Mthatha
| Mthatha | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
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| Coordinates | 31 ° 35 ′ S , 28 ° 47 ′ E | ||
| Basic data | |||
| Country | South Africa | ||
| Eastern Cape | |||
| District | OR Tambo | ||
| ISO 3166-2 | ZA-EC | ||
| local community | King Sabata Dalindyebo | ||
| height | 703 m | ||
| Residents | 96,114 (2011) | ||
| founding | 1879 | ||
Mthatha (until 2004: Umtata ) is a city in the South African province of Eastern Cape . It is located in King Sabata Dalindyebo parish in the OR Tambo district . Until 1994 it was the capital of the Transkei homeland .
geography
In 2011 Mthatha had 96,114 inhabitants. The city is about 700 meters above sea level. The Mthatha flows through the urban area to the Indian Ocean some 50 kilometers away . The river has been dammed north of the city since 1977; the reservoir has an area of approximately 25 square kilometers and a volume of around 254 million cubic meters, making it the largest reservoir in the province.
history
The settlement of Thembu , a tribe of the Xhosa people , was established as a city in 1879 by the Anglican Bishop Richard Calverley . Calverley was also Umtata's first chief constable.
Umtata was the capital of the former homeland of Transkei. To strengthen the independence of the Transkei, South Africa financed the construction of a university in Umtata. Now there is a campus of the Walter Sisulu University here .
traffic
The National Route 2 runs roughly from south-southwest to north-northeast through the city and connects the coastal towns of East London and Durban . The R61 runs roughly at right angles from Ngcobo in the west to Port St. Johns in the east.
Mthatha is the terminus of a rail line used for freight traffic that begins in Amabele near Stutterheim or East London.
The Mthatha Airport ( ICAO code: FAUT, IATA code: UTT) is located west of the city and is in regular service by the airline Airlink operated.
Attractions
Former South African President Nelson Mandela grew up in Qunu , around 20 kilometers southwest of Mthatha. That is why the Nelson Mandela Museum , which opened on February 11, 2000, ten years after its release, is also located in this region . The museum is divided between Qunu, the Bunga - the former seat of the former Transkei Parliament on Owen Street in Mthatha - and Mandela's birthplace Mvezo .
sons and daughters of the town
- Xolisa Mfundiso Mabhongo (* 1972), diplomat
- Jessica Haines (* 1978), actress
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ 2011 census
- ↑ Major pipeline project to boost water supply to Mthatha by tapping into underutilized dam. amatolewater.co.za 2014, accessed December 27, 2017
- ↑ Website of the Nelson Mandela Museum