Mahikeng

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Mahikeng
Mahikeng (South Africa)
Mahikeng
Mahikeng
Coordinates 25 ° 52 ′  S , 25 ° 38 ′  E Coordinates: 25 ° 52 ′  S , 25 ° 38 ′  E
Basic data
Country South Africa

province

northwest
District Ngaka Modiri Molema
local community Mahikeng
Residents 15,117 (2011)
Obelisk in Mahikeng, commemorating the British fallen during the siege
Obelisk in Mahikeng, commemorating the British fallen during the siege

Mahikeng (until 2010 Mafikeng , previously Mafeking ) is part of the Mahikeng community in the Ngaka Modiri Molema district . It is the capital of South Africa 's Northwest Province . In 2011 the city had 15,117 inhabitants. Mahikeng is located on the Molopo River and is accessible via the N18 national road . Together with the former provincial capital Mmabatho, approx. 5 km away, with 38,287 inhabitants (2011), Mahikeng forms a large urban settlement area. Since 1994 Mmabatho is administratively a district of today's provincial capital.

Surname

The city was renamed Mahikeng in 2010, as the place was called until 1885. The former name Mafikeng comes from Setswana and means "place of stones".

history

Before the arrival of the British, the area was inhabited by the Tswana tribe of the Barolong . In the 1880s the city was founded by British mercenaries. They gave the city the twisted name Mafeking, which was the official name of the city for a long time.

Shortly before the outbreak of the Second Boer War in 1899, Sol Plaatje was employed as a translator in Mafeking both at the court and in the native administration.

Boers in a trench in front of Mafeking around 1899

During the Boer War Mafeking was besieged by the Boers for 217 days . 212 people were killed or injured in the course of the siege. During the siege of the city, Colonel Robert Baden-Powell , the commanding officer of the defending British forces, gained experience that later flowed into the founding of the Boy Scout Movement .

Mafeking was the extraterritorial capital of the Bechuanaland Protectorate until it became independent as Botswana in 1966.

From 1980 to 1996 Mafikeng was a district of Mmabatho , the former capital of the homeland of Bophuthatswana . Mmabatho actually forms a joint city with Mahikeng.

Education and culture

  • In the city center of Mahikeng is the Mahikeng Museum with exhibitions on regional history and ethnography.
  • The Mahikeng campus in Mmabatho is one of three North West University campuses in the provincial capital.
  • A sports stadium in Mmabatho offers almost 60,000 seats, especially for soccer games.

Infrastructure and traffic

The national road N18 runs through Mahikeng .

The mahikeng International Airport (formerly Mmabatho International Airport ) is located approximately 15 km north-west of Mmabatho / mahikeng. It was reopened in 2015 after it had been closed four years earlier for economic reasons. Flights to Johannesburg , Cape Town and Pietermaritzburg are offered . Reconstruction measures aim to restore international standards.

Nature reserves

To the east of the city limits, the Mafikeng Game Reserve extends over an area of ​​4600 hectares . This wildlife park is one of the tourist attractions with its Kalahari and Acacia trees and diverse wildlife, including rhinos, giraffes and zebras.

Web links

Further content in the
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Wikivoyage-Logo-v3-icon.svg Wikivoyage - Travel Guide

Individual evidence

  1. 2011 census , accessed November 21, 2013
  2. ^ Report on the approval of the name change , accessed on June 4, 2012
  3. www.sa-venues.com: The Mafikeng Game Reserve
  4. www.tourismnorthwest.co.za: Mafikeng Game Reserve - North West Parks South Africa