or ), was a commander, nominally of a century (), a military unit originally consisting of 100 legionaries. The size of the century changed over time; from the 1st century BC ...

Cullinan Cullinan may refer to: * Cullinan (surname), a surname * Rolls-Royce Cullinan, an ultra-luxury SUV produced by Rolls-Royce Motor Cars *Cullinan, Gauteng, a small town in South Africa *Cullinan Diamond The Cullinan Diamond is the largest gem- ...

Hammanskraal Hammanskraal is a trans-provincial region anchored in northern Gauteng province, South Africa. The region consists of multiple residential, industrial, and commercial areas in a decentralized settlement pattern. History The historical roots of ...

and

Soshanguve Soshanguve is a township situated about 30 km north of Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa, just east of Mabopane. The name Soshanguve is an acronym for Sotho, Shangaan, Nguni and Venda, thus showing the multi-ethnic composition of the populat ...

. Some have proposed changing the official name from Pretoria to Tshwane, which has caused some public controversy. Pretoria is named after the

Voortrekker The Great Trek (, ) was a northward migration of Dutch-speaking settlers who travelled by wagon trains from the Cape Colony into the interior of modern South Africa from 1836 onwards, seeking to live beyond the Cape's British colonial adminis ...

leader

Andries Pretorius Andries Wilhelmus Jacobus Pretorius (27 November 179823 July 1853) was a leader of the Boers who was instrumental in the creation of the South African Republic, as well as the earlier but short-lived Natalia Republic, in present-day South Africa ...

, and South Africans sometimes call it the "Jacaranda City", because of the thousands of

jacaranda ''Jacaranda'' is a genus of 49 species of flowering plants in the family Bignoniaceae, native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas while cultivated around the world. The generic name is also used as the common name. The species ' ...

trees planted along its streets and in its parks and gardens.

History

Pretoria was founded in 1855 by

Marthinus Pretorius Marthinus Wessel Pretorius (17 September 1819 – 19 May 1901) was a South African political leader. An Afrikaner (or "Boer"), he helped establish the South African Republic (''Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek'' or ZAR; also referred to as Transvaa ...

, a leader of the Voortrekkers, who named it after his father

and chose a spot on the banks of the '' Apies rivier'' (

Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...

for "Monkeys river") to be the new

capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

of the

South African Republic The South African Republic (, abbreviated ZAR; ), also known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer republics, Boer republic in Southern Africa which existed from 1852 to 1902, when it was annexed into the British Empire as a result ...

(; ZAR). The elder Pretorius had become a national hero of the Voortrekkers after his victory over

Dingane Dingane ka Senzangakhona Zulu (–29 January 1840), commonly referred to as Dingane, Dingarn or Dingaan, was a Zulu prince who became king of the Zulu Kingdom in 1828, after assassinating his half-brother Shaka Zulu. He set up his royal capita ...

and the Zulus in the

Battle of Blood River The Battle of Blood River or Voortrekker-Zulu War (16 December 1838) was fought on the bank of the Blood River, Ncome River, in what is today KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa between 464 Voortrekkers ("Pioneers"), led by Andries Pretorius, and an es ...

in 1838. The elder Pretorius also negotiated the

Sand River Convention The Sand River Convention () of 17 January 1852 was a Treaty, convention whereby the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland formally recognised the independence of the Boers north of the Vaal River. Background The convention was signed o ...

(1852), in which the United Kingdom acknowledged the independence of the

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name ''Transvaal''. * South African Republic (1856–1902; ...

. It became the capital of the South African Republic 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 The Great Trek (, ) was a northward migration of Dutch-speaking settlers who travelled by wagon trains from the Cape Colony into the interior of modern South Africa from 1836 onwards, seeking to live beyond the Cape's British colonial adminis ...

Boer Wars

During the

First Boer War The First Boer War (, ), was fought from 16 December 1880 until 23 March 1881 between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and Boers of the Transvaal (as the South African Republic was known while under British ad ...

, the city was besieged by Republican forces in December 1880 and March 1881. The peace treaty that ended the war was signed in Pretoria on 3 August 1881 at the

Pretoria Convention The Pretoria Convention was the peace treaty that ended the First Boer War (16 December 1880 to 23 March 1881) between the Transvaal Boers and Great Britain. The treaty was signed in Pretoria on 3 August 1881, but was subject to ratification b ...

. The

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

resulted in the end of the

Transvaal Republic The South African Republic (, abbreviated ZAR; ), also known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer republic in Southern Africa which existed from 1852 to 1902, when it was annexed into the British Empire as a result of the Second ...

and start of British

hegemony Hegemony (, , ) is the political, economic, and military predominance of one State (polity), state over other states, either regional or global. In Ancient Greece (ca. 8th BC – AD 6th c.), hegemony denoted the politico-military dominance of ...

in South Africa. 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 The Treaty of Vereeniging was a peace treaty, signed on 31 May 1902, that ended the Second Boer War between the South African Republic and the Orange Free State on the one side, and the United Kingdom on the other. This settlement provided ...

on 31 May 1902 at

Melrose House Melrose House is a stately mansion and museum located opposite Burgers Park in Pretoria, South Africa. History Built in 1886 by the prosperous Pretoria businessman George Jesse Heys, it was named after the famous Melrose Abbey in Scotland. Mel ...

. The Pretoria Forts were built for the defence of the city just prior to the Second Boer War. Though some of these forts are today in ruins, a number of them have been preserved as national monuments. Pretoria Union Buildings-001

Union of South Africa

The Boer Republics of the ZAR and the

Orange River Colony The Orange River Colony was the British colony created after Britain first occupied (1900) and then annexed (1902) the independent Orange Free State in the Second Boer War. The colony ceased to exist in 1910, when it was absorbed into the Unio ...

were united with the

Cape Colony The Cape Colony (), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope. It existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with three ...

and

Natal Colony The Colony of Natal was a British colony in south-eastern Africa. It was proclaimed a British colony on 4 May 1843 after the British government had annexed the Boer Republic of Natalia, and on 31 May 1910 combined with three other colonies t ...

in 1910 to become the

Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa (; , ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day South Africa, Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the British Cape Colony, Cape, Colony of Natal, Natal, Tra ...

. Pretoria then became the administrative capital of the whole of South Africa, with

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

serving as the legislative capital and

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein ( ; ), also known as Bloem, is the capital and the largest city of the Free State (province), Free State province in South Africa. It is often, and has been traditionally, referred to as the country's "judicial capital", alongsi ...

as the judicial capital. Between 1910 and 1994, the city was also the capital of the province of

. (As the capital of the ZAR, Pretoria had superseded

Potchefstroom Potchefstroom ( ; ), colloquially known as Potch, is an college town, academic city in the North West (South African province), North West Province of South Africa. It hosts the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University. Potchefstro ...

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.

Geography

Pretoria is situated approximately north-northeast 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 the northeast of

, in a transitional belt between the plateau of the

Highveld The Highveld (Afrikaans: ''Hoëveld,'' , ) is the portion of the South African inland plateau which has an altitude above roughly , but below , thus excluding the Lesotho mountain regions to the south-east of the Highveld. It is home to some of t ...

to the south and the lower-lying

Bushveld The Bushveld (from Afrikaans: ''bosveld'', Afrikaans: ''bos'' 'bush' and ) is a Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands, sub-tropical woodland ecoregion of Southern Africa. The ecoregion straddles the Tropic of Capricorn ...

to the north. It lies at an altitude of about

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

, in a warm, sheltered, fertile valley, surrounded by the hills of the

range.

Climate

Pretoria has a monsoon-influenced

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: Cwa) with long hot, rainy summers, and short, dry and mild winters. The city experiences the typical winters of South Africa, with cold, clear nights and mild to moderately warm days. Although the average lows during winter are mild, it can get cold due to the clear skies, with night time low temperatures in recent years in the range of . The average annual temperature is . This is rather high, considering the city's relatively high altitude of about , and is due mainly to its sheltered valley position, which acts as a heat trap and cuts it off from cool southerly and south-easterly air masses for much of the year. Rain is chiefly concentrated in the summer months, with drought conditions prevailing over the winter months, when frosts may be sharp. Snowfall is an extremely rare event; snowflakes were spotted in 1959, 1968 and 2012 in the city, but the city has never experienced an accumulation in its history. During a nationwide

heat wave A heat wave or heatwave, sometimes described as extreme heat, is a period of abnormally hot weather generally considered to be at least ''five consecutive days''. A heat wave is usually measured relative to the usual climate in the area and ...

in November 2011, Pretoria experienced temperatures that reached , unusual for that time of the year. Similar record-breaking extreme heat events also occurred in January 2013, when Pretoria experienced temperatures exceeding on several days. The year 2014 was one of the wettest on record for the city. A total of fell up to the end of December, with recorded in this month alone. In 2015, Pretoria saw its worst drought since 1982; the month of November 2015 saw new records broken for high temperatures, with recorded on 11 November after three weeks of temperatures between and . Pretoria reached a new record high of on 7 January 2016.

Demographics

Depending on the extent of the area understood to constitute "Pretoria", the population ranges from 700,000 to 2.95 million. The main languages spoken in Pretoria are Sepedi,

Setswana Tswana, also known by its native name Setswana, is a Bantu language indigenous to Southern Africa and spoken by about 8.2 million people. It is closely related to the Northern Sotho and Southern Sotho languages, as well as the Kgalaga ...

Xitsonga Tsonga ( ) or Xitsonga as an endonym (also known as Changana in Mozambique), is a Bantu language spoken by the Tsonga people of South Africa and . It is mutually intelligible with Tswa and Ronga and the name "Tsonga" is often used as a ...

Tshivenda Venḓa or Tshivenḓa is a Bantu language and an official language of South Africa and Zimbabwe. It is mainly spoken by the Venda people (or Vhavenḓa) in the northern part of South Africa's Limpopo province, as well as by some Lemba peop ...

