Lichtenburg (South Africa)

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Lichtenburg
Lichtenburg (South Africa)
Lichtenburg
Lichtenburg
Coordinates 26 ° 9 ′  S , 26 ° 10 ′  E Coordinates: 26 ° 9 ′  S , 26 ° 10 ′  E
Basic data
Country South Africa

province

northwest
District Ngaka Modiri Molema
ISO 3166-2 ZA-NW
local community Ditsobotla
height 1459 m
Residents 26,338 (2011)
founding 1873
Main street of Lichtenburg
Main street of Lichtenburg

Lichtenburg is a city in the South African province of northwest . It is the administrative seat of the municipality of Ditsobotla in the district of Ngaka Modiri Molema .

geography

In 2011 Lichtenburg had 26,338 inhabitants.

history

Lichtenburg was founded in 1873 by the commander HA Greeff. The place name means "city of light". In 1926, a diamond discovery sparked a ten-year boom in the search for more diamonds. Within months, more than 100,000 miners came to Lichtenburg during this diamond rush.

The red diamond originally found in Lichtenburg with an original 33-35 carat , also called Pigeon Red Blood , was the largest red diamond ever found for almost 70 years. It was bought by De Beers , ended up in the Netherlands and was later robbed by the National Socialists. After the Second World War, it was initially privately owned and was finally acquired by Kazanjian Bros. Inc. in 2007 , which is why it is now also known as The Kazanjian Red Diamond .

Economy and Transport

Lichtenburg is in the center of an important maize growing area . There are also important cement factories , a factory for irrigation systems, tractors and tillage equipment from the South African manufacturer Agrico and the largest cheese manufacturer in South Africa, Clover SA

Lichtenburg is on the R47 road , which connects Vryburg in the southwest and Coligny in the southeast. The city is also on the R52, which leads east from Lichtenburg to the vicinity of Rustenburg , and on the R505 between Kopfontein Gate near Gaborone in the north and Wesselsbron near Welkom in the south. Another road leads northwest to Mahikeng . Lichtenburg has a rail connection from Coligny that is used for freight traffic.

Attractions

  • Lichtenburg Diggings Museum , a museum about the time of the diamond hunt
  • Ampie Bosman Cultural History Museum , a museum about the history of Lichtenburg, especially during the Second Boer War
  • Dutch Reformed Church from 1890, national monument

Web links

Commons : Lichtenburg (South Africa)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ 2011 census , accessed November 21, 2013
  2. ↑ www.modernoverland.com: Lichtenburg ( Memento from August 22, 2017 in the Internet Archive )
  3. ↑ Diggings Museum ( Memento from July 31, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
  4. ↑ American Museum of Natural History: The Kazanjian Red Diamond ( Memento of September 8, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) (English)
  5. ↑ The Kazanjian Red - 5.05 carat Asscher cut red diamond ( Memento from September 8, 2017 in the Internet Archive )
  6. ↑ India's Stolen Diamonds (accessed September 8, 2017)
  7. ^ Website of Clover SA (English). Retrieved May 14, 2013