Pretoria travel guide — Pretoria tourism and travel information

Pretoria travel guide

about Pretoria

Pretoria is the administrative capital of South Africa and is situated in the Province of Gauteng.

It is a very pleasant and cosmopolitan city, situated in the transitional area between the Highveld and the Bushveld. As a result of its location, Pretoria has a particularly abundant variety of birdlife.

Pretoria history

Nguni-speaking settlers, who later became known as the Ndebele (derived from the Sotho word for 'refugees'), were probably the first people to recognise the suitability of the river valley which was to become the location of the future city of Pretoria for settlement. They named the river after one of their chiefs, Tshwane (from the Ndebele word for 'little ape'), which became translated in Afrikaans to 'Apies'.

During the difaqane in Natal, another band of refugees arrived in this area under the leadership of Mzilikazi. However, they were forced to abandon their villages in their flight from a regiment of Zulu raiders in 1832.

Pretoria itself was founded in 1855 by Marthinus Pretorius, a leader of the Voortrekkers, who named it after his father Andries Pretorius. The elder Pretorius had become a national hero of the Voortrekkers after his victory over the Zulus in the famous Battle of Blood River. It became the capital of the South African Republic (ZAR) soon afterwards.

The founding of Pretoria as the capital of the South African Republic can be

During the First Boer War, the city was besieged by Republican forces in December 1880 and March 1881.

The Second Boer War (1899 to 1902) resulted in the end of the South African Republic and start of British hegemony in South Africa. The Boer Republics of the ZAR and the Orange Free State were united with the Cape Colony and Natal Colony in 1910 to become the Union of South Africa. Pretoria then became the administrative capital of the whole of South Africa.

On 14 October 1931, Pretoria achieved official city status. When South Africa became a republic in 1961, Pretoria became its administrative capital.

Near cities to Pretoria

• Johannesburg travel guide 58 km
• Gaborone travel guide 250 km
• Lobatse travel guide 260 km
• Mbabane travel guide 300 km
• Butha travel guide 330 km
• Hlatikulu travel guide 350 km
• Leribe travel guide 360 km
• Palapye travel guide 360 km
• Mokhotlong travel guide 410 km
• Maseru travel guide 420 km

Near webcams to Pretoria

• Durban - Addington beach webcam 540 km
• Blouberg Beach webcam 1 300 km
• Cape Town webcam 1 300 km
• Cape Town - Table Mountain webcam 1 300 km
• Daressalam webcam 2 400 km
• Zanzibar - Stone Town webcam 2 500 km
• Mafatte webcam 2 800 km
• Saint Denis webcam 2 800 km
• Saint Denis webcam 2 800 km
• Reunion - Le Piton de la Fournaise webcam 2 800 km

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Pretoria travel services

cheap flights to Pretoria

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Pretoria real estate

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Pretoria travel books

Pretoria travel guide books

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Pretoria maps and atlases

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