Pretoria Hotels

Pretoria Hotels

pretoria hotels

Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive (administrative) and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.

Pretoria is contained in the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality

Pretoria is the transitional area between the Highveld and the Bushveld, approximately 50 km north of Johannesburg in the north-east of South Africa. It lies in a warm, well sheltered, fertile valley, surrounded by the hills of the Magaliesberg range, 1,370 m (4,495 ft) above sea level.

Nguni-speaking settlers, who later became known as the Ndebele, 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.

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 Battle of Blood River. Andries Pretorius also negotiated the Sand River Convention (1852), in which Britain acknowledged the independence of the Transvaal. This made him the first successful leader in the fight against British colonialism in Sub-Sahara Africa It became the capital of the South African Republic (ZAR) on 1 May 1860.
Statue of Paul Kruger on Church Square, Pretoria

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.

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.
Statue of Andries Wilhelmus Jacobus Pretorius (November 27, 1798 – 23 July 1853) in Pretoria

The Second Boer War (1899 to 1902) resulted in the end of the South African Republic and start of British hegemony in South Africa. During the war, Winston Churchill was imprisoned in the Staats Model School in Pretoria but escaped to Mozambique. The city surrendered to British forces under Frederick Sleigh Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts on 5 June 1900 and the conflict was ended in Pretoria with the signing of the Peace of Vereeniging on 31 May 1902.

A number of forts were build for the defense of the city just prior to the Second Boer War, though some are today in ruins, a number of them have been preserved as national monuments.

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, with Cape Town the legislative capital. Between 1860 and 1994, the city was also the capital of the province of Transvaal, superseding Potchefstroom 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.

Suburbs and notable areas

Marabastad
Sunnyside
Menlyn
Sunnyside, Pretoria, a neighbourhood in central Pretoria, South Africa

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 British Colonial Architecture to Art Deco with a good mix of uniquely South African style mixed in.

The Blue Bulls, or more popularly by the club's Afrikaans name die Blou Bulle, are a South African rugby union team has participated in the annual Currie Cup tournament. They have been based at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria, Gauteng province.

On 26 May 2005 the South African Geographical Names Council (SAGNC), which is linked to the Directorate of Heritage in the Department of Arts and Culture, approved changing the name of Pretoria to Tshwane, which is already the name of the Metropolitan Municipality[6] in which Pretoria, and a number of surrounding towns are located.

Places of interest in the area have included

The National Zoological Gardens of South Africa
Church Square
Union Buildings
Marabastad
Menlyn Park

Nature Reserves in the area have included

Groenkloof Nature Reserve
Rietfontein Nature Reserve
Moreletaspruit Nature Reserve
Faerie Glen Nature Reserve
Wonderboom Nature Reserve
National Botanical Gardens

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