Named after the Voortrekker leader, Andries Pretorius, the town council recently discussed proposals to change the name to Tshwane and ward the town city status. Pretoria is the administrative capital of South Africa, known as the ‘Jacaranda City’ because of the flowering trees lining its streets in October and November. Church Square is the center of the city, and a space of historical importance, while Church Street and its neighbors are lined by some fine 19th-century buildings including Paul Kruger’s House, the Groote Kerk, Melrose House, the old Raadsaal (parliament) of the Boer republic of Transvaal, and the State Theater, which features a program of fairly mainstream dance, music and drama. There are also several excellent small museums in the city, including the Pretoria Art Museum, the studios of local artists’ Coert Steynberg and Anton von Wouw, now both museums, the Museum of Science and Technology and the bizarre but fascinating Correctional Services Museum.
The Union Buildings, overlooking the suburb of Arcadia, are one of the pinnacles of British Imperial architecture, designed by Sir Herbert Baker. They are still the administrative seat of the national government and are famous as the site of Nelson Mandela’s 1994 inauguration as President. A little further out, the Voortrekker Monument is an imposing granite tower built to commemorate the Boer victory over the Zulus at Blood River. Not politically correct these days, it is still a solemn and moving monument, and the little museum beside it is fascinating. Pretoria Zoo is definitely worth a visit and has a cable car for a bird’s eye view of the big cats.