Pretoria attractions
Pretoria Attractions
Pretoria itself was founded in 1855 by Marthinus Pretorius, a leader of the Voortrekkers, who named it after his father Andries Pretorius. During the First Boer War, the city was besieged by Republican forces in December 1880 and March 1881. The peace treaty, which ended the war, was signed in Pretoria on 3 August 1881 at the Pretoria Convention. Pretoria achieved official city status in 1931. The city was the Capital of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek from 1860 until 1910, administrative capital of the Union of South Africa from 1910 until 1961, and of the Republic of South Africa from 1961. The city is full of wide avenues lined with Jacaranda trees and houses a great number of embassies and consulates. Overlooking the centre of the city from a hilltop are the magnificent Union Buildings, built in golden stone with Italian tiled roofs. Pretoria houses two of South Africa’s leading universities.
The Greater Pretoria region of Gauteng includes the towns Centurion, Cullinan and Bronkhorstspruit, Pretoria and Bapsfontein and all their surrounding areas. All of the aforementioned towns, each of which used to be a separate municipality, have been incorporated into the new Tshwane District Municipality. Greater Pretoria is situated in the transitional area between the Highveld and the Bushveld. It starts approximately halfway between Johannesburg and Pretoria and extends some 70 kilometres both East and West of the latter.
To the south-east of Greater Pretoria lies the small town of Bronkhorstspruit with its extensive shopping facilities. Just to the North of this charming town and near to KwaMhlanga there is a traditional Ndebele Village and Museum. This is an ideal stopover for visitors making their way to the Pretoria Hotels and game reserves of Mpumalanga. Here you can see demonstrations of traditional dress, beading, weaving and dance. In Bronkhorstspruit is the Willem Prinsloo Agricultural Museum, an informal living museum where children can see farm animals and old farm machinery and implements. Demonstrations of candle making, bread baking and distilling as well as sheep shearing can be seen. The Bronkhorstspruit Dam is a favourite weekend attraction for water sports enthusiasts, and close to the town is the Nan Hua Buddhist Temple.
Further North in Greater Pretoria is the small mining village of Cullinan, where the world’s largest diamond was found in 1905. Be sure to visit the McHardy House Museum, the extraordinary small restaurant La Casa located in a 1905 house, and the barber shop. Tours of the diamond mine are held at regular intervals and are an attraction not to be missed.
In the centre of the region in the south part of the city is the Fountains Valley Recreation Resort where you can indulge in the traditional braai, play tennis on the public courts, swim or just relax. Fountains lies on the Appies River, and is the country's oldest nature reserve. But don't miss Pretoria in October when in full bloom, it literally comes alive with blossoms and leaves no one in doubt as to the origin of its nickname - Jacaranda city.
The urban suburb of Arcadia is situated just to the East of the centre of Pretoria and is handy for anyone with business in the City, which is the administrative capital of South Africa. In the Arcadia Park is situated the city’s Art Museum. Arcadia is within walking distance of Union Buildings, for a long time the seat of government. The suburb is next door to Loftus Sports Stadium, and is handy for Pretoria Girls and Pretoria Boys High Schools. If you are visiting either the Union Buildings or the Loftus Stadium, then Don Arcadia I and Don Arcadia II are perfect for you as they are situated in less than 3 km from both venues.
It has a long, involved and fascinating history. Here you will find significant old buildings and fascinating museums. The Transvaal Museum has natural history displays and is the home of Mrs Ples, the australopithecine fossil found at Sterkfontein in the Cradle of Humankind. Also worth visiting are the Cultural History Museum and Smuts Museum in Irene, outside Pretoria.
Pretoria functions as one of three capitals of South Africa with a population that exceeds a million people, the bulk of whom are government officials. The city centre is laid out in typical city fashion on a grid with wide roads, making getting around fairly simple.
Practically mandatory when visiting the city are some of the attractions, Pretoria Botanical Gardens, the Zoo, the Union Buildings and various museums and galleries that include Melrose House, the Pioneer Museum, Sammy Marks museum, and the Voortrekker Monument. Outdoor activities include the Wonderboom and Groenkloof Nature Reserves, the Austin Roberts Bird Sanctuary, and a steam train ride around Pretoria.
Arcadia is a suburb in Pretoria known for its historical buildings, embassies and hotels. The Union Buildings as well as the President's residence are also situated here.
Interestingly, Andries Francois du Toit was the original owner of the land on which the Union Buildings were built. In addition, he was Pretoria’s first magistrate and was responsible for the layout of the city. During this period he sold his land, called Arcadia, to Stephanus Jacobus Meintjies after whom the hill in Arcadia is named. The Union Buildings form the official seat of the South African government and also house the offices of the President of South Africa. These grand buildings sit on Meintjies Kop and overlook Pretoria.
Pretoria has the second largest number of embassies in the world, after Washington, D.C., most of which are located in or near Arcadia. The main road is Park Street on which the US Embassy compound can be found. Other attractions situated on Park Street is the spectacular Pretoria Art Museum, which is directly opposite Don Arcadia II, in its Mid-Century Modernist building, The Gerard Moerdyk Restaurant which serves traditional colonial African meals in a house built in 1920 by this famous architect, as well as Loftus Versfeld Stadium where local and international rugby as well as soccer matches are played and can be seen.
The University of Pretoria is also near Arcadia. With a total of approximately 38 499 students, this university is the country's largest residential university. Arcadia is home to trendy shopping malls, nightclubs to satisfy the abundance of students, upmarket residential areas, world class restaurants and other entertainment facilities. The amenities as well as important monuments and fascinating architectural buildings make Arcadia a must to experience.
