Durban
| Durban | |||
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| Coordinates | 29 ° 52 ′ S , 31 ° 1 ′ E | ||
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| Basic data | |||
| Country | South Africa | ||
| KwaZulu-Natal | |||
| metropolis | eThekwini | ||
| ISO 3166-2 | ZA-KZN | ||
| height | 6 m | ||
| surface | - | ||
| Metropolitan area | 2,291.9 km² | ||
| Residents | 595,061 (2011) | ||
| Metropolitan area | 3,442,361 (October 2011) | ||
| density | - | ||
| Metropolitan area | 1502 Ew. / km² | ||
| founding | 1835 | ||
| Post Code | 4000, 4001 | ||
| Website | www.durban.gov.za (English) | ||
 Aerial view of a residential area in Durban
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Durban [ ˈdœːbən ] ( zulu eThekwini [ ˈɛːʔtʰɛˌkwinĭ ], formerly Port Natal ) is a city on the Indian Ocean on the east coast of South Africa . Together with the surrounding towns, it forms the metropolitan municipality eThekwini . With over 3.4 million inhabitants according to the 2011 census, eThekwini is the largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa after Johannesburg and Cape Town ; Durban itself had 595,061 residents.
Durban is a major industrial and port city with the largest port in Africa and, due to its beaches and subtropical climate, a much-visited holiday center in the country.
geography
Durban is located on the south-eastern coast of South Africa in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, which is bordered to the east by the Indian Ocean and to the west by the Drakensberg Mountains with peaks over 3000 meters high.
climate
While the hinterland mainly consists of savannah , the coast has a humid, subtropical climate. The annual precipitation is about 1000 mm and falls mainly in summer, which gets very hot. The climate of Durban as a coastal city is influenced by the warm waters of the Agulhas Current , which runs south from Mozambique along the coast.
The sea water temperatures are much higher in Durban compared to Cape Town . The water has an average temperature of 21.8 ° C. February is the warmest with 24.6 ° C, while August is coldest with 19.25 ° C.
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Average monthly temperatures and rainfall for Durban
Source: World Meteorological Organization 1961–1990, wetterkontor.de
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history
The oldest human traces in this region are rock carvings in caves of the Drakensberg, the age of which dates back to 100,000 BC. Be appreciated. These original inhabitants were taken over by the Bantu who lived from the 2nd millennium BC. Chr. Coming from the north populated the area, expelled. Overall, little is known about the time before the Portuguese seafarer Vasco da Gama landed .
Da Gama discovered the bay, called Thekwini ("lagoon") by the Zulu , where the city was later built, on December 25, 1497 on his first trip to India while looking for a sea route from Europe to India. It represented one of the few natural harbors on the African east coast. He named the place after the day of discovery ( Latin dies natalis "Christmas day") Rio de Natal or "Christmas river" on the false assumption that the bay was the mouth of one great river would act. It later became Port Natal .
For about three hundred years, Port Natal was primarily a refuge for shipwrecked people, slave traders and merchants. It was not until 1823 that British settlers, under the leadership of Henry Fynn, established a permanent settlement. In the meantime it has grown into a town and was given its current name in 1835 in honor of the then governor of the Cape Colony, Benjamin D'Urban .
In 1838 Voortrekker , Boer settlers on their big trek , crossed the Drakensberg and founded Pietermaritzburg , 80 kilometers northwest of Durban. When the leader of the Boers, Pieter Retief , wanted to negotiate with the Zulu king Dingane about the cession of Zulu territories to the Boers, the latter had him and his delegation murdered. Dingane had succeeded his half-brother Shaka to the throne in 1828 . While he was on good terms with the white settlers, Dingane openly showed hostility and aggressiveness. After Retief's death, there was bloody fighting between the Boers and the Zulu, which were only decided for the Boers with the victory in the Battle of the Blood River .
After a brief period of relative calm, several battles between Boers and British ensued in 1842. After defeating the British at the Battle of Congella, the Boers briefly occupied Durban and besieged the British fort there, but were driven off by British reinforcements who arrived by sea. In 1843 the region was permanently annexed by the British and became part of the Cape Colony before being given the status of an independent colony in 1856.
In 1850 the Roman Catholic Apostolic Vicariate Natal was established in the city , which in 1951 became the Archdiocese of Durban .
Due to its colonial status, Durban became an important port and trading center in southern Africa. From 1860 the British brought thousands of Indian farm workers to Natal who immigrated via the port of Durban . They gradually gained a significant influence on the city and their descendants now make up a considerable part of the population of this metropolis. During his stay in South Africa from 1893 to 1915, Mahatma Gandhi worked for a long time as a lawyer in Durban.
At the beginning of April 2015 , xenophobic riots broke out in some districts of Durban, to which there were national and international reactions.
population
Racial segregation during apartheid also in Durban
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The demographic structure of Durbans was statistically extensively examined in the 2011 census. Accordingly, the city had 595,061 inhabitants in 2011. Black Africans made up 51.12% of the population, followed by Asians, mainly of Indian descent with 24.03%, whites with 15.33% and the so-called colored with 8.59%.
