Port Elizabeth
| Port Elizabeth | |||
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| Coordinates | 33 ° 58 ′ S , 25 ° 36 ′ E | ||
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| Basic data | |||
| Country | South Africa | ||
| Eastern Cape | |||
| metropolis | Nelson Mandela Bay | ||
| ISO 3166-2 | ZA-EC | ||
| height | 89 m | ||
| surface | 251 km² | ||
| Metropolitan area | 1,958.9 km² | ||
| Residents | 312,392 (2011) | ||
| Metropolitan area | 1,152,115 (October 2011) | ||
| density | 1,244.6 Ew. / km² | ||
| Metropolitan area | 588.1 Ew. / km² | ||
| founding | 1820 | ||
 Market square and town hall
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Port Elizabeth ( isiXhosa : iBhayi , also called the Baai in Afrikaans ) ( PE for short ) is one of the largest cities in the Republic of South Africa and the largest city in the Eastern Cape Province with around 312,392 inhabitants . The cities of Port Elizabeth, Uitenhage and Despatch as well as other places form the metropolitan municipality Nelson Mandela Bay since 2000 , in which around 1.2 million people live.
geography
The city is located on the Indian Ocean on Algoa Bay , 770 kilometers east of Cape Town and between zero and 60 meters above sea level. It stretches for 16 kilometers along the coast. The extensive, white sandy beaches, for example Kings , Humewood , Hobie and Pollock , some of which are in the middle of the city, are well known. The city is known in South Africa as both "The Windy City" and "The Friendly City".
history
The area around what is now Port Elizabeth was originally inhabited by Khoikhoi who ran pasture farming there. The Portuguese navigator, explorer and adventurer Bartolomeu Dias was probably the first European to land east of today's city in 1488 and erected a stone cross at the landing site. This was found in the middle of the 19th century and is now in a museum in Johannesburg. A copy of the cross was placed in the city center. For many centuries the bay served as a supply station for water, food and wood. Almost all of the major European merchant fleets passed here on their journey from Europe to Asia or on their return journey.
In 1799 British soldiers added the stone Fort Frederick as protection against a possible attack by the French. The fort is the oldest stone building in what is now the Eastern Cape Province and was named after the Duke of York at the time. In 1820, the city of Port Elizabeth was founded by Sir Rufane Donkin, the incumbent governor of the Cape Colony . He named the small settlement on the harbor after his wife Elizabeth, who died early. After the arrival of around 4,000 British emigrants , the town quickly developed into a trading center. In 1861 Port Elizabeth received the status of an autonomous municipality.
In 2000, Port Elizabeth merged with Uitenhage and Despatch to form Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality , which was later renamed Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality.
population
According to the 2011 census, Port Elizabeth had a population of 312,392 people, of which 37.8% white, 30.6% black, 27% colored and 3.2% Asian.
Afrikaans is the main mother tongue and is spoken by 40.2% of the population. This is followed by English with 33.3% and isiXhosa with 22.2%.
| year | Total | Coloreds | black | white | Asians | Other |
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| 2001 | 237,500 | 71,912 | 32,618 | 123,722 | 9,248 | - |
| 2011 | 312,392 | 84,419 | 95,589 | 118.220 | 9,847 | 4,317 |
traffic
Port Elizabeth is located on the national road N2 , which more or less follows the coastline from Cape Town via Durban to Ermelo , and is connected to the South African rail network.
The Port Elizabeth airport was modernized in 2004 and expanded in order to be able to handle each year up to two million passengers. It is known as the "10-minute airport" because it should be accessible from most points in the city in a few minutes.
The city is connected to Cape Town and Johannesburg by the national rail network. Metrorail operates on the route in the direction of Bloemfontein to Swartkops and from there to Uitenhage . A second line to Motherwell and the Coega industrial area is planned. Port Elizabeth is also the starting point for the 285-kilometer Avontuur Railway , a narrow-gauge railway to Avontuur .
economy
The port of Port Elizabeth is the economic center of the province and the third largest port in South Africa. The port of Ngqura , construction of which began in 2003, has been in operation around 20 kilometers north of the city near Coega since 2009.