, and English. The city of Pretoria has the largest white population in Sub-Saharan Africa. Since its founding, it has been a major

Afrikaner Afrikaners () are a Southern African ethnic group descended from predominantly Dutch settlers who first arrived at the Cape of Good Hope in 1652.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: Brain to Casting''. Encyclopæd ...

population centre, and there are roughly 1 million Afrikaners living in or around the city.

Ethnic groups

Even since the end of Apartheid, Pretoria itself has had a white majority, albeit with an ever-increasing black middle-class. However, in the townships of

Mamelodi Mamelodi is a township northeast of Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa. A part of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, it was set up by the then apartheid government in 1953. Etymology Soshanguve Soshanguve is a township situated about 30 km north of Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa, just east of Mabopane. The name Soshanguve is an acronym for Sotho, Shangaan, Nguni and Venda, thus showing the multi-ethnic composition of the populat ...

and

Atteridgeville Atteridgeville also recently known as “Pheli” is a township located to the west of Pretoria, South Africa. It is located to the east of Saulsville, to the west of West Park; to the north of Laudium and to the south of Lotus Gardens. The ...

black people make up close to all of the population. The largest white ethnic group are the

Afrikaners Afrikaners () are a Southern African ethnic group descended from predominantly Dutch people, Dutch Settler colonialism, settlers who first arrived at the Cape of Good Hope in Free Burghers in the Dutch Cape Colony, 1652.Entry: Cape Colony. '' ...

and the largest black ethnic group are the

Northern Sotho Sepedi, also known as Northern Sotho, is one of South Africa’s twelve official languages and belongs to the Bantu language family, specifically the Sotho-Tswana group. The language is spoken mainly in Limpopo Province, and to a lesser exten ...

s. The lower estimate for the population of Pretoria includes largely former white-designated areas, and there is therefore a white majority. However, including the geographically separate townships increases Pretoria's population beyond a million and makes whites a minority. Pretoria's Indians were ordered to move from Pretoria to Laudium on 6 June 1958.

Cityscape

Pretoria is known as the "Jacaranda City" due to the approximately 60,000-70,000

Jacaranda ''Jacaranda'' is a genus of 49 species of flowering plants in the family Bignoniaceae, native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas while cultivated around the world. The generic name is also used as the common name. The species ' ...

s that line its streets. Purple is a colour often associated with the city and is often included on local council logos and services such as the A Re Yeng rapid bus system and the logo of the local

Jacaranda FM Jacaranda FM, previously known as Jacaranda 94.2, is a South African radio station, broadcasting in English and Afrikaans, with a footprint that covers Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and the North West Province and boasts a listening audience of ...

radio station.

Architecture

:' 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 Colonial architecture is a hybrid architectural style that arose as colonists combined architectural styles from their country of origin with design characteristics of the settled country. Colonists frequently built houses and buildings in a sty ...

to modern,

postmodern Postmodernism encompasses a variety of artistic, cultural, and philosophical movements that claim to mark a break from modernism. They have in common the conviction that it is no longer possible to rely upon previous ways of depicting the wo ...

neomodern Neomodern or neomodernist architecture is a reaction to the complexity of postmodern architecture and eclecticism in architecture, seeking greater simplicity. The architectural style, which is also referred to as New Modernism, is said to have le ...

, and

art deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

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 Union Buildings () form the official seat of the South African Government and also house the offices of the President of South Africa. The imposing buildings are located in Pretoria, atop Meintjeskop at the northern end of Arcadia, close ...

, the post-war

Voortrekker Monument The Voortrekker Monument is located just south of Pretoria in South Africa. The granite structure is located on a hilltop, and was raised to commemorate the Voortrekkers who left the Cape Colony between 1835 and 1854. It was designed by the ar ...

, the diverse buildings dotting the main campuses of both the

and the

, traditional

Cape Dutch Cape Dutch, also commonly known as Cape Afrikaners, were a historic socioeconomic class of Afrikaners who lived in the Western Cape during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The terms have been evoked to describe an affluent, educated sect ...

style Mahlamba Ndlopfu (the President's House), the

Neo-Byzantine Neo-Byzantine architecture (also referred to as Byzantine Revival) was a Revivalism (architecture), revival movement, most frequently seen in religious, institutional and public buildings. It incorporates elements of the Byzantine architecture, ...

Old Synagogue, the more modern Reserve Bank of South Africa (office skyscraper) and the Telkom Lukasrand Tower. Other well-known structures and buildings include the

Loftus Versfeld Stadium Loftus Versfeld Stadium is a rugby stadium situated in the suburb of Arcadia, city of Pretoria in the Gauteng province of South Africa, owned by the Blue Bulls Rugby Union. The stadium can accommodate 51,762 spectators. The stadium is the ...

, The South African State Theatre and the Oliver Tambo building which is the Headquarters of the

Department of International Relations and Cooperation The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) is the foreign ministry of the South African government. It is responsible for South Africa's relationships with foreign countries and international organizations, and runs South ...

. File:Union_Buildings_Eastern_Wing.jpg, The Eastern Wing of the Union Buildings File:RSA Pretoria 2.jpg, Old Council Chambers, or ''

Ou Raadsaal The Ou Raadsaal (English: ''Old Council Hall'') is a historic building in Pretoria, South Africa, located on the south side of Church Square. The Ou Raadsaal housed the Volksraad, the parliament of the South African Republic, from 1891 to 19 ...

'' File:Fort Klapperkop.jpg,

Fort Klapperkop The Pretoria Forts consists of four forts built by the government of the South African Republic (ZAR) just before the outbreak of the Second Anglo-Boer War around their capital of Pretoria. History After the abortive Jameson Raid, the governme ...

File:Neomodernist facade in Pretoria.JPG,

Neomodern Neomodern or neomodernist architecture is a reaction to the complexity of postmodern architecture and eclecticism in architecture, seeking greater simplicity. The architectural style, which is also referred to as New Modernism, is said to have le ...

architecture in Pretoria File:Law Chambers-011 perspective corrected.jpg, The Palace of Justice File:9 2 258 0020-Old Synagogue-Pretoria-s.jpg, The Old Synagogue

Central business district

Despite the many corporate offices, small businesses, shops, and government departments that are situated in Pretoria's sprawling suburbs, its Central Business District still retains its status as the traditional centre of government and commerce. Many banks, businesses, large corporations, shops, shopping centres, and other businesses are situated in the city centre which is towered by several large skyscrapers, the tallest of which is the Poyntons Building ( tall), the ABSA Building ( tall) and the Reserve Bank of South Africa building ( tall). The area contains a large number of historical buildings, monuments, and museums that include the

Pretoria City Hall Pretoria City Hall is a large building in Pretoria city centre, South Africa, which was built in 1931 and inaugurated in 1935 in order to celebrate the city-status of Pretoria obtained in 1931. It is located on the Paul Kruger Street south of ...

National Library of South Africa National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ...

, Pretorius Square, Church Square (along with its many historical buildings and statues), and the

. There is also the

Transvaal Museum The Ditsong National Museum of Natural History, formerly the Transvaal Museum, is a natural history museum situated in Pretoria, South Africa. It is located on Paul Kruger Street, between Visagie and Minnaar Streets, opposite the Pretoria City ...

(the country's leading natural history museum, which although it has changed venues a number of times, has been around since 1892), the National Zoological Gardens of South Africa (or more colloquially known as the Pretoria Zoo),

Museum in Jacob Maré Street, the Pretoria Art Museum and the African Window Cultural History Museum. Several National Departments also have Head Offices in the Central Business district such as the Department of Health, Basic Education, Transport, Higher Education and Training, Sport and Recreation, Justice and Constitutional Development, Public Service and Administration, Water and Environmental Affairs and the National Treasury. The district also has a high number of residential buildings which house people who primarily work in the district.

Parks and gardens

Pretoria is home to the National Zoological Gardens of South Africa, as well as the

Pretoria National Botanical Garden The Pretoria National Botanical Garden is one of South Africa's nine National Botanical Gardens. The garden is wedged between Pretoria Road and Cussonia Avenue in Brummeria, in eastern Pretoria, Gauteng, and flanks a central rocky ridge that ru ...

. There are also a number of smaller parks and gardens located throughout the city, including the Austin Roberts Bird Sanctuary, Pretorius Square gardens, the Pretoria

Rosarium A rose garden or rosarium is a garden or park, often open to the public, used to present and grow various types of garden roses, and sometimes rose species. Designs vary tremendously and roses may be displayed alongside other plants or grouped ...

, Church Square, Pretoria Showgrounds, Springbok Park,

Freedom Park In the Philippines, a freedom park is a centrally located public space where political gatherings, rallies and demonstrations may be held without the need of prior permission from government authorities. Similar to free speech zones in the United ...

, Jan Cilliers Park and Burgers Park, the oldest park in the city and now a national monument. In the suburbs there are also several parks that are notable: Rietondale Park, "Die Proefplaas" in the Queenswood suburb, Magnolia Dell Park, Nelson Mandela Park and Mandela Park Peace Garden and Belgrave Square Park. File:Pretoria zoo 2.jpg, View of Pretoria from the Pretoria Zoo File:Burgers Park, Pretoria.JPG, Burgers Park File:Broodboomtuin, a, Pretoria Nasionale Botaniese Tuin.jpg, Pretoria National Botanical Gardens

Jacaranda city

Pretoria's nickname "the Jacaranda City" comes from the around 70,000 jacaranda trees that grow in Pretoria and decorate the city each October with their purple blossoms. The first two trees were planted in 1888 in the garden of local gardener, J.D. Cilliers, at Myrtle Lodge on Celliers Street in Sunnyside. He obtained the seedlings from a Cape Town nurseryman who had harvested them in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, Brazil. The two trees still stand on the grounds of the Sunnyside Primary School. The jacaranda comes from tropical South America and belongs to the family

Bignoniaceae Bignoniaceae () is a Family (biology), family of flowering plants in the Order (biology), order Lamiales commonly known as the bignonias or trumpet vines.Vernon H. Heywood, Richard K. Brummitt, Ole Seberg, and Alastair Culham. ''Flowering Plant ...

