33°56S 18°28E, pop (2000e) Greater Cape Town 1 285 000. Seaport capital of Western Cape province, South Africa; on Table Bay at the foot of Table Mt; legislative capital of South Africa; founded as a victualling station for the Dutch East India Company, 1652; occupied by the British, 1795; airport; railway; university (1829); cathedral; commerce, vehicles, chemicals, textiles; trade in wool, mohair, grain, fruit, wine, oil; Castle of Good Hope (1666), oldest colonial building in South Africa; Koopmans de Wet House (1777), Groote Kerk, Union Houses of Parliament, national gallery.
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| City motto: Spes Bona (Latin: Good Hope) | |||||
| Location of the City of Cape Town in Western Cape Province | |||||
| Province | Western Cape | ||||
| Mayor | Helen Zille | ||||
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Area - % water |
2,499 km² N/A |
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Population - Total (2004) - Density |
Not ranked 2,893,251 1,158/km² |
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| Established | 1652 | ||||
| Time zone | SAST (UTC+2) | ||||
| Calling code | 021 | ||||
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Cape Town (Afrikaans: Kaapstad /ˈkɑːpstɑt/; Xhosa: iKapa) is the third most populous city in South Africa, forming part of the metropolitan municipality of the City of Cape Town. Cape Town is famous for its harbour as well as its natural setting in the Cape floral kingdom, including such well-known landmarks as Table Mountain and Cape Point. Often regarded as one of the world's most beautiful cities because of its geography, Cape Town is the most popular South African destination for tourism.
Cape Town originally developed as a victualling station for Dutch ships sailing to Eastern Africa, India, and Asia. Cape Town's land area of 2,499 square kilometres (965 sq mi) is larger than other South African cities, resulting in a comparatively lower population density of 1,158 people per square kilometre (2,999/sq mi). Cape Town is town twinned with Nice in France. Vasco da Gama recorded a sighting of the Cape of Good Hope in 1497, but the area did not have regular contact with Europeans until 1652, when the Netherlands' Jan van Riebeeck and other employees of the Dutch East India Company (Dutch: Verenigde Oost-indische Compagnie, VOC) were sent to the Cape to establish a way-station for ships travelling to the Dutch East Indies.
The British successfully gained outright control of Cape Town in 1795, during the Battle of Muizenberg. After the British won this war and acquired control of the gold and diamond industries, they unified the Cape Colony with the two defeated Boer Republics (the South African Republic and the Orange Free State) and the British colony of Natal to form the Union of South Africa, which was proclaimed in 1910 with Cape Town as its legislative capital, a function it has continued to serve for the Republic of South Africa from 1961 to the present.
Cape Town was home to many leaders of the anti-apartheid movement, despite many of the group's leaders' internment on Robben Island, a penitentiary island 10 kilometres out to sea from the city, where many famous political prisoners were held for many years. In one of the most famous moments marking the end of apartheid, Nelson Mandela made his first public speech in decades on 11 February 1990 from the balcony of Cape Town City Hall hours after being released.
Geography
The centre of Cape Town is located at the northern end of the Cape Peninsula. There are over 70 peaks above 1,000 feet (304.8 m) (the American definition of a mountain) within Cape Town's official city limits. Many of the suburbs of Cape Town are on the large plain of the Cape Flats, which joins the peninsula to the mainland. The south-easterly wind is caused by a high-pressure system which sits in the South Atlantic to the west of Cape Town, known as the South-Atlantic High.
Climate Table| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Highest recorded temperature (°C) | 39 | 38 | 41 | 39 | 34 | 30 | 29 | 32 | 33 | 37 | 40 | 35 | 41 | |
| Average daily maximum temperature (°C) | 26 | 27 | 25 | 23 | 20 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 21 | 24 | 25 | 22 | |
| Average daily minimum temperature (°C) | 16 | 16 | 14 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 11 | |
| Lowest recorded temperature (°C) | 7 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 1 | -1 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 6 | -1 | |
| Average monthly precipitation (mm) | 15 | 17 | 20 | 41 | 69 | 93 | 82 | 77 | 40 | 30 | 14 | 17 | 515 | |
| Average number of rain days (>= 1 mm) | 6 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 10 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 103 | |
| Source: South African Weather Service | ||||||||||||||
Government
Cape Town's local government is the City of Cape Town, which is a metropolitan municipality. Cape Town is governed by a 210-member city council, which reports to a 28-member executive council.
Before the unification of Cape Town's local government into the so-called "Unicity", it was divided into six regional "Administrations";
Demographics
According to the South African National Census of 2001, the population of Cape Town is 2,893,251 people.
41.4% of Cape Town residents speak Afrikaans at home, 28.7% speak Xhosa, 27.9% speak English, 0.7% speak Sesotho, 0.3% speak Zulu, 0.1% speak Setswana and 0.7% of the population speaks a non-official language at home.
Economy
Cape Town is the economic centre of the Western Cape and serves as the regional manufacturing centre. Cape Town hosts many conferences, particularly in the new Cape Town International Convention Centre, which opened in June 2003. The central business district is under an extensive urban renewal programme, with numerous new buildings and renovations taking place under the guidance of the Cape Town Partnership.
High school attendance rates and the city's well-established higher education infrastructure have helped Cape Town to attract foreign investors, as there are more people with internationally recognised certification and diplomas.
The Western Cape also generates a quarter of the South African agricultural sector's total gross income and more than half of South Africa's exports. Much of the produce is handled through the Port of Cape Town or Cape Town International Airport. The Province is also a centre of energy development for the country, with the existing Koeberg nuclear power station providing energy for the majority of Cape Town's needs.