The region is also the focus of the South African auto industry and is also known as the "Detroit of South Africa". 37 kilometers away in the city of Uitenhage is a Volkswagen Group plant , with around 6,500 employees the largest in all of Africa. In addition to VW, General Motors , Ford, Continental, Johnson & Johnson, MAHLE and several other manufacturers and suppliers have settled in the area. Hi-Tech Automotive and Perana Performance Group are based in the region. The most important automobile manufacturer in the city has been General Motors since the GM Ranger brand was founded in the 1960s. Since the demise of the Ranger brand, Chevrolet and Opel vehicles have been assembled there. The industrial landscape of the city also includes the numerous weaving mills. Near the city is the Aldo Scribante Circuit .
Every year, Port Elizabeth attracts numerous tourists from home and abroad with its rich range of water sports. The Ironman South Africa takes place every year in March / April .
education and Science
The Nelson Mandela University (NMU) was established in 2005 as Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University formed by the merger of the University of Port Elizabeth and Port Elizabeth Technikon. It is the largest university in the Eastern Cape. About 25,000 students are enrolled there. The NMU with its campus in Port Elizabeth has seven faculties: Arts, Business and Economic Sciences, Education, Engineering, Health Sciences, Law and Science .
The Council for Geoscience , the geoscientific authority in South Africa, maintains an office here.
The nature and species protection organization Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds has been running an education and nature conservation center at Cape Recife in Port Elizabeth since April 2017 , the former SAMREC - SA Marine Rehabilitation & Education Center .
Culture and sights
- Campanile : 53 m high observation tower with a panoramic view of the city, built in 1923
- Donkin Reserve : Small green area with a view over the city, in which a stone pyramid commemorates Elizabeth Donkin. The lighthouse was built in 1861.
- Jewish Pioneer's Memorial Museum : A museum about Jewish life in the city and its region in a former synagogue
- Market Square and City Hall : The "City Hall", built in 1885, was rebuilt in 1977 after a fire. Today there is a well-known flea market there.
- Oceanarium and Museum : A larger complex with an oceanarium and reptile house as well as scientific exhibitions.
- The Boardwalk Casino & Entertainment World : Large leisure complex with numerous international restaurants, cinemas, shops and a casino.
- Greenacres Shopping Center : Port Elizabeth's largest shopping mall in the Greenacres district.
sons and daughters of the town
The list contains a chronological overview of important personalities born in what is now Port Elizabeth. It is irrelevant whether or not the people later had their sphere of activity in Port Elizabeth. Many moved away after their birth and became known elsewhere. The list does not claim to be complete.
- Florence Fuller (1867–1946), painter
- Frances Rivett-Carnac (1874–1962), British regatta sailor
- Dudu Pukwana (1938–1990), jazz musician
- Duke Makasi (1941–1993), jazz musician
- Winston Ntshona (1941–2018), film and stage actor
- Danny Williams (1942-2005), singer
- Barry Wood (1942–2017), Roman Catholic religious and auxiliary bishop in Durban
- Elizabeth Connell (1946–2012), opera singer
- Mark Patterson (* 1951), entrepreneur and racing car driver
- Wayne Taylor (* 1956), racing car driver
- Zim Ngqawana (1959–2011), jazz musician
- Siphiwo Ntshebe (1974-2010), opera singer
- Alex van Heerden (1974–2009), jazz musician
- Ruth Sacks (* 1977), artist
- Schalk Burger (born 1983), rugby player
- Jeanné Nell (1983–2014), track cyclist
- Shane Cooper (* 1985), jazz musician
- Romy Brauteseth (* 1989), jazz musician
- Koleka Putuma (* 1993), writer and spoken word artist
Climate table
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Average monthly temperatures and rainfall for Port Elizabeth
Source: wetterkontor.de
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Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ 2011 census , accessed on August 3, 2016
- ↑ 2001 census, compiled by Adrian Frith , website visited on April 8, 2018.
- ↑ Die2001 Census compiled vonAdrian Frith , website visited on 8 April 2018th
- ↑ METRORAIL TO COEGA |. (No longer available online.) In: Railways Africa. Archived from the original on May 5, 2010 ; accessed on February 5, 2017 .
- ↑ Ports & Ships. Shipping and harbor news out of africa (English)
- ^ Council for Geoscience: Council for Geoscience - PE Office. geoscience.org.za (English).
- ↑ Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism: SANCCOB Port Elizabeth (Previously SAMREC - SA Marine Rehabilitation & Education Center) . at www.nmbt.co.za (English).