. There are around fifty species of jacaranda, but the one found most often in the warmer areas of

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost region of Africa. No definition is agreed upon, but some groupings include the United Nations geoscheme for Africa, United Nations geoscheme, the intergovernmental Southern African Development Community, and ...

Jacaranda mimosifolia ''Jacaranda mimosifolia'' is a sub-tropical tree native to south-central South America that has been widely planted elsewhere because of its attractive and long-lasting Violet (color), violet-colored flowers. It is also known as the jacaranda, b ...

. At the end of the 19th century, the flower and tree grower James Clark imported jacaranda seedlings from Australia and began growing them on a large scale. In November 1906, he donated two hundred small saplings to the Pretoria City Council, which planted them on Koch Street (today Bosman Street). The city engineer Walton Jameson, soon known as "Jacaranda Jim", launched a programme to plant jacaranda trees throughout Pretoria, and by 1971 there would already be 55,000 of them in the city. Most jacarandas in Pretoria are lilac in colour, but there are also white ones planted on Herbert Baker Street in Groenkloof. The Jacaranda Carnival is an old tradition that was held from 1939 to 1964. After a hiatus of over twenty years, it resumed in 1985. Festivities include a colourful march and the crowning of the Jacaranda Queen.

Suburbs

Transportation

Railway

Commuter rail Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter town ...

services around Pretoria are operated by

Metrorail METRORail is the light rail system in Houston, Texas (United States). In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of . METRORail ranks as the second most-traveled light rail system in the Southern United States and the List ...

. The routes, originating from the city centre, extend south to

Germiston Germiston, also known as kwaDukathole, is a city in the East Rand region of Gauteng, South Africa, administratively forming part of the City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality since the latter's establishment in 2000. It functions as the m ...

and

, west to

, northwest to

Ga-Rankuwa Ga-Rankuwa is a large settlement located about 37 km north-west of Pretoria. Provincially it is in Gauteng province, but it used to fall in Bophuthatswana during the apartheid years, and under the North West province until the early 2000s. ...

, north to

and east to

Gautrain Gautrain is an Higher-speed rail, higher-speed Express train, express commuter rail system in Gauteng, South Africa, which links Johannesburg, Pretoria, Kempton Park, Gauteng, Kempton Park and O. R. Tambo International Airport. It takes 15 minu ...

high-speed railway line runs from the eastern suburb of Hatfield to Pretoria Station and then southwards to

Midrand Midrand is a town in central Gauteng, South Africa. It is situated in-between Centurion, Gauteng, Centurion and Sandton. Formerly an independent municipality, Midrand now forms part of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality. History ...

Marlboro Marlboro (, ) is an American brand of cigarettes owned and manufactured by Philip Morris USA (a branch of Altria) within the United States and by Philip Morris International (PMI, now separate from Altria) in most global territories outside the ...

Sandton Sandton is a financial, commercial and residential area, located in the northern part of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality. Formerly an independent municipality, Sandton's name came from the combination of two of its suburbs, Sa ...

, Rhodesfield,

OR Tambo International Airport O. R. Tambo International Airport is an international airport serving the twin cities of Johannesburg and the main capital of South Africa, Pretoria. It is situated in Kempton Park, Gauteng. It serves as the primary airport for domestic and ...

, Rosebank and

. Pretoria Station is a departure point for the Blue Train luxury train. Rovos Rail, a luxury mainline train safari service operates from the colonial-style railway station at Capital Park. The South African Friends of the Rail have recently moved their vintage train trip operations from the Capital Park station to the Hercules station.

Buses

Various bus companies exist in Pretoria, of which PUTCO is one of the oldest and most recognised. Tshwane municipality provides the remainder of the bus services.

Road

The N1 is the major freeway that runs through Pretoria. It enters the city from the south as the

Ben Schoeman Highway The Ben Schoeman Freeway or Ben Schoeman Highway is the main freeway between Johannesburg and Pretoria, and consists of portions of the M1, N1, and N14. Opened in 1968, it is named after former Minister of Transport Ben Schoeman, and is undou ...

. At the Brakfontein Interchange in

, the Ben Schoeman Highway becomes the N14 to Pretoria Central, the N1 turns north-east, then north, as the Eastern Bypass, bisecting the large expanse of the eastern suburbs, routing traffic from

Polokwane Polokwane (, meaning "Sanctuary" in Northern SothoPolokwane - The Heart of the Limpopo Provin ...

and the north of the country. The N1 is a

toll road A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road for which a fee (or ''Toll (fee), toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented to help recoup the costs of road construction and ...

north of Pretoria. The

R101 R101 was one of a pair of British rigid airships completed in 1929 as part of the Imperial Airship Scheme, a British government programme to develop civil airships capable of service on long-distance routes within the British Empire. It was d ...

is the original N1, and served the same function before the construction of the highway. It runs through the centre of the city on regular streets rather than the eastern suburbs. The N4 enters the city as a highway from eMalahleni in the east, merging with the N1 at the Proefplaas Interchange. It begins again north of the city, branching west from the N1 as the

Platinum Highway The Platinum Highway is part of the N4 route, and a major South African highway built under concessions with a private contractor. In 2001, the project was voted Infrastructure Deal of the Year by Project Finance International Magazine. It took e ...

, forming the Northern Bypass, and heading to

Rustenburg Rustenburg (; , Afrikaans and Dutch language, Dutch: ''City of Rest'') is a town at the foot of the Magaliesberg mountain range. Rustenburg is the most populous city in North West (South African province), North West province, South Africa (549 ...

. The N4 runs east–west through South Africa, connecting

Maputo Maputo () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a population of 1,088,449 (as of 2017) distributed ov ...

Gaborone Gaborone ( , , ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Botswana, largest city of Botswana, with a population of 246,325 based on the 2022 census, about 10% of the total population of Botswana. Its metropolitan area is home to 534, ...

. The N4 is a toll road. Before the Platinum Highway was built, the N4 continued passed the Proefplaas Interchange to the city centre, where it became a regular road, before again becoming a partially-tolled highway west of the city towards

Hartbeespoort Hartbeespoort, informally known as "Harties", is a small resort town in the North West Province of South Africa, situated on slopes of the Magaliesberg mountain and the banks of the Hartbeespoort Dam. The name of the town means "gateway of the h ...

. These roads through the city centre are now designated as the M2 (from the Proefplaas Interchange to Arcadia) and the M4 (from Arcadia to Hartbeespoort). There is a third, original east–west road: the R104, previously named Church Street, also from eMalahleni in the east through Pretoria to Hartbeespoort and Rustenburg in the west. Church Street has been renamed as Stanza Bopape Street from the M16 to Nelson Mandela Drive (M3), Helen Joseph Street from the M3 to Church Square, WF Nkomo Street from Church Square to the R511 (south-east of Hartbeespoort) and Elias Motswaledi Street from the R511 to Pelindaba. The N14 starts from the R101 just south of the Pretoria CBD, heading south as the Ben Schoeman Freeway. At the Brakfontein interchange in

, the Ben Schoeman Freeway becomes the N1 to Johannesburg, and the N14 continues as the intersecting west-south-westerly highway towards

Krugersdorp Krugersdorp (Afrikaans for ''Kruger's Town'') is a mining city in the West Rand, Gauteng Province, South Africa founded in 1887 by Marthinus Pretorius and Abner Cohen. Following the discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand, a need arose for a ...

. The R114 parallels the N14 from Centurion to

Muldersdrift Muldersdrift, in the Gauteng Province of South Africa, is a picturesque rural area situated 27 km north-west of Johannesburg, between Johannesburg and the Magaliesberg mountain range. The area falls under the West Rand District Municipality, ...

. The R21 provides a second north–south highway, further east. It starts from the Fountains Circle south of the city centre, heading south-east to Monument Park, where it becomes a highway. It crosses the N1 at the Flying Saucer Interchange and runs north–south towards

Ekurhuleni The City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (; ; ; ) is a metropolitan municipality that forms the local government of the East Rand region of Gauteng, a large suburban region east of Johannesburg. ''Ekurhuleni'' means "place of peace" in Xi ...

(specifically Kempton Park and

Boksburg Boksburg is a city on the East Rand of Gauteng province of South Africa. Gold was discovered in Boksburg in 1887. Boksburg was named after the State Secretary of the South African Republic, Willem Eduard Bok, W. Eduard Bok. The R29 (South A ...

). Importantly, it links Pretoria with the

in Kempton Park. The R80 highway (Mabopane Highway) is a highway in the north-west of the city. The highway begins in

and it terminates just north of the city centre (in Roseville) at an intersection with the M1. Pretoria is also served by many regional roads. The R55 starts at an interchange with the R80, and runs north–south from Pretoria West to

. The R50 starts from the N1 in the south-east of the city, and heads south-east towards Bapsfontein and Delmas. The R511 runs north–south from Sandton towards Brits and barely by-passes Pretoria to the west. The R514 starts from the M1, north of the city centre, and terminates at the R511 in Hartbeespoort. The R513 crosses Pretoria's northern suburbs from east to west. It links Pretoria to

and

in the east and

in the west. The R566 takes origin in Pretoria's northern suburbs, connecting Pretoria to Brits. The R573 (also called ''Moloto Road'') starts from the R513, just east of the town and heads north-east to KwaMhlanga and

Siyabuswa Siyabuswa is a township in South Africa in the province of Mpumalanga (a region formerly called Eastern Transvaal). During the Apartheid era, Siyabuswa was the Capital (political), capital of the KwaNdebele Bantustan. It served as a capital from ...

. Pretoria is also served internally by metropolitan routes.

Airports

For scheduled air services, Pretoria is served by Johannesburg's airports: OR Tambo International, south of central Pretoria; and Lanseria, south-west of the city.

Wonderboom Airport Wonderboom Airport is located north of Sinoville, Pretoria, Sinoville in the northern suburbs of Pretoria, South Africa. History The airport was opened in 1937, being built on the farm Wonderboom approximately 15 km north of Pretoria. O ...

in the suburb of Annlin in the north of Pretoria primarily services light commercial and private aircraft. However, as from August 2015, scheduled flights from Wonderboom Airport to

Cape Town International Airport Cape Town International Airport is the primary international airport serving the city of Cape Town, and is the List of South African airports by passenger movements, second-busiest airport in South Africa and List of busiest airports in Afric ...

were made available by SA Airlink. There are two military air bases to the south of the city, Swartkop and Waterkloof.