Tourism
Cape Town is one of the most popular tourist destinations in South Africa due to its good climate, natural setting, and relatively well-developed infrastructure. Cape Point is recognised as the dramatic headland at the end of the Cape Peninsula.
Many tourists also visit Cape Town's beaches, which are popular with local residents. The most famous beach in Cape Town, Boulders Beach, is known for its colony of African penguins. Alfred Waterfront, built on top of part of the docks of the Port of Cape Town, is now one of the city's most popular shopping venues, with several hundred shops and the Two Oceans Aquarium. It is possible to take a ferry from the V&A to Hout Bay, Simon's Town and the Cape Fur Seal colonies on Seal and Duiker Islands.
Cape Town is also noted for its architectural heritage, with the highest density of Cape Dutch style buildings in the world. The annual Cape Town Minstrel Carnival, also known by its Afrikaans name of Kaapse Klopse, is a large minstrel festival held annually on January 2 or "Tweede Nuwe Jaar" (Afrikaans: Second New Year).
Cape Town's transport system links it to the rest of South Africa; The Cape Winelands and in particular the towns of Stellenbosch, Paarl and Franschhoek are popular day trips from the city for sightseeing and wine tasting. Heaviside's dolphins are endemic to the area and can be seen from the coast north of Cape Town;
Approximately 1.5 million tourists visited in Cape Town during 2004, bringing in a total of R10 billion in revenue.
Cape Town has many local community newspapers.
Cape Town is also a centre for broadcast media and has several radio stations that only broadcast within the city. The Voice of the Cape (95.8 MHz FM) and Cape Talk (567 kHz MW) are the major talk radio stations in the city. background: #eee">
| Club | Sport | League | Stadium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ajax Cape Town | Football | Premier Soccer League | Philippi Stadium |
| Cape Cobras | Cricket | Standard Bank Cup Series | Newlands Cricket Ground |
| Santos | Football | Premier Soccer League | Athlone Stadium |
| Stormers | Rugby union | Super 14 | Newlands Stadium |
| Western Province | Rugby union | Currie Cup | Newlands Stadium |
Cape Town's most popular sports by participation are cricket, association football, swimming, and rugby. Cape Town is the home of the Western Province Rugby Union, who play at Newlands Stadium and compete in the Currie Cup. Cape Town also regularly hosts the national team, the Springboks, and hosted matches during the 1995 Rugby World Cup, including a semi-final. Two clubs from Cape Town play in the Premier Soccer League (PSL), South Africa's premier league. These teams are Ajax Cape Town, which formed as a result of the 1999 amalgamation of the Seven Stars and the Cape Town Spurs; Cape Town will also be the location of several of the matches of the FIFA 2010 World Cup, which is to be held in South Africa.
In cricket, the Cape Cobras represent Cape Town at the Newlands Cricket Ground.
Cape Town also has Olympic aspirations: in 1996, Cape Town was one of the five candidate cities shortlisted by the IOC to launch official candidatures to host the 2004 Summer Olympics. There has been some speculation that Cape Town is seeking the South African Olympic Committee's nomination to be South Africa's bid city for either the 2016 or the 2020 Summer Olympic Games.
Transport
AirCape Town International Airport serves both domestic and international flights. Cape Town has direct flights to most cities in South Africa as well as a number of international destinations.
As of June 2006, Cape Town International Airport is being upgraded to handle an expected increase in air traffic as tourism numbers will increase in the lead-up to the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
SeaCape Town has a long tradition as a port city. The Port of Cape Town is also a busy container port, second in South Africa only to Durban.
Simon's Town Harbour on the False Bay coast of the Cape Peninsula is the main base of the South African Navy.
RailThe Shosholoza Meyl is the passenger rail operations of Spoornet and operates two long-distance passenger rail services from Cape Town: a daily service to and from Johannesburg via Kimberley and a weekly service to and from Durban via Kimberley, Bloemfontein and Pietermaritzburg.
Metrorail operates a commuter rail service in Cape Town and the surrounding area.
RoadThree national roads start in Cape Town: the N1 which links Cape Town with Bloemfontein, Johannesburg, Pretoria and Zimbabwe; the N2 which links Cape Town with Port Elizabeth, East London and Durban; and the N7 which links Cape Town with the Northern Cape Province and Namibia. The N1 and N2 both start in the Central Business District, and split to the east of the CBD, with the N1 continuing to the north east and the N2 heading south east past Cape Town International Airport.
Cape Town also has a system of freeway and dual carriageway M-roads, which connect different parts of the city.
BusesGolden Arrow Bus Services operates scheduled bus services throughout the Cape Town metropolitan area. Several companies run long-distance bus services from Cape Town to the other cities in South Africa.
TaxisCape Town has two kinds of taxis: metered taxis and minibus taxis.
Universities
Cape Town has a well-developed higher education system of public universities. Cape Town is served by two public universities: the University of Cape Town (UCT) and the University of the Western Cape (UWC).
Both the University of Cape Town and Stellenbosch University are leading universities in South Africa. Since the African National Congress has come into governmental power, some restructuring of Western Cape universities has taken place and as such, traditionally non-white universities have seen increased financing, which has benefitted the University of the Western Cape.
The public Cape Peninsula University of Technology was formed on January 1, 2005, when two separate institutions— Cape Technikon and Peninsula Technikon— were merged together.
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