In the Mercer Quality of Living Index , which compares the quality of life in cities, Durban was ranked 88th out of 231 cities examined in 2019 and the first within Africa.
economy
The metropolitan area of Durban has an extensive economy with strong industry , trade , logistics , financial and government institutions and tourism . The coastal location and the port give Durban an advantage compared to other metropolitan areas in South Africa. The mild climate, the warm ocean currents and the Drakensberg in the hinterland are the basis for a pronounced tourism sector.
Durban is the main business location in KwaZulu-Natal, providing over half of the income and jobs. In a national comparison, Durban is the second largest industrial center after Gauteng , providing 15% of national income, 14% of household income and 11% of jobs. There are important economic connections in the north to Richards Bay and Maputo, in the west to Pietermaritzburg and Johannesburg.
Sugar processing is the most important industry. There are also shipyards , oil refineries , the automotive industry , the chemical, paper , food and textile industries . Most of the agriculture in the Durban region grows sugar cane . Besides playing sheep and other livestock, citrus , corn , cotton , banana and pineapple an important role.
The main export goods via the Durban hub are manganese and other ores , steel products , coal , sugar and corn.
Despite the diverse economy, few new jobs have been created on the official labor market since the 1990s. In manufacturing, the second largest after government and administration, the number of jobs is falling. The rising crime rate is having a negative impact on many areas, especially tourism. Despite a growing number of so-called micro-jobs, Durban has a high unemployment rate , which is over 30% in the former township areas.
The port of Durban is a transshipment point for all of southern Africa
Agricultural Products Market
Downtown Durban
Anstey Beach in Durban
traffic
aviation
The new King Shaka International Airport was built in 2007 north of Durban near La Mercy , about 30 kilometers from the city center , and went into operation on May 1, 2010. It connects to numerous domestic destinations and connects to some international airports, albeit smaller than Cape Town and Johannesburg .
The old Durban International Airport , Durban International Airport , is pinched by the surrounding buildings, south of the city and served as a gateway to the region KwaZulu-Natal and the Drakensberg. In 2009 around 4.4 million passengers were handled here. It was closed as a civil airport on April 30, 2010, but is still in use as Durban Air Force Base .
Shipping
Durban, formerly Port Natal , has a long tradition as a port city. The port of Durban is one of the few natural ports on the coast between the traditionally competing port cities of Port Elizabeth and Maputo . This fact and the often stormy seas in the area made Durban a much-used port, often for ship repairs. The port of Durban is the one with the highest turnover in South Africa and the second largest container port in the southern hemisphere.
The present port, established in 1840, grew with the development of trade in and around Durban, with the coal mining industry in Natal and the industry in the Johannesburg region, which as the industrial and mining center of South Africa has no direct access to sea routes. The port of Durban serves as a transshipment point for a large part of the products that are transported to and from Johannesburg by truck and train. Since the end of the civil war in Mozambique in the early 1990s, the Port of Maputo has once again been an alternative for industry and trade in southern Africa, with intense competition between the two port facilities.
A small part of the port, Salisbury Island , is now an active military base of the South African Navy again . In 2007, Vice Admiral Refiloe Mudimu , Chief of the South African Navy, declared in a parliamentary committee meeting that this base would be downsized because of the reduction in South Africa's military strength and that it would later be relocated. As early as 1994, the reduction of armed forces began at this naval location, as the former Durban Naval Base was upgraded to a Naval Station . In 2013, these military facilities were reopened as South Africa began to participate in the fight against pirates off the African east coast near Mozambique. This step was announced in 2012 by the then Defense Minister Lindiwe Sisulu .
Long-distance transport
Durban is well connected to Transnet's South African route network. The N2 motorway connects Durban with East London and Port Elizabeth in the south and Richards Bay in the north, while the N3 leads towards Pietermaritzburg and Johannesburg. There is also a network of motorways that correspond to country roads. Various companies offer connections with long-distance buses.
Local transport
Metrorail Durban offers local transport similar to the S-Bahn. The bus transport is operated by the privatized eThekwini Municipal Bus Company . There is also a large number of private buses and shared taxis ( minibuses ) that transport a large number of commuters. The minibuses are the only affordable means of transport for large parts of the population. As they are often overloaded and poorly maintained, serious accidents often occur. In addition to the minibus taxis, there are metered taxis , which, however, cannot be stopped on the street, but can be ordered by telephone. Traditional Zulu rickshaws serve primarily as a tourist attraction.
From 1935 to 1964 trolleybuses also ran in Durban , replacing an electric tram that opened in 1902 , which in turn emerged from a horse-drawn tram opened in 1880 .
education
Durban is the seat of the University of KwaZulu-Natal , UKZN for short. This was created in 2004 by merging the two largest educational institutions in KwaZulu-Natal, the University of Natal and the University of Durban-Westville . About 38,000 students are enrolled; all important subject areas are taught. The university or its predecessor institutions, especially the University of Durban-Westville, was an important center of the anti-apartheid movement during the time of South African apartheid . In addition to the UKZN, there is the Durban University of Technology , a technical university with around 20,000 students.