Culture

Media

Since Pretoria forms part the

Tshwane The City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality (; ; ), also known as the City of Tshwane (), is the metropolitan municipality that forms the local government of northern Gauteng in South Africa. The metropolitan area is centred on the city of Pre ...

Metropolitan Municipality, most radio, television and paper media is the same as the rest of the metro area.

Radio

There are many radio stations in the greater Pretoria region, some of note are:

, previously known as Jacaranda 94.2, is a commercial South African radio station, broadcasting in English and Afrikaans, with a footprint that covers Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and the North West Province and boasts a listening audience of 3 million people a week, and a digital community of more than 1,6 million people a month. The station's format is mainstream adult contemporary with programming constructed around a playlist of hit music from the 1980s, 1990s and now. Tuks FM is the radio station of the

and one of South Africa's community broadcasters. It was one of the first community broadcasters in South Africa to be given an FM licence. It is known for contemporary music and is operated by UP's student base.

Radio Pretoria Pretoria FM, formerly ''Radio Pretoria'' is an Afrikaans community-based radio station in Pretoria, South Africa. It broadcasts 24 hours a day in stereo on 104.2 FM in the greater Pretoria area. Various other transmitters (with their own freque ...

is a community-based radio station in Pretoria, South Africa, whose programmes are aimed at Afrikaners. It broadcasts 24 hours a day in stereo on 104.2 FM in the greater Pretoria area. Various other transmitters (with their own frequencies) in South Africa broadcast the station's content further afield, while the station is also available on

Sentech Sentech is the signal distributor for the South African broadcasting sector. Background Sentech began operations in 1992 as the signal distributor of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC). Sentech's mandate also included provid ...

's digital satellite platform. Impact Radio, is a Christian Community Radio Station based in Pretoria, and broadcasting on 103FM in the Greater Tshwane Area.

Television

Pretoria is serviced by

eTV ETV may stand for: Television * Educational television, the use of television in education * Enhanced TV, an interactive television application specification Africa * e.tv, South Africa * ETV (Ethiopia), Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation * ETV G ...

SABC The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is the public broadcaster in South Africa, and provides 19 radio stations (Amplitude modulation, AM/Frequency modulation, FM) as well as 6 television broadcasts and 3 OTT Services to the general ...

MNET M-Net (an abbreviation of Electronic Media Network) is a South African pay television channel established by Naspers in 1986. The channel broadcasts both local and international programming, including general entertainment, children's series, ...

, and SuperSport.

Paper

The city is serviced by a variety of printed publications namely; Pretoria News is a daily newspaper established in Pretoria in 1898. It publishes a daily edition from Monday to Friday and a Weekend edition on Saturday and Sunday. It is an independent newspaper in the English language that serves the city and its direct environs. It is available online via the Independent online website. Beeld is an Afrikaans-language daily newspaper that was launched on 16 September 1974. Beeld is distributed in four provinces of South Africa: Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, North West. Die Beeld (English: The Image) was an Afrikaans-language Sunday newspaper in the late 1960s.

Pretoria Creole

Pretoria Sotho (called Sepitori by its speakers) is the urban

lingua franca A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, link language or language of wider communication (LWC), is a Natural language, language systematically used to make co ...

of Pretoria and the

metropolitan area i
South Africa
It is a combination of

Tswana Tswana may refer to: * Tswana people, the Bantu languages, Bantu speaking people in Botswana, South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and other Southern Africa regions * Tswana language, the language spoken by the (Ba)Tswana people * Tswanaland, ...

and Northern Sotho (Pedi), with influences from Tsotsitaal and other black South African languages. It is a creole language that developed in the city during the years of Apartheid.

Museums

Ditsong National Museum of Cultural History The Ditsong National Museum of Cultural History is a museum that showcases the various stages and forms of culture in South Africa. It is part of the Ditsong Museums of South Africa. The museum is located in Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa. ...

, a.k.a. African Window *

Ditsong National Museum of Natural History The Ditsong National Museum of Natural History, formerly the Transvaal Museum, is a natural history museum situated in Pretoria, South Africa. It is located on Paul Kruger Street, between Visagie and Minnaar Streets, opposite the Pretoria City H ...

*Hapo Museum * Kruger House (residence of the president of the ZAR,

Paul Kruger Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger (; 10 October 1825 – 14 July 1904), better known as Paul Kruger, was a South African politician. He was one of the dominant political and military figures in 19th-century South Africa, and State Preside ...

) *

Mapungubwe Museum The Mapungubwe Collection, held by the University of Pretoria museums in its Old Arts Building, consists of archaeological materials excavated by the former University of Gauteng from the Mapungubwe archaeological site since its discovery in 1933. ...

(the

Treaty of Vereeniging The Treaty of Vereeniging was a peace treaty, signed on 31 May 1902, that ended the Second Boer War between the South African Republic and the Orange Free State on the one side, and the United Kingdom on the other. This settlement provided ...

which ended the

Anglo-Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...

was signed here in 1902) *

* Pioneer Museum * Pretoria Art Museum * Pretoria Forts *

South African Air Force Museum The South African Air Force Museum houses exhibits and restores material related to the history of the South African Air Force. The museum is divided into three locations, AFB Swartkop outside Pretoria, AFB Ysterplaat in Cape Town and at the Por ...

* Van Tilburg Collection * Van Wouw Museum *

*Willem Prinsloo Agricultural Museum *Sammy Marks House *SP Engelbrecht Museum (history of the NHK church) *Smuts House Museum File:Anfiteatro - Freedom Park.jpg, Freedom Park's amphitheatre File:Culthistory.jpg, African Window File:Kruger House see from Dutch Reformed Church clock tower 001.jpg, Paul Kruger's House File:Melrose house SA.jpg, Melrose House File:Transvaal Museum Night.JPG,

File:Interior Mapungubwe gold gallery, University of Pretoria.jpg,

Mapungubwe Collection The Mapungubwe Collection, held by the University of Pretoria museums in its Old Arts Building, consists of archaeological materials excavated by the former University of Gauteng from the Mapungubwe archaeological site since its discovery in 1933. ...

File:Pretoriase kunsmuseum 2.jpg, Pretoria Art Museum File:South Africa - Gauteng - Sammy Marks Museum.JPG, Sammy Marks museum

Music

A number of popular South African bands and musicians are originally from Pretoria. These include Desmond and the Tutus, Bittereinder, The Black Cat Bones,

Seether Seether are a South African Rock music, rock band founded in 1999 in Pretoria, Gauteng. The band originally performed under the name Saron Gas until 2002, when they moved to the United States and changed it to Seether to avoid confusion with ...

, popular mostwako rapper JR, Joshua na die Reën and DJ Mujava who was raised in the town of Attridgeville. The song "Marching to Pretoria" refers to this city. Pretoria was the capital of the

(a.k.a. Republic of the Transvaal; 1852–1881 and 1884–1902) the principal battleground for the

First First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

and

, the latter which brought both the Transvaal and the Orange Free State republic under British rule. "Marching to Pretoria" was one of the songs that British soldiers sang as they marched from the

, under British Rule since 1814, to the capital of the Southern African Republic (or in Dutch, ''Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek''). As the song's refrain puts it: "We are marching to Pretoria, Pretoria, Pretoria/We are marching to Pretoria, Pretoria, Hurrah." The opening line of

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

' song

I Am the Walrus "I Am the Walrus" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1967 television film ''Magical Mystery Tour (film), Magical Mystery Tour''. Written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney, it was released as the B-side to ...

, "I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together", is often believed to be based on the lyric "I'm with you and you're with me and so we are all together" in "Marching to Pretoria". Lennon denied this, insisting his lyrics came from "nothing".

Performing arts and galleries

Pretoria is home to an extensive portfolio of public art. A diverse and evolving city, Pretoria boasts a vibrant art scene and a variety of works that range from sculptures to murals to pieces by internationally and locally renowned artists. The Pretoria Art Museum is home to a vast collection of local artworks. After a bequest of 17th century Dutch artworks by Lady Michaelis in 1932 the art collection of Pretoria City Council expanded quickly to include South African works by Henk Pierneef,

Pieter Wenning Pieter Willem Frederick Wenning (9 September 1873 – 24 January 1921) was a South African Painting, painter and etcher, considered to be the progenitor of the style of Cape Impressionism. Early life and education Pieter Wenning was born in The ...

, Frans Oerder, Anton van Wouw and Irma Stern. And according to the museum: "As South African museums in Cape Town and Johannesburg already had good collections of 17th, 18th and 19th century European art, it was decided to focus on compiling a representative collection of South African art" making it somewhat unusual compared to its contemporaries. South African State Theatre12

Pretoria houses several performing arts venues including: the South African State Theatre which houses the arts of

Opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

musicals Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

, plays and comedic performances. A 9 metre tall statue of former president

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( , ; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa f ...

was unveiled in front of the

on 16 December 2013. Since Nelson Mandela's inauguration as South Africa's first majority elected president the Union Buildings have come to represent the new 'Rainbow Nation'. Public art in Pretoria has flourished since the

with many areas receiving new public artworks.

Sport

URC trophy on display at Loftus Versfeld

One of the most popular sports in Pretoria is

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

Loftus Versfeld Loftus Versfeld Stadium is a Rugby union, rugby stadium situated in the suburb of Arcadia, Pretoria, Arcadia, city of Pretoria in the Gauteng province of South Africa, owned by the Blue Bulls Rugby Union. The stadium can accommodate 51,762 spe ...

is home to the

Blue Bulls The Blue Bulls (), known for sponsorship reasons as the Vodacom Blue Bulls, is a South African rugby union team that participates in the annual Currie Cup tournament and the United Rugby Championship. They are governed by their second team t ...

, who compete in the domestic

Currie Cup The Currie Cup () is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premier domestic competition, four South African franc ...

