Queenstown (South Africa)
| Queenstown | |||
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| Coordinates | 31 ° 54 ′ S , 26 ° 52 ′ E | ||
| Basic data | |||
| Country | South Africa | ||
| Eastern Cape | |||
| District | Chris Hani | ||
| ISO 3166-2 | ZA-EC | ||
| local community | Enoch Mgijima | ||
| Residents | 43,971 (2011) | ||
 Queenstown City Hall
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Queenstown is a city in South Africa in the municipality of Enoch Mgijima , Eastern Cape Province and is the commercial, administrative and educational center of an agricultural region. It is named after the British Queen Victoria . Queenstown is around 100 kilometers from the coastal city of East London .
geography
In 2011 the city had 43,971 inhabitants. The immediately neighboring townships Mlungisi and Ezibeleni had 24,901 and 30,113 inhabitants, respectively.
The downtown area has a good infrastructure with large houses, tree-lined and paved streets. The townships have poor infrastructure, but the government has made funds available to improve them and build housing. By 2000 more than 3,000 small houses were built.
Queenstown is in a valley surrounded by hills. The climate is temperate. On the edge of the settlement, a garden ( Walter Everitt Sunken Garden ) with water surfaces has been built according to plans by landscape architect Walter Everitt . Queenstown is also considered a garden city in the Eastern Cape because of its numerous green properties .
The city was built around a hexagonal square with a cannon ready to fire in the center. Six streets run in a star shape from the center - they were originally intended to serve as a free flight path for cannon fire. The Frontier Museum houses a collection that testifies to the lifestyle of the pioneers in the early 18th century.
history
Like all South African cities, Queenstown used to be divided into an area inhabited by whites, which offered many amenities, and the black area, also known as township , which was neglected. At the time of the 1994 election there were around 20,000 whites and coloreds in Queenstown. Around 80,000 black people lived in the townships. After the end of apartheid , some black people moved to the formerly “white” quarter. At the same time, many white people left the city.
Economy and Infrastructure
There are no industries in the region and unemployment is very high. Queenstown is on the Johannesburg to East London railway line and is accessible from the N6 national road .
Queenstown is the bishopric of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Queenstown and has a campus of Walter Sisulu University .
Surroundings
In the immediate vicinity of the city is the Lawrence de Lange nature reserve on the slopes of Madeira Mountain . There are blokes , springboks and zebras among others . The Bongolo Dam offers many opportunities for water sports. In the surrounding mountains you will find numerous petroglyphs of San .
Web links
- Information at southafricaholiday.org.uk (English)