Location

In west-central North West province, on the N12.

This town holds an important place in the story of the Afrikaner people. It was founded, on the banks of the Mooi River, in 1838 - that is, not long after the Great Trek began and a short while before the so-called Nine Days' Battle between the Voortekkers and Mzilikazi's Ndebele soldiers. The battle was an epic struggle notable for the Ndebele's ingenious use of oxen as cavalry, and for final confirmation that raw courage was no match for the guns and horses of the white settlers. Potchefstroom served as the capital of the old Transvaal (or more correctly, the South African Republic) until 1860, when Pretoria replaced it as the new country's principal centre.

The town, though, retained its cultural importance. A theological seminary was established in 1905, later developing into Potchestroom University for Christian Higher Education. Other local assets include a music conservatory and a fine library. Among prominent buildings are the Old Fort, the gunpowder house, and the Hervormde and Reformed (Dopper) churches. A 10-kilometre long 'green lung' runs along the Mooi River, embracing, among much else, a fine golf course. Tom Street is the southern hemisphere's longest oak-lined thoroughfare (7 kilometres, approximately 700 trees). The town is well served by hotels, self-catering accommodation, guest-houses, B&Bs and other visitor amenities.

Highlights

Museums The main showcase, on the corner of Wolmerans and Gouws streets, features the Potchefstroom area, its past and present, Bushman (San) culture, and much about the early Voortrekkers - wagons, weapons, household items and so forth. There are also some paintings by the representational artist Otto Landsberg. President Pretorius House, the restored republican presidential residence, survives as a rather austere period museum. Totius House honours Jacob Daniel du Toit (1877-1953), one of Afrikanerdom's leading literary figures. The Goetz/Fleischack museum is the only surviving example of the townhouses originally built (in the 1850s) around Market Square.

Bird SanctuaryThe reed-covered wetland next to the golf course is haven to a wealth of bird species (about 200 have been recorded).

Potchefstroom Dam This lively lakeside resort offers fishing, watersports, laygrounds, swimming pool, supertube, restaurant, chalets and a caravan park.

Boskop Dam Nature ReserveMainly a recreation area for anglers and watersports enthusiasts (including sailing as powerboats are forbidden on the waters), it is also home to the black wildebeest, red hartebeest and various other antelope together with a fine variety of water-related birds.

Vredefort Dome This remarkable geological formation is the site of an ancient (2 billion- year old) and gigantic meteorite impact, which changed the nature and most visibly the vegetation of several square miles of countryside. Some of the granite too, was subject to such immense heat and pressure that it now somewhat resembles rock exposed to a nuclear explosion.

Nearest towns

Klerksdorp is on the N12 to the west; Lichtenburg lies to the north-west; Ventersdorp is to the north (take the R53).

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POTCHEFSTROOM

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Western Cape
Gauteng
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Free State
Kwazulu Natal
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