Polokwane

Polokwane (UK /ˌpɒləˈkwɑːnɪ/), meaning "Place of Safety", is a city in the Polokwane Local Municipality and the capital of the Limpopo province, South Africa. It is also often referred to by its former official name,Pietersburg. Polokwane is South Africa's largest urban centre north of Gauteng. It was one of the host cities of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

History

In the 1840s, Voortrekkers under the leadership of Andries Potgieter established Zoutpansbergdorp, a town 100 km to the north west. This settlement had to be abandoned because of clashes with the local tribes. They founded a new town in 1886 and named it Pietersburg in honour of Voortrekker leader Petrus Jacobus Joubert. The British built a concentration camp at Pietersburg during the Boer War to house almost 4,000 Boer women and children. The town officially became a city on April 23, 1992; on February 25, 2005, the government declared the official name of the city as Polokwane, a name that was generally in use by the speakers of Northern Sotho. The city was the site of the ANC national conference which saw Jacob Zuma take over as head of the party.