, and also to the

Bulls Bulls may refer to: *The plural of bull, an adult male bovine * Bulls, New Zealand, a small town in the Rangitikei District Sports *Bucking bull, used in the sport of bull riding *Bulls (rugby union), a South African rugby union franchise operated ...

in the international

United Rugby Championship The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. For sponsorship reasons the league is known as the Vodacom United Rugby Championship in ...

competition. The Bulls rugby team, which is operated by the Blue Bulls, won the Super Rugby competition in

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

and

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

. Loftus Versfeld also hosts the

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

side

Mamelodi Sundowns Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club (simply known as Sundowns) is a South African professional football club based in Mamelodi, Pretoria in the Gauteng province that plays in the Premiership, the first tier of South African football league syste ...

. Pretoria also hosted matches during the

1995 Rugby World Cup The 1995 Rugby World Cup (), was the third Rugby World Cup. It was hosted and won by South Africa, and was the first Rugby World Cup in which every match was held in one country. The World Cup was the first major sporting event to take place in ...

. Loftus Versfeld was used for some matches in the

Association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

(soccer) is one of the most popular sports in the city. There are two soccer teams in the city playing in South Africa's top-flight league, the Premiership. They are

and

Supersport United SuperSport United Football Club (often known as SuperSport) is a South African professional association football, football club based in Atteridgeville in Pretoria in the Gauteng province. The team currently plays in the South African Premier Di ...

. Supersport United were the 2008–09 PSL Champions. Following the 2011/2012 season the

University of Pretoria F.C. University of Pretoria Football Club, also known as Tuks or AmaTuks, is a South African association football club based in the Hatfield, Pretoria, Hatfield suburb of Pretoria that represents the University of Pretoria. They currently play in the ...

gained promotion to the

South African Premier Division The South African Premiership, also known as the Betway Premiership for sponsorship reasons, and commonly referred to as the PSL after its governing body, is a professional soccer league in South Africa and the highest level of the South Afric ...

, the top domestic league, becoming the third Pretoria-based team in the league. After a poor league finish in the 2015/2016 season, University of Pretoria F.C. were relegated to the

National First Division The South African Championship, officially known as the Motsepe Foundation Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest league of South African football after the South African Premiership. Both the South African Championship and ...

, the second-highest football league in South Africa, in the 2016 promotion/relegation play-offs. SS park

Cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

is also a popular game in the city. As there is no international cricket stadium in the city, it does not host any top-class cricket tournaments, although the nearby situated

has Supersport Park which is an international cricket stadium and has hosted many important tournaments such as

2003 Cricket World Cup The 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup was the eighth Cricket World Cup, organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya from 9 February to 23 March 2003. This edition of the World Cup was the ...

2007 ICC World Twenty20 The 2007 ICC World Twenty20 was the inaugural edition of the Men's T20 World Cup, formerly known as the ICC World Twenty20 that was contested in South Africa from 11 to 24 September 2007. Twelve teams took part in the thirteen-day tournament� ...

, 2009 IPL and

2009 ICC Champions Trophy The 2009 ICC Champions Trophy was a One Day International cricket tournament held in South Africa between 22 September and 5 October, at Wanderers Stadium and Centurion Park, both in the Gauteng province. Originally, the tournament was schedu ...

. The most local franchise team to Pretoria is the

Titans In Greek mythology, the Titans ( ; ) were the pre-Twelve Olympians, Olympian gods. According to the ''Theogony'' of Hesiod, they were the twelve children of the primordial parents Uranus (mythology), Uranus (Sky) and Gaia (Earth). The six male ...

, although Northerns occasionally play in the city in South Africa's provincial competitions. Many Pretoria born cricketers have gone on to play for

, including former international captains

AB de Villiers Abraham Benjamin de Villiers (born 17 February 1984) is a South African former international cricketer. He is regarded as one of the greatest batters of his generation. de Villiers was named as the ODI Player of the Year three times during h ...

Faf du Plessis François "Faf" du Plessis ( ; born 13 July 1984) is a South African professional cricketer and former captain of the South Africa national cricket team. He is considered one of the greatest fielders of all time and among the best all-format ...

The Pretoria Transnet Blind Cricket Club is situated in Pretoria and is the biggest Blind Cricket club in South Africa. Their field is at the Transnet Engineering campus on Lynette Street, home of differently disabled cricket. PTBCC has played many successful blind cricket matches with abled bodied teams such as the South African Indoor Cricket Team and TuksCricket Junior Academy. Northerns Blind Cricket is the Provincial body that governs PTBCC and Filefelfia Secondary School. The Northern Blind Cricket team won the 40 over National Blind Cricket tournament that was held in Cape Town in April 2014. The city's SunBet Arena at Time Square hosted the NBA Africa Game 2018.

Places of worship

9 2 258 0115-Paul Kruger Reformed Church-Pretoria-s

Among the

places of worship A place of worship is a specially designed structure or space where individuals or a group of people such as a congregation come to perform acts of devotion, veneration, or religious study. A building constructed or used for this purpose is so ...

, they are predominantly

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

churches and temples :

Zion Christian Church 300px, Zion City Moria beside the R71 route, Limpopo The Zion Christian Church (ZCC) is one of the largest African-initiated churches operating across Southern Africa, and is part of the African Zionism movement. The church's headquarters ...

Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa The Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa (AFM) is a classical Pentecostal Christian denomination in South Africa. With 1.2 million adherents, it is South Africa's largest Pentecostal church and the fifth largest religious grouping in South Af ...

Assemblies of God The World Assemblies of God Fellowship (WAGF), commonly known as the Assemblies of God (AG), is a global cooperative body or communion of over 170 Pentecostal denominations that was established on August 15, 1989. The WAGF was created to provi ...

Baptist Union of Southern Africa The Baptist Union of Southern Africa is a Baptist Christian denomination in South Africa. It is affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance and the Evangelical Alliance of South Africa. The headquarters is in Roodepoort in Gauteng province. Hi ...

(

Baptist World Alliance The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) is an international communion of Baptists, with an estimated 51 million people from 266 member bodies in 134 countries and territories as of 2024. A voluntary association of Baptist churches, the BWA accounts f ...

Methodist Church of Southern Africa The Methodist Church of Southern Africa (MCSA) is a large Wesleyan Methodism, Methodist denomination, with local churches across South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho and Eswatini, and a more limited presence in Mozambique. It is a member chu ...

(

World Methodist Council The World Methodist Council (WMC), founded in 1881, is a consultative body that represents churches within Methodism and facilitates cooperation among its member denominations. It comprises 80 denominations in 138 countries which together repres ...

Anglican Church of Southern Africa The Anglican Church of Southern Africa, known until 2006 as the Church of the Province of Southern Africa, is the province (Anglican), province of the Anglican Communion in the southern part of Africa. The church has twenty-five dioceses, of whi ...

(

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is a Christian Full communion, communion consisting of the Church of England and other autocephalous national and regional churches in full communion. The archbishop of Canterbury in England acts as a focus of unity, ...

Presbyterian Church of Africa The Presbyterian Church of Africa was founded in 1898 by the Reverend Phambani Jeremiah Mzimba, who broke from the Church of Scotland. He broke away because of misunderstanding between the black and white clergy. He was born in Ngqakayi, and his fa ...

(

World Communion of Reformed Churches The World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) is the largest association of Reformed (Calvinist) churches in the world. It has 230 member denominations (227 members and three associate or affiliate members) in 108 countries, together claiming ...

), Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Pretoria (

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

). Greek Orthodox Community of Pretoria , Cathedral of the Annunciation of the Theotokos There are also

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

mosques and

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

temples.

Jewish community

Pretoria has a small Jewish community of around 3,000. Jewish citizens have been in Pretoria since its foundation in the 19th century and played an important role in its industrial and economic growth. A Mr. De Vries, the first Jewish inhabitant of Pretoria, was a prominent citizen and prosecutor, a member of the

Volksraad The Volksraad was a people's assembly or legislature in Dutch or Afrikaans speaking government. Assembly South Africa * Volksraad (South African Republic) (1840–1902) * Volksraad (Natalia Republic), a similar assembly that existed in the Natalia ...

and a pioneer of the

Afrikaans language Afrikaans is a West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento that speaks the Patagonian dialect. It evolved from the Dutc ...

. Another famed Jewish Pretorian was

Sammy Marks Samuel Marks (July 11, 1844 – February 18, 1920) was a Russian-born South African industrialist and financier. Life history Born the son of a Jewish tailor in 1844 in Neustadt-Sugind, Russian Empire (now Lithuania), Marks was endowed w ...

. Other early Jewish settlers, many of them immigrants from

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

, were not as educated as De Vries and often did not speak Dutch, Afrikaans, or English. Many of them spoke only

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

and made a living as shopkeepers in the local retail industry. Most Jewish residents stayed neutral in the

, though some joined the

army. The first congregation was founded between 1890 and 1895, and in 1898 the first synagogue, The Old Synagogue opened on Paul Kruger Street.Church Square, the Old Synagogue and the Old Government Printing Work, Three historic places for testing strategic intervention
University of Pretoria. 2015 A second synagogue, known as the Great Synagogue, opened in 1922. Both synagogues are no longer in operation, but a

Reformed Reform is beneficial change. Reform, reformed or reforming may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine Places * Reform, Al ...

synagogue, Temple Menorah, opened in the early 1950s. The Jewish community of Pretoria's golden age was in the early 20th century, when many Jewish sports clubs, charities, and youth groups flourished. After 1948, many Jews left for Cape Town or Johannesburg. The Old Synagogue on Paul Kruger Street was purchased by the government in 1952 to become the new home of the High Court where prominent opposition figures in the

Anti-Apartheid Movement The Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM) was a British organisation that was at the centre of the international movement opposing the South African apartheid system and supporting South Africa's non-white population who were oppressed by the policies ...

were tried, including

Walter Sisulu Walter Max Ulyate Sisulu (18 May 1912 – 5 May 2003) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and member of the African National Congress (ANC). Between terms as ANC Secretary-General (1949–1954) and ANC ...

