Pietersburg - Culture

Wide streets, colourful jacaranda and coral trees, parks and sparkling fountains – this is Pietersburg. Strategically placed on the Great North Road, and halfway between Pretoria and the Zimbabwean border, this attractive city is an ideal base from which to explore.

In addition to its status as a major commercial and agricultural centre, it is the cultural hub of the region, featuring impressive art exhibitions and elegant historical buildings. In the vicinity, the countryside is the setting for some of the most prosperous cattle ranches in South Africa.

Pietersburg is the largest urban area in Northern province and is an educational centre. The city offers various educational institutions, colleges and the University of the North. The University was founded 1959 and is located at Turfloop 14 miles (22.5 km) east of Pietersburg.

One can relax in the municipal Pietersburg Nature Reserve, a huge nature park of 3,200 hectares with a lot of game and rich bird life. Another attraction is the Bakone Malapa Open-Air Museum, 9 kilometres south of the town centre. It is a "living museum", impressively demonstrating the history and culture of the Sotho people in the north.

Pietersburg lies on 1312 m altitude and has a pleasant climate with temperatures averaging 27 degrees in summer and 20 degrees in winter. It only rains in summer (400 - 600 mm precipitation annually).

A modern airport binds the city into the air link net of SAA (South African Airlines). Pietersburg has major road and railway connections with the South Africa–Zimbabwe border (north) and with Johannesburg. Pop. (1985) 29,909.