Pretoria itself was founded in 1855 by Marthinus Pretorius, a leader of the Voortrekkers, who named it after his father Andries Pretorius. During the First Boer War, the city was besieged by Republican forces in December 1880 and March 1881. The peace treaty, which ended the war, was signed in Pretoria on 3 August 1881 at the Pretoria Convention. Pretoria achieved official city status in 1931. The city was the Capital of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek from 1860 until 1910, administrative capital of the Union of South Africa from 1910 until 1961, and of the Republic of South Africa from 1961. The city is full of wide avenues lined with Jacaranda trees and houses a great number of embassies and consulates. Overlooking the centre of the city from a hilltop are the magnificent Union Buildings, built in golden stone with Italian tiled roofs. Pretoria houses two of South Africa’s leading universities.
The Greater Pretoria region of Gauteng includes the towns Centurion, Cullinan and Bronkhorstspruit, Pretoria and Bapsfontein and all their surrounding areas. All of the aforementioned towns, each of which used to be a separate municipality, have been incorporated into the new Tshwane District Municipality. Greater Pretoria is situated in the transitional area between the Highveld and the Bushveld. It starts approximately halfway between Johannesburg and Pretoria and extends some 70 kilometres both East and West of the latter.
To the south-east of Greater Pretoria lies the small town of Bronkhorstspruit with its extensive shopping facilities. Just to the North of this charming town and near to KwaMhlanga there is a traditional Ndebele Village and Museum. This is an ideal stopover for visitors making their way to the Pretoria Hotels and game reserves of Mpumalanga. Here you can see demonstrations of traditional dress, beading, weaving and dance. In Bronkhorstspruit is the Willem Prinsloo Agricultural Museum, an informal living museum where children can see farm animals and old farm machinery and implements. Demonstrations of candle making, bread baking and distilling as well as sheep shearing can be seen. The Bronkhorstspruit Dam is a favourite weekend attraction for water sports enthusiasts, and close to the town is the Nan Hua Buddhist Temple.
Further North in Greater Pretoria is the small mining village of Cullinan, where the world’s largest diamond was found in 1905. Be sure to visit the McHardy House Museum, the extraordinary small restaurant La Casa located in a 1905 house, and the barber shop. Tours of the diamond mine are held at regular intervals and are an attraction not to be missed.
In the centre of the region in the south part of the city is the Fountains Valley Recreation Resort where you can indulge in the traditional braai, play tennis on the public courts, swim or just relax. Fountains lies on the Appies River, and is the country's oldest nature reserve. But don't miss Pretoria in October when in full bloom, it literally comes alive with blossoms and leaves no one in doubt as to the origin of its nickname - Jacaranda city.
The urban suburb of Arcadia is situated just to the East of the centre of Pretoria and is handy for anyone with business in the City, which is the administrative capital of South Africa. In the Arcadia Park is situated the city’s Art Museum. Arcadia is within walking distance of Union Buildings, for a long time the seat of government. The suburb is next door to Loftus Sports Stadium, and is handy for Pretoria Girls and Pretoria Boys High Schools. If you are visiting either the Union Buildings or the Loftus Stadium, then Don Arcadia I and Don Arcadia II are perfect for you as they are situated in less than 3 km from both venues.
It has a long, involved and fascinating history. Here you will find significant old buildings and fascinating museums. The Transvaal Museum has natural history displays and is the home of Mrs Ples, the australopithecine fossil found at Sterkfontein in the Cradle of Humankind. Also worth visiting are the Cultural History Museum and Smuts Museum in Irene, outside Pretoria.
Pretoria functions as one of three capitals of South Africa with a population that exceeds a million people, the bulk of whom are government officials. The city centre is laid out in typical city fashion on a grid with wide roads, making getting around fairly simple.
Practically mandatory when visiting the city are some of the attractions, Pretoria Botanical Gardens, the Zoo, the Union Buildings and various museums and galleries that include Melrose House, the Pioneer Museum, Sammy Marks museum, and the Voortrekker Monument. Outdoor activities include the Wonderboom and Groenkloof Nature Reserves, the Austin Roberts Bird Sanctuary, and a steam train ride around Pretoria.
Arcadia is a suburb in Pretoria known for its historical buildings, embassies and hotels. The Union Buildings as well as the President's residence are also situated here.
Interestingly, Andries Francois du Toit was the original owner of the land on which the Union Buildings were built. In addition, he was Pretoria’s first magistrate and was responsible for the layout of the city. During this period he sold his land, called Arcadia, to Stephanus Jacobus Meintjies after whom the hill in Arcadia is named. The Union Buildings form the official seat of the South African government and also house the offices of the President of South Africa. These grand buildings sit on Meintjies Kop and overlook Pretoria.
Pretoria has the second largest number of embassies in the world, after Washington, D.C., most of which are located in or near Arcadia. The main road is Park Street on which the US Embassy compound can be found. Other attractions situated on Park Street is the spectacular Pretoria Art Museum, which is directly opposite Don Arcadia II, in its Mid-Century Modernist building, The Gerard Moerdyk Restaurant which serves traditional colonial African meals in a house built in 1920 by this famous architect, as well as Loftus Versfeld Stadium where local and international rugby as well as soccer matches are played and can be seen.
The University of Pretoria is also near Arcadia. With a total of approximately 38 499 students, this university is the country's largest residential university. Arcadia is home to trendy shopping malls, nightclubs to satisfy the abundance of students, upmarket residential areas, world class restaurants and other entertainment facilities. The amenities as well as important monuments and fascinating architectural buildings make Arcadia a must to experience.
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