, and 26 others were prosecuted for treason from 1 August 1958 to 29 March 1961; the

Rivonia Trial The Rivonia Trial was a trial that took place in apartheid-era South Africa between 9 October 1963 and 12 June 1964, after a group of anti-apartheid activists were arrested on Liliesleaf Farm in Rivonia. The farm had been the secret location f ...

was held there in 1963–1964. Two Jewish schools arose in Pretoria, the Miriam Marks School, which was founded in 1905, and the Carmel School, which opened in 1959. Only the second, currently also operating as a synagogue, remains. Pretoria's Reformed congregation shares a rabbi with the Johannesburg one, though the synagogue no longer operates and services take place in worshippers' private homes.

Buddhist community

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

centre, the Jang Chup Chopel Rigme Centre ("Centre of Light") was founded in early January 2015 by Duan Pienaar or Gyalten Nyima (his adopted monastic name) in Waverley around Pretoria-Moot. Pienaar is the only Afrikaner ordained in the highly selective

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...

Tantric Buddhist ''Vajrayāna'' (; 'vajra vehicle'), also known as Mantrayāna ('mantra vehicle'), Guhyamantrayāna ('secret mantra vehicle'), Tantrayāna ('tantra vehicle'), Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, is a Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition that emp ...

community in

Bylakuppe Bylakuppe (བྷ་ཡ་ལ་ཀུཔེ།) is a region in Karnataka which is home to the Indian town Bylakuppe and several Tibetan settlements, established by Lugsum Samdupling (in 1961) and Dickyi Larsoe (in 1969). Bylakuppe is the l ...

, in southern India. His instructor

Lama Lama () is a title bestowed to a realized practitioner of the Dharma in Tibetan Buddhism. Not all monks are lamas, while nuns and female practitioners can be recognized and entitled as lamas. The Tibetan word ''la-ma'' means "high mother", ...

Kyabje Choden Rinpoche is the highest tantric master after the

Dalai Lama The Dalai Lama (, ; ) is the head of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. The term is part of the full title "Holiness Knowing Everything Vajradhara Dalai Lama" (圣识一切瓦齐尔达喇达赖喇嘛) given by Altan Khan, the first Shu ...

. Pienaar, who studied Buddhist teachers for twenty years, spent two years in India.

Coat of arms

The Pretoria civic arms, designed by Frans Engelenburg,Bodel, J.D.; 'The Coat of Arms and Other Heraldic Symbols of the City of Pretoria' in ''Pretoriana'' (November 1989). were granted by the

College of Arms The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional Officer of Arms, officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the ...

on 7 February 1907. They were registered with the Transvaal Provincial Administration in March 1953Transvaal ''Official Gazette'' 2372 (11 March 1953). and at the Bureau of Heraldry in May 1968.
/ref> The Bureau provided new artwork, in a more modern style, in 1989.'Nuwe Standswapen' in ''Toria'' (July 1989). The arms were: ''Gules, on an mimosa tree eradicated proper within an orle of eight bees volant, Or, an inescutcheon Or and thereon a Roman praetor seated proper''. In layman's terms: a red shield displaying an uprooted mimosa tree surrounded by a border of eight golden bees, superimposed on the tree is a golden shield depicting a Roman praetor. The tree represented growth, the bees industry, and the praetor (judge) was an heraldic pun on the name. The crest was a three-towered golden castle; the supporters were an eland and a kudu; and the motto ''Praestantia praevaleat Pretoria''. The coat of arms have gone out of favour after the City Council amalgamated with its surrounding councils to form the

Education

Primary education

* Crawford College, Pretoria, Crawford College * St. Mary's Diocesan School for Girls

Secondary education

* Afrikaanse Hoër Meisieskool *

Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool (also known as Affies), is a Public school (government funded), public Afrikaans, Afrikaans medium high school for boys situated in the suburb of Arcadia, Pretoria, Elandspoort in Pretoria in the Gauteng province of So ...

* Christian Brothers' College * Clapham High School *

Cornwall Hill College Cornwall Hill College is a private, boarding English medium co-educational preparatory and college in the suburb in Irene in Centurion in the Gauteng province of South Africa. Controversies In June 2021, the school was accused of racism ...

* Crawford College, Pretoria, Crawford College *

The Glen High School The Glen High School is a public English medium co-educational high school situated in the suburb of Waterkloof Glen in Pretoria in the Gauteng province of South Africa. It has around 1,200 pupils. Principals *G Batty - from January 1976 *R ...

* Hillview High School * Hoërskool Akasia * Hoërskool Die Wilgers * Hoërskool Garsfontein * Hoërskool Menlopark *Hoërskool Montana * Hoërskool Oos-Moot * Hoërskool Overkruin *

Hoërskool Waterkloof Hoërskool Waterkloof (colloquially known as Klofies) is a public Afrikaans medium co-educational high school situated in the eastern suburbs of Pretoria in the Gauteng province of South Africa. It is one of the most expensive Afrikaans medium s ...

* Hoërskool Wonderboom *

Pretoria Boys High School Pretoria Boys High School (colloquially known as "Boys High") is a public, Tuition payments, tuition-charging, English language, English-medium high school for boys situated in the suburb of Brooklyn, Pretoria, Brooklyn in Pretoria in the Gauten ...

* Pretoria Chinese School * Pretoria High School for Girls * Pretoria North High School * Pretoria Secondary School * Pro Arte Alphen Park * St. Alban's College * St. Mary's Diocesan School for Girls * Tshwane Muslim School * Willowridge High School File:PBHS-facade.jpg, Pretoria Boys High School File:Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool night shot.jpg, Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool File:Pretoria High School for Girls Park Street Pretoria 002.jpg, Pretoria High School for Girls File:Afrikaanse Hoër Meisieskool, b, Pretoria.jpg, Afrikaanse Hoër Meisieskool File:St Alban's College, geboue en gronde, Pretoria.jpg, St Alban's College

International schools

* École Miriam Makeba (French school) * Deutsche Schule Pretoria (German school) * AISJ-Pretoria

Tertiary education

Pretoria is one of South Africa's leading academic cities and is home to both the largest residential university in South Africa, largest distance education university in South Africa and a research intensive university. The three Universities in the city in order of the year founded are as follows:

University of South Africa

The

(commonly referred to as Unisa), founded in 1873 as the

University of the Cape of Good Hope The University of the Cape of Good Hope (), renamed the University of South Africa in 1916, was created when the Molteno government passed Act 16 of 1873 in the Cape of Good Hope Parliament. Modelled on the University of London The Un ...

, is the largest university on the African continent and attracts a third of all higher education students in South Africa. It spent most of its early history as an examining agency for Oxford and Cambridge universities and as an incubator from which most other universities in South Africa are descended. In 1946 it was given a new role as a distance education university and in 2012 it had a student headcount of over 300,000 students, including African and international students in 130 countries worldwide, making it one of the world's mega universities. Unisa is a dedicated open distance education institution and offers both vocational and academic programmes.

University of Pretoria

The

(commonly referred to as UP, Tuks, or Tukkies) is a multi campus

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

research university. The university was established in 1908 as the Pretoria campus of the

based Transvaal University College and is the fourth South African institution in continuous operation to be awarded university status. Established in 1920, the University of Pretoria Faculty of Veterinary Science is the second oldest

veterinary school Veterinary education is the tertiary education of veterinarians. To become a veterinarian, one must first complete a degree in veterinary medicine Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM, V.M.D., BVS, BVSc, BVMS, BVM etc.). In the United States and C ...

in Africa and the only veterinary school in South Africa. In 1949 the university launched the first MBA programme outside of North America. Since 1997, the university has produced more research outputs every year than any other institution of higher learning in South Africa, as measured by the Department of Education's accreditation benchmark.

Tshwane University of Technology

The

(commonly referred to as TUT) is a

higher education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...

institution, offering

vocational A vocation () is an occupation to which a person is especially drawn or for which they are suited, trained or qualified. Though now often used in non-religious contexts, the meanings of the term originated in Christianity. A calling, in the reli ...

oriented diplomas and degrees, and came into being through a merger of Technikon Northern Gauteng, Technikon North-West and Technikon Pretoria. TUT caters for approximately 60,000 students and it has become the largest residential higher education institution in South Africa.

CSIR

The

(CSIR) is South Africa's central scientific research and development organisation. It was established by an act of

parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

in 1945 and is situated on its own

campus A campus traditionally refers to the land and buildings of a college or university. This will often include libraries, lecture halls, student centers and, for residential universities, residence halls and dining halls. By extension, a corp ...

in the city. It is the largest research and development organisation in Africa and accounts for about 10% of the entire African R&D budget. It has a staff of approximately 3,000 technical and scientific researchers, often working in multi-disciplinary teams. In 2002, Sibusiso Sibisi was appointed as the president and CEO of the CSIR.

Military

Pretoria has earned a reputation as being the centre of South Africa's Military and is home to several military facilities of the

South African National Defence Force The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) comprises the armed forces of South Africa. The Chief of the SANDF is appointed by the President of South Africa from one of the armed services. They are in turn accountable to the Minister of ...

Military headquarters

Transito Air Force Headquarters

This complex is the headquarters to the

South African Air Force The South African Air Force (SAAF) is the air warfare branch of South African National Defence Force, with its headquarters in Pretoria. The South African Air Force was established on 1 February 1920. The Air Force saw service in World War II a ...

The Dequar Road Complex

A military complex that houses the following: *

South African Army The South African Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of South Africa, a part of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), along with the South African Air Force, South African Navy and South African Military Health Servi ...

's Headquarters * South African Infantry Formation HQ *A General Support Base *Support Formation HQ *Training Formation HQ *The 102 Field Workshop unit *The 17 Maintenance Unit *The S.A.M.S Military Health Department

The Sebokeng Complex

A military complex located on the corner of Patriot Street and Koraalboom Road that houses the following military headquarters: * South African Army Armour Formation HQ *

South African Army Artillery Formation The South African Army Artillery Formation is the controlling entity of all South African Army artillery units. It draws much of its history from the South African Artillery, established in 1934 but with roots that reach back to 1921. The formati ...

