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Polokwane (renamed from Pietersburg) is a city, municipality and the capital of the Limpopo province in South Africa.

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 here during the Boer War to house almost 4,000 Boer women and children. The town became a city on 23 April 1992 and on the 11 June 2003 the government of Limpopo changed its name to Polokwane. The town of Pietersburg earned city status on 23 April 1992 and is now the major centre and capital city of the province, indeed for the country's entire area north of Gauteng. More recently Polokwane held the ANC national conference, which saw Jacob Zuma take over as head of the party.^[1] Polokwane has a dry climate with a summer rainy season and a pronounced dry spell during winter. Average annual rainfall is 495mm, with December, or less often January the wettest month and July is the driest month.^[2]

The Polokwane Municipality's area accounts for 3% of Limpopo province's total surface area and about 10% of the Limpopo's population resides in the Municipal area. Given the fact that Polokwane serves as the Limpopo's economic hub, it has the highest population density in the Capricorn district. The majority of Polokwane's population is rural. This simply shows that the largest sector of the community within the municipal resides in rural tribal villages followed by urban settlements.

This area is seen as a place of "myths and legends". There are many game viewing opportunities, making Polokwane a popular ecotourism destination in Southern Africa. Limpopo is divided into four tourism regions, each representing a microcosm of the area's varied and interesting cultures.

TOURIST ATTRACTIONS

Hunting Polokwane is considered the premier hunting destination in South Africa.

Eersteling Monuments The site of the country's first gold crushing site and its first gold power plant are marked by monuments.

Open-Air Museum This museum depicts the traditional and modern-day culture and lifestyle of the Bakone people

Other attractions include:

• The Bakone Malapa Northern Sotho Open-Air Museum, which depicts the traditional and modern-day lifestyle of this people.
• The Polokwane Game Reserve, which has more than 21 species and offers scenic walks.
• The Savannah Centre, a modern shopping centre.

Peter Mokaba Stadium will be used for matches for the 2010 World Cup

• Polokwane Information
• Polokwane Chamber of Business
• Polokwane's web-site
• Fist Mountain (Polokwane in literature)

v • d • e Provincial capitals of South Africa
Western Cape | Northern Cape | Eastern Cape | KwaZulu-Natal | Free State | North West | Gauteng | Mpumalanga | Limpopo

Coordinates: 23°53′59″S, 29°26′59″E