Despite this wide range of university education, around ten percent of the population have no and a further 20% only marginal education (see section Population ).
Culture, sights, sports, leisure
Durban offers a wide range of cultural, sightseeing and leisure activities. Bars and restaurants are concentrated on the Beachfront or Golden Mile . Durban is a popular area for surfers , kite surfers and body boarders . Because of the danger from Zambezi and Tiger Sharks , the beaches are secured with shark nets . In the vicinity of Durban and in the city itself there are various large commercial offers, such as the Gateway shopping center, the largest in Africa, or uShaka Marine-World with aquariums and various shows. Located a little north of Durban on the coast are North Beach and the excursion and holiday destination Umhlanga Rocks .
The Golden Arrows football team and the Natal Sharks rugby team play in the Kings Park Stadium , which can hold 52,000 spectators , and is also known as the ABSA Stadium after the main sponsor . A larger new building was built for the 2010 soccer World Cup : the 56,000-seat Moses Mabhida Stadium . With its striking central arch, it is a new landmark near the coast. Seven games took place there during the 2010 World Cup.
The Comrades Marathon has been held between Durban and Pietermaritzburg since 1921 , the ultramarathon with the longest tradition and the most participants in the world. The African championships in track cycling took place at the Cyril Geoghegan Velodrome in 2017 .
The Durban Botanical Gardens cover 20 hectares. The facility served British colonialists as a research facility for the import of agricultural crops, which is why plants from all over the world can be found there.
The Bat-Center at the harbor is a former warehouse that was converted into a cultural center with funds from UNESCO . The upper floor houses the Trans African Express, a cultural restaurant whose menu includes menus from all over Africa. In the rear building there are various exhibition and sales studios for modern African artisans.
The Natural Science Museum in the Town Hall contains an impressive natural history collection. There is also the Art Gallery with contemporary South African art. The Local History Museum shows pieces from the early days of Natal and Zululand. In the KwaMhule Museum, apartheid racial segregation and Zulu culture are topics. There are also many other museums.
The institutions of many religious communities can be found in Durban, including the Juma Mosque , the largest mosque in the southern hemisphere, and the Hare Krishna Temple of Understanding . The Alayam Hindu Temple is the oldest and largest in South Africa. There are also a large number of churches of different Christian faiths.
Sister cities of eThekwini
eThekwini has the following twin cities :
Personalities
Others
In 2001 the third World Conference against Racism took place in Durban .
The 17th UN Climate Change Conference took place in Durban from November 28 to December 10, 2011 .
In November 2017 Durban was named a UNESCO City of Literature .
literature
- Bill Freund: Insiders and Outsiders. Indian Working Class of Durban, 1910-90. Social History of Africa. James Currey Publishers, Portsmouth NH 1995, ISBN 0-85255-616-0 .
- Paul Maylam, Iain Edwards (Eds.): A People's City. African Life in Twentieth-Century Durban. University of KwaZulu-Natal Press, Portsmouth NH 1996, ISBN 0-86980-916-4 .
Web links
- Official site of the city of Durban (English)
- The miracle of Durban . Article in the FAZ, March 16, 2007
Individual evidence
- ↑ 2011 census , accessed November 23, 2015
- ^ International Geographical Congress: Comptes Rendus Du Congres International de Geographie Amsterdam . Brill Archive, January 1, 1938 ( Google Book [accessed March 26, 2016]).
- ↑ a b c Mary Fitzpatrick u. a., 2004, pp. 281-296.
- ↑ a b Census 2011: Durban. Accessed May 17, 2019 .
- ↑ Mercer's 2018 Quality of Living Rankings. Accessed May 17, 2019 .
- ^ Parliamentary Monitoring Group: South African Navy Transformation Strategy . at www.pmg.org.za (English)
- ↑ Dean Wingrin: Plans for Salisbury Island elaborated , defenceweb.co.za, March 16, 2012 (English)
- ↑ Lungelo Mkamba, Cobus Coetzee and Sapa: Navy to return to Durban's Salisbury Island , iol.co.za, April 5, 2013 (English)
- ↑ Sowetan live: Durban navy base to reopen in piracy fight , sowetanlive.co.za, February 27, 2012 (English)
- ↑ 2017 African Continental Track Championships. (No longer available online.) In: cyclingsa.com. March 20, 2017, archived from the original on March 30, 2017 ; accessed on March 29, 2017 (English).
- ↑ Bat-Center (Durban's cultural center)
- ↑ - ( Memento from January 29, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ EThekwini Municipality - Sister Cities , accessed March 9, 2018
- ↑ 64 cities join UNESCO creative cities network. en.unesco.org (English), accessed December 21, 2018