HQ *South African Army Intelligence Corps HQ *South African Army Air Defence Artillery Formation HQ

Military bases

The Dequar Road Base

This base is situated in the suburb of Salvokop and is divided into two parts: *The Green Magazine (Groen Magazyn) which is the Headquarters to the Transvaalse Staatsartillerie, a reserve artillery regiment of the

*Magazine Hill which is the regimental Headquarters to the

Pretoria Armoured Regiment The Pretoria Armour Regiment (formerly the Pretoria Regiment) is a reserve armoured regiment of the South African Army. History Origin The Pretoria Regiment was formed on 1 July 1913 as the 12th Infantry Battalion (The Pretoria Regiment) – ...

, a reserve tank regiment of the

Thaba Tshwane

Thaba Tshwane is a large military area south-west of the Pretoria Central Business District and North of Air Force Base Swartkop. It is the headquarters of several army units- *Joint Support Base Garrison that is responsible for the town management of Thaba Tshwane *The Tshwane Regiment, a reserve

motorised infantry Motorized infantry is infantry that is transported by trucks or other motor vehicles. It is distinguished from mechanized infantry, which is carried in armoured personnel carriers or infantry fighting vehicles, and from light infantry, which c ...

regiment of the South African Army *The 18 Light Regiment, a reserve artillery regiment of the South African Army *The National Ceremonial Guard and Band The military base also houses the 1 Military Hospital and the Military Police School. Within Thaba Tshwane, a facility known as "TEK Base" exists which houses its own units: *The SA Army Engineer Formation *2 Parachute Battalion *44 Parachute Engineer Regiment *1 Military Printing Regiment *4 Survey and Map Regiment

Joint Support Base Wonderboom

The Wonderboom Military Base is located adjacent to the Wonderboom Airport and is the headquarters of the

Signals Formation. It also houses the School of Signals, 1 Signal Regiment, 2 Signal Regiment, 3 Electronic Workshop, 4 Signal Regiment and 5 Signal Regiment.

Military colleges

The

College, the

South African Military Health Service The South African Military Health Service is the branch of the South African National Defence Force responsible for medical facilities and the training and deployment of all medical personnel within the force. Though unusual, as most national mili ...

School for Military Health Training and the

College are situated in the Thaba Tshwane Military Base and are used to train Commissioned and Non-commissioned Officers to perform effectively in combat/command roles in the various branches of the South African National Defence Force. The South African Defence Intelligence College is also located in the Sterrewag Suburb north of

Air Force Base Waterkloof Air Force Base Waterkloof is an airbase of the South African Air Force. It is situated on the outskirts of Pretoria, and is the SAAF's busiest airbase. The base's name means "water ravine" in Afrikaans and in Dutch. Despite the name, this base i ...

Air force bases

While technically not within the city limits of Pretoria, Air Force Base Swartkop and

are often used for defence related matters within the city. These may include aerial military transport duties within the city, aerospace monitoring and defence as well as VIP transport to and from the city.

Proposed change of name

On 26 May 2005 the

South African Geographical Names Council The South African Geographical Names Council (SAGNC) is the official government body of South Africa that advises the executive branch of the central government (in the form of the Minister of Arts and Culture) on new geographical names as we ...

(SAGNC), which is linked to the Directorate of Heritage in the Department of Arts and Culture, approved changing the name of Pretoria to

, which is already the name of the

Metropolitan Municipality A metropolitan municipality is a municipality established to serve a metropolitan area. Canada In generic terms and in practical application within Canada, a metropolitan municipality is an urban local government with partial or complete consol ...

in which Pretoria and a number of surrounding cities are located. Although the name change was approved by the SAGNC, it was not approved by the

Minister of Arts and Culture The minister of arts and culture is a minister of the Cabinet of South Africa who is responsible for overseeing the Department of Arts and Culture. the incumbent minister is Nathi Mthethwa and his deputy is Maggie Sotyu. Between 1994 and 20 ...

, who at the time requested further research on the matter. Should the Minister approve the name change, the name will be published in the

Government Gazette A government gazette (also known as an official gazette, official journal, official newspaper, official monitor or official bulletin) is a periodical publication that has been authorised to publish public or legal notices. It is usually establish ...

, giving the public opportunity to comment on the matter. The Minister can then refer that public response back to the SAGNC before presenting a recommendation before parliament for a vote. Various public interest groups warned that any name change would be challenged in court, should the minister approve it. The long process involved makes a name change less likely. The Tshwane Metro Council has advertised "Africa's leading capital city" as ''Tshwane'' since the SAGNC decision in 2005. This has led to further controversy, however, as the name of the city had not yet been changed, and the council was, at best, acting prematurely. When a complaint was lodged with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), it ruled that such advertisements are deliberately misleading and should be withdrawn from all media. Despite the rulings of the ASA, Tshwane Metro Council failed to discontinue their "City of Tshwane" advertisements. As a result, the ASA requested that Tshwane Metro pay for advertisements in which it admits that it has misled the public. After refusing to abide by the ASA's request, the Metro Council was banned from placing any advertisements in the South African media that refer to the capital as Tshwane. ASA may still place additional sanctions on the Metro Council that would prevent it from placing any advertisements in the South African media, including council notices and employment vacancies. After the ruling, the Metro Council continued to place ''Tshwane'' advertisements, but placed them on council-owned advertising boards and busstops throughout the municipal area. In August 2007, an internal memo was leaked to the media in which the Tshwane mayor sought advice from the

premier of Gauteng The premier of Gauteng is the head of government of the Gauteng province of South Africa. The current Premier (South Africa), premier of Gauteng is Panyaza Lesufi, a member of the African National Congress, who was elected on 6 October 2022, fo ...

on whether the municipality could be called the "City of Tshwane" instead of just "Tshwane". This could increase confusion about the distinction between the city of Pretoria and the municipality of Tshwane. In early 2010 it was again rumoured that the South African government would make a decision regarding the name; however, a media briefing regarding name changes, which could have been an opportunity to discuss it, was cancelled shortly before taking place. Rumours of the name change provoked outrage from Afrikaner civil rights and political groups. It later emerged that the registration of the municipality as a geographic place had been published in the Government Gazette as it had been too late to withdraw the name from the publication, but it was announced that the name had been withdrawn, pending "further work" by officials. The following week, the registration of "Tshwane" was officially withdrawn in the Government Gazette. The retraction had reportedly been ordered at the behest of the

Deputy President of South Africa The deputy president of South Africa is the second highest ranking officer of the executive branch of the Government of South Africa. The deputy president is a member of the National Assembly and the Cabinet. The deputy president is constit ...

Kgalema Motlanthe Kgalema Petrus Motlanthe (; born 19 July 1949) is a South African politician who served as the 3rd president of South Africa from 25 September 2008 to 9 May 2009, following the resignation of Thabo Mbeki. Thereafter, he was deputy president und ...

, acting on behalf of President Jacob Zuma, as minister of Arts and Culture Lulu Xingwana had acted contrary to the position of the ANC, which is that Pretoria and the municipality are separate entities, which was subsequently articulated by ANC secretary general

Gwede Mantashe Samson Gwede Mantashe (born 21 June 1955) is a South African politician and former trade unionist who is currently serving as the Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources. He has been responsible for the mineral resources portfolio since Feb ...

. In March 2010 a group supporting the name change, calling themselves the "Tshwane Royal House Committee", claimed to be descendants of Chief Tshwane and demanded to be made part of the administration of the municipality. According to comments made by Mayor Kgosientso Ramokgopa in late 2011, the change would occur in 2012. However, there remained considerable uncertainty about the issue. , the proposed name change has not occurred.

International relations

Twin towns – sister cities

Pretoria is twinned with: *

Amman Amman ( , ; , ) is the capital and the largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of four million as of 2021, Amman is Jordan's primate city and is the largest city in the Levant ...

, Jordan *

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

, Azerbaijan *

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

, Romania *

Bulawayo Bulawayo (, ; ) is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council claimed it to be about ...

, Zimbabwe *

Kumasi Kumasi is a city and the capital of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly and the Ashanti Region of Ghana. It is the second largest city in the country, with a population of 443,981 as of the 2021 census. Kumasi is located in a rain forest region ...

, Ghana *

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

, Ukraine *

Port Louis Port Louis (, ; or , ) is the capital and most populous city of Mauritius, mainly located in the Port Louis District, with a small western part in the Black River District. Port Louis is the country's financial and political centre. It is admi ...

, Mauritius *

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

, Taiwan *

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

, Iran *

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, United States

Notable people

* Anel Alexander, actress * Frances Ames, neurologist, psychiatrist and human rights activist * Melinda Bam, Miss South Africa 2011 * Johan Barkhuizen, cricketer * Margaret Becklake, academic and epidemiologist *

Daniel Bekker Daniel "Daan" Wepener Bekker (9 February 1932 – 22 October 2009) was a South African boxing, boxer, who won the bronze medal in the Heavyweight division (+ 91 kg) at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. Four years later in Ro ...

, athlete *

Deanne Bergsma Deanne Bergsma (born 16 April 1941) is a South African Ballet dancer, ballerina, who made her career in the The Royal Ballet, Royal Ballet at Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. She was born in 1941 and showed early promise as a dancer, She first ...

, dancer * Conrad Bo, artist * Roelof Botha, venture capitalist *

Wim Botha Wim Botha (born 1974) is a South African contemporary artist. Biography Botha was born in Pretoria in 1974 and currently lives in Cape Town, South Africa. He grew up in a suburban town on the eastern side of Pretoria. In 1996, Botha graduated ...

, artist * Rory Byrne, Chief designer at the Benetton and Scuderia Ferrari Formula One teams * Jan-Henning Campher Rugby union player *

Sharlto Copley Sharlto Copley (born November 27, 1973) is a South African actor. His acting credits include roles in the Academy Award-nominated science fiction film ''District 9'', the 2010 adaptation of ''The A-Team'', the science fiction film ''Elysium'', ...

