Thohoyandou
| Thohoyandou | |||
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| Coordinates | 22 ° 57 ′ 0 ″ S , 30 ° 29 ′ 0 ″ E | ||
| Basic data | |||
| Country | South Africa | ||
| Limpopo | |||
| District | Vhembe | ||
| ISO 3166-2 | ZA-LP | ||
| local community | Thulamela | ||
| surface | 42.6 km² | ||
| Residents | 69,453 (2011) | ||
| density | 1,630.4 Ew. / km² | ||
| founding | 1979 | ||
| Post Code | 0950, 1009 | ||
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Special features: until 1994 capital of Venda |
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 Nandoni Dam, Thohoyandou
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Thohoyandou is a city in the Limpopo province of South Africa . It is located in the municipality of Thulamela in the district of Vhembe , whose administrative seat is Thohoyandou. Until 1994, the city was the capital of the state of Venda, which was only recognized by the South African apartheid government at the time . The name comes from the Tshivenda , means "head of the elephant" and is the name of an earlier Venda head. The elephant is the heraldic animal of the clan of the former president of Venda, Patrick Mphephu .
geography
In 2011, Thohoyandou had 69,453 residents, most of whom are Venda . The city is the administrative center in the far northeast of South Africa. In the vicinity of Thohoyandou are the townships Folovhodwe, Muledane, Shayandima, Makwarela and Maniini. The climate is subtropical .
history
Thohoyandou is a young city foundation. From 1971 to 1994 Makwarela was the capital of Venda, which had become formally independent in 1979. Makwarela was a suburb of Sibasa , both now belong to Thohoyandou. The development of this agglomeration was promoted by the South African government as part of the homeland policy at the time . The Bantu Investment Corporation had commercial infrastructure built here, as these township settlements were the dormitories for the labor needs of the industry around Louis Trichardt .
Economy and Transport
Bananas, other fruits, tea, tobacco and corn are grown around Thohoyandou due to the subtropical climate and fertile soil. The city is the trading center for the surrounding region. There is fishing in the nearby lake Nandoni Dam .
Thohoyandou is located on the regional road R524, which leads in a west-east direction from Louis Trichardt via Thohoyandou into the Kruger National Park . To the west of Thohoyandou is Thohoyandou Airport ( IATA designation THY ).
Education and Research
The University of Venda (short Univen) is based in Thohoyandou. It was founded in 1982.
The Thohoyandou Botanical Garden is one of the nationally significant botanical gardens in South Africa and is one of the youngest facilities of its kind in the country.
Sports
The football club Black Leopards FC from Thohoyandou played in the top South African league, the Premier Division , until 2007/08 ; since then the club has competed in the First Division . The stadium has a capacity of 40,000 people.
Individual evidence
- ^ History of the Thulamela Congregation ( Memento from March 31, 2010 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on October 7, 2012
- ↑ 2011 census , accessed October 5, 2013
- ↑ a b Muriel Horrell: The African homelands of South Africa . Johannesburg 1973. p. 154.