27 Facts About Pretoria

Pretoria was one of the host cities of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Pretoria is the central part of the Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality which was formed by the amalgamation of several former local authorities, including Bronkhorstspruit, Centurion, Cullinan, Hammanskraal and Soshanguve.

Pretoria is named after the Voortrekker leader Andries Pretorius, and South Africans sometimes call it the "Jacaranda City", because of the thousands of jacaranda trees planted along its streets and in its parks and gardens.

Pretoria was founded in 1855 by Marthinus Pretorius, a leader of the Voortrekkers, who named it after his father Andries Pretorius and chose a spot on the banks of the Apies rivier to be the new capital of the South African Republic .

Pretoria Forts were built for the defence of the city just prior to the Second Boer War.

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Pretoria then became the administrative capital of the whole of South Africa, with Cape Town the legislative capital and Bloemfontein served as the judicial capital.

Pretoria has a humid subtropical climate with long hot rainy summers, and short, mild winters.

The main languages spoken in Pretoria are Sepedi, Sesotho, Setswana, Xitsonga, Afrikaans and English.

The city of Pretoria has the largest white population in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Lower estimate for the population of Pretoria includes largely former white-designated areas, and there is therefore a white majority.

Pretoria's Indians were ordered to move from Pretoria to Laudium on 6 June 1958.

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.

Some notable structures in Pretoria include the late 19th century Palace of Justice, the early 20th century Union Buildings, the post-war Voortrekker Monument, the diverse buildings dotting the main campuses of both the University of Pretoria and the University of South Africa, traditional Cape Dutch style Mahlamba Ndlopfu, the more modern Reserve Bank of South Africa and the Telkom Lukasrand Tower.

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

Pretoria obtained the seedlings from a Cape Town nurseryman who had harvested them in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Pretoria Station is a departure point for the Blue Train luxury train.

Radio Pretoria is a community-based radio station in Pretoria, South Africa, whose programmes are aimed at Afrikaners.

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

Pretoria News is a daily newspaper established in Pretoria in 1898.

Pretoria Sotho is the urban lingua franca of Pretoria and the Tshwane metropolitan area in South Africa.

Public art in Pretoria has flourished since the 2010 FIFA World Cup with many areas receiving new public artworks.

The most local franchise team to Pretoria is the Titans, although Northerns occasionally play in the city in South Africa's provincial competitions.

Many Pretoria born cricketers have gone on to play for South Africa, including former international captains AB de Villiers Faf du Plessis.

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.

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.

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University of Pretoria is a multi campus public research university.

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:.