, actor * Kurt Darren, singer/songwriter * Enid de Chair, First Lady of New South Wales, art patron, and artist *

Rassie van der Dussen Hendrik Erasmus "Rassie" van der Dussen (born 7 February 1989) is a South African professional cricketer who represents the South Africa national cricket team and plays for Gauteng in domestic cricket. In the 2018 ''South African Cricket Annua ...

, cricketer * Damon Galgut,

Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a prestigious literary award conferred each year for the best single work of sustained fiction written in the English language, wh ...

-winning author *

Branden Grace Branden John Grace (born 20 May 1988) is a professional golfer from South Africa who currently plays for LIV Golf. He formerly played on the European Tour, the PGA Tour, and the Sunshine Tour. In 2012, he became the first player in the history ...

, golfer *

Nigel Green Nigel McGown Green (15 October 192415 May 1972) was an English actor. Because of his strapping build, commanding height () and regimental demeanour he would often be found playing military types and men of action in such classic 1960s films as ...

, actor * George Gristock, Victoria Cross recipient *

Steve Hofmeyr Steve Hofmeyr (born 29 August 1964) is a South African musician, writer and actor known for his prominence in the Afrikaans music scene. Outside of music, he is best known for his long-running role as Doug Durand on Egoli: Place of Gold, as well ...

, singer, songwriter and actor *

Bobby van Jaarsveld Pieter van Jaarsveld, professionally known as Bobby van Jaarsveld, (born 6 March 1987) is a South African Afrikaans-language pop singer-songwriter and actor. Early life Van Jaarsveld, who was nicknamed "Bobby" after his father, was born on 6 Ma ...

, South African singer/songwriter *

Glynis Johns Glynis Margaret Payne Johns (5 October 1923 – 4 January 2024) was a British actress. In a career exceeding seven decades on stage and screen, Johns appeared in more than 60 films and 30 plays. She received various accolades throughout her ca ...

, actress * Gé Korsten, opera tenor and actor *

Anneline Kriel Anneline Kriel (born 28 July 1955) is a South African actress, model and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss South Africa 1974 and was later crowned Miss World 1974. She is the second of three South African women to hold the Miss World titl ...

, Miss South Africa 1974 & Miss World 1974 *

, president of the

* Michael Levitt, Nobel prizewinning biophysicist * Thomas Madigage, soccer player *

Tony Maggs Anthony Francis O'Connell Maggs (9 February 1937 – 2 June 2009) was a South African racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Maggs participated in 27 World Championship Grands Prix, debuting at the 1961 British Grand Prix. He ...

Formula 1 Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

driver * Vusi Mahlasela, singer/songwriter * Justice Mahomed, former Chief Justice of South Africa, co-authored the constitution of Namibia *

Magnus Malan General Magnus André de Merindol Malan (30 January 1930 – 18 July 2011) was a South African military figure and politician during the last years of apartheid in South Africa. He served respectively as Minister of Defence in the cabinet of ...

, Minister of Defence in the cabinet of President P. W. Botha *

Eugène Marais Eugène Nielen Marais (; 9 January 1871 – 29 March 1936) was a South African lawyer, naturalist, and important writer and poète maudit in the Second Language Movement of Afrikaans literature. Since his death by his own hand, Marais has be ...

, lawyer, naturalist, poet and writer *

, entrepreneur * Herman Mashaba, the former Mayor of Johannesburg * Thulasizwe Mbuyane, soccer player * Karin Melis Mey, athlete * Marc Milligan, cricketer * Tim Modise, journalist, TV and radio presenter * Lucas Moripe, soccer player (Pretoria Callies FC) * Chris Morris, cricketer * Michelle Mosalakae, actress and theatre director *

Es'kia Mphahlele Es'kia Mphahlele (17 December 1919 – 27 October 2008) was a South African writer, educationist, artist and activist celebrated as the Father of African Humanism and one of the founding figures of modern African literature. He was given the ...

, writer, educator, artist and activist celebrated as the Father of African Humanism * Helene Muller, athlete *

Elon Musk Elon Reeve Musk ( ; born June 28, 1971) is a businessman. He is known for his leadership of Tesla, SpaceX, X (formerly Twitter), and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk has been considered the wealthiest person in th ...

, entrepreneur and business magnate *

Kimbal Musk Kimbal James Musk (born 20 September 1972) is a businessman and restaurateur. He co-owns The Kitchen Restaurant Group, with restaurants in Colorado, Chicago, and Austin. He is the co-founder and chairman of Big Green, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit tha ...

, entrepreneur * Franco Naudé, rugby union player * Sean Nowak, cricketer * Micki Pistorius, profiler and author *

Oscar Pistorius Oscar Leonard Carl Pistorius ( , ; born 22 November 1986) is a South African double amputee, former professional sprinter, and convicted murderer. He was the 10th athlete to compete at both the Paralympic Games and Olympic Games. Pistorius r ...

, athlete and convicted murderer *

, cricketer * Louis Hendrik Potgieter, member of

Dschinghis Khan Dschinghis Khan (; "Genghis Khan") is a German Eurodisco Pop music, pop band. It was originally formed in Munich in Eurovision Song Contest 1979, 1979 to compete in the Eurovision Song Contest with their song "Dschinghis Khan (song), Dschinghis K ...

pop band * Austin Stevens, herpetologist, wildlife photographer, film maker and author * Edith Frances Mary Struben, artist * Grove Venter, cricketer *

Arnold Vosloo Arnold Vosloo (born 16 June 1962) is a South African and American actor. He began his career as a stage actor and starring in South African films like '' Boetie Gaan Border Toe'' (1984). After emigrating to the United States in the late 1980s, h ...

, actor * Casper de Vries, comedian *

Joost van der Westhuizen Joost van der Westhuizen (20 February 1971 – 6 February 2017) was a South African professional rugby union player who made 89 appearances in test matches for the national team, scoring 38 tries. He mostly played as a scrum-half and partici ...

, rugby union player * Anton van Wouw, sculptor and artist *

A-Reece Lehlogonolo Ronald Mataboge (born 27 March 1997), known professionally as A-Reece, is a South African rapper, songwriter and record producer. He was born and raised in Pretoria, Gauteng. At 16 years old, A-Reece was signed under Raw X Productio ...

, rapper *

DJ Maphorisa Themba Sekowe (born 15 November 1987), known professionally as DJ Maphorisa, is a South African DJ, record producer, singer, and songwriter. As a record producer with a blend of house music, amapiano and afro pop music, afropop, he has worked ...

, DJ and record producer * 25k, rapper *

Dricus du Plessis Dricus du Plessis (born 14 January 1994), also known by his initials DDP, is a South African professional mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Middleweight (MMA), Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting ...

, MMA fighter * Asleigh Moolman, cyclist

Places of interest

, a botanical garden containing a massive collection of native flora. * The National Zoological Gardens of South Africa, the premier zoological gardens of South Africa. * Church Square, the historical governmental centre of the

. *

, the executive branch of the South African government. * Mahlamba Ndlopfu, the official residence of the President of South Africa. *

Marabastad Marabastad (also called Asiatic Bazaar or Location) is a business area to the west of the city centre of Pretoria, South Africa. The original ''Maraba Village'', situated just to the south of the present Marabastad, was founded and ruled by the ...

, a historical shopping district for non-whites during Apartheid. *

Menlyn Park Menlyn Park Shopping Centre is a large shopping mall in Menlyn, Pretoria, South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, n ...

, shopping area. *

, a historical complex dedicated to the

. *Hatfield Square, the main student relaxation district. *

Pretoria railway station Pretoria railway station is the central station in Pretoria, the executive capital of South Africa. It is located between Pretoria's central business district and Salvokop, in a 1910 building designed by Herbert Baker. It is the terminus of vari ...

, a historical landmark and departure point for metrorail and

trains. *

, a historical complex dedicated to the end of

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 ...

and the fallen soldiers of South Africa after 1994. * Pretoria Forts, historical bastions designed to protect the city against the British, including a museum on the

Boer Wars The military history of South Africa chronicles a vast time period and complex events from the dawn of history until the present time. It covers civil wars and wars of aggression and of self-defence both within South Africa and against it. It i ...

. * State Theatre, South Africa, the premier national performing arts complex. * Government House, Pretoria. File:Libertas, since 1994 known as Mahlamba Ndlopfu, in 1934 by Gerard Moerdijk designed as official residence in Pretoria for the state of the Union of South Africa. - panoramio.jpg, Official Residence of

President of South Africa The president of South Africa is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of South Africa. The president directs the executive branch of the government and is the commander-in-chief of the South African National Defence F ...

File:Menlynmall23.JPG,

File:Freedom Park Amphitheatre 01.jpg, Freedom Park File:Sammy Marks Square, Pretoria.JPG,

square File:Time Square Casino, Pretoria.jpg, Times Square Casino, Menlyn Maine

Nature reserves

*Chamberlain Bird Sanctuary * Faerie Glen Nature Reserve * Groenkloof Nature Reserve *Moreletaspruit Nature Reserve *

Rietvlei Nature Reserve Rietvlei Nature Reserve, located in southern Pretoria, is about in size, and includes the entirety of the Rietvlei Dam which impounds the Rietvlei River, in Gauteng, South Africa. The reserve is wedged between the R21 highway ( OR Tambo Air ...

*Roodeplaat Dam Provincial Nature Reserve * Wonderboom Nature Reserve File:Faerie Glen Nature Reserve.JPG, Faerie Glen Nature Reserve File:Uitsig oor Groenkloof NR, c.jpg, Groenkloof Nature Reserve File:Sunset at Rietvlei Nature Reserve, August 27, 2017. (36709904241).jpg, Rietvlei Nature Reserve File:Wonderboom wiki.jpg, Wonderboom Grove

References

External links

''City of Tshwane''
Metropolitan Municipality official website
Discover Tshwane
Metropolitan Municipality tourism website * {{Authority control 1855 in South Africa Capitals in Africa Cities in South Africa Geographical naming disputes Populated places established in 1855 Populated places founded by Afrikaners Populated places in the City of Tshwane