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171-628: The Netherlands–South African Railway Company ( Nederlandsche Zuid-Afrikaansche Spoorwegmaatschappij ; Nederlands-Suid-Afrikaanse Spoorwegmaatskappy ) or NZASM (also sometimes called SASM in South Africa) was a railway company established in 1887. The company was based in Amsterdam and Pretoria , and operated in the South African Republic (ZAR) during the late 19th century. At the request of ZAR president Paul Kruger ,
342-464: A 233-yard-long (213 m) tunnel. The shorter and steeper route was selected. While a gradient of 1 in 20 (5%) is not insurmountable by light trains with orthodox adhesion locomotives, safety and economical considerations led to the decision to install a rack track on the section up the escarpment between Waterval Onder and Waterval Boven. The rack track was built to the Riggenbach system which
513-479: A city thought to be overwhelmed by the tourist influx. Construction of a new metro line connecting the part of the city north of the IJ to its southern part was started in 2003. The project was controversial because its cost had exceeded its budget by a factor of three by 2008, because of fears of damage to buildings in the centre, and because construction had to be halted and restarted multiple times. The new metro line
684-726: A defense of Catholicism during the Protestant Reformation. The main reasons for the uprising were the imposition of new taxes, the tenth penny, and the religious persecution of Protestants by the newly introduced Inquisition . The revolt escalated into the Eighty Years' War , which ultimately led to Dutch independence. Strongly pushed by Dutch Revolt leader William the Silent , the Dutch Republic became known for its relative religious tolerance. Jews from
855-536: A destination for visitors and a safe, integrated community for residents. A beacon of strength in Africa's most economically prosperous city". After being destroyed in 2008 to make way for a motor showroom by Imperial Holdings, the iconic Rand Steam Laundries are now being redeveloped as an exact replica, by the order of the Johannesburg Heritage Council. Apart from one filtration shed, there
1026-609: A flood in 1916, the depleted municipalities of Durgerdam, Holysloot, Zunderdorp and Schellingwoude , all lying north of Amsterdam, were, at their own request, annexed to the city. Between the wars, the city continued to expand, most notably to the west of the Jordaan district in the Frederik Hendrikbuurt and surrounding neighbourhoods. Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands on 10 May 1940 and took control of
1197-602: A full-service bank for Dutch merchant bankers and as a reserve bank. From the 17th century onwards, Amsterdam also became involved in the Atlantic slave trade . The city was a major destination port for Dutch slave ships participating in the triangular trade , which lasted until the United Netherlands abolished the Netherlands' involvement in the trade in 1814 at the request of the British government . Amsterdam
1368-743: A harbour, a railway line from Delagoa Bay in Portuguese East Africa to Pretoria had been proposed to the Volksraad of the ZAR by President F.T. Burgers as far back as 1872. The Portuguese supported the idea, since it would open a trade route from Portuguese East Africa into the interior. In 1883, Major Joachim Machado was sent to the Transvaal to report on a proposed route through the Komati River and Crocodile River valleys towards
1539-466: A junction of international waterways. A settlement was built here immediately after the landscape change of 1170. Right from the start of its foundation it focused on traffic, production and trade; not on farming, as opposed to how communities had lived further upstream for the past 200 years and northward for thousands of years. The construction of a dam at the mouth of the Amstel, eponymously named Dam ,
1710-748: A member of the Afrikaner Bond and of Cecil Rhodes 's cabinet, the Cape Colony's own CGR built its own line to Pretoria. The CGR would operate the ZAR portion of the line for two years before handing it over to the NZASM. On 7 May 1892, the line was completed from Bloemfontein to the Vaal River Bridge (the border of the ZAR); on 15 September 1892, the line from the Vaal River Bridge to Germiston (65 km) opened; and on 1 January 1893, Pretoria
1881-488: A modest semi-permanent or seasonal settlement. Until water issues were controlled, a permanent settlement would not have been possible, since the river mouth and the banks of the Amstel in this period in time were too wet for permanent habitation. The origins of Amsterdam are linked to the development of a dam on the Amstel River called Amestelle , meaning 'watery area', from Aa(m) 'river' + stelle 'site at
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#17327718907632052-528: A national figure and a symbol of resistance to apartheid . On 16 June 1976, demonstrations broke out in Soweto over a government decree that black school-children be educated in Afrikaans instead of English, and after the police fired on the demonstrations, rioting against apartheid began in Soweto and spread into the greater Johannesburg area. About 575 people, the majority of whom were black, were killed in
2223-605: A number of hot and humid days with occasional rain every month. The average daily high in August is 22.1 °C (72 °F), and 30 °C (86 °F) or higher is only measured on average on 2.5 days, placing Amsterdam in AHS Heat Zone 2. The record extremes range from −19.7 °C (−3.5 °F) to 36.3 °C (97.3 °F). Days with more than 1 mm (0.04 in) of precipitation are common, on average 133 days per year. Amsterdam's average annual precipitation
2394-742: A railway concession from the Portuguese government, the project was stalled by the outbreak of the First Boer War. After the end of the war in 1881 the project was resumed, this time with renewed enthusiasm due to the threat of British domination over the Boer Republics. In 1884 a concession was granted to a group of Dutch investors, and this was followed by the official establishment of the Netherlands–South African Railway Company on 21 June 1887 in Amsterdam in
2565-414: A residential area for blacks only—no whites allowed—who were not permitted to live in other "white-designated" areas of Johannesburg. Another region, Lenasia , is predominantly populated by English-speaking Indo-South Africans (people of Indian and South Asian descent). These areas were, in previous decades, designated as non-white areas, in accordance with apartheid policies of the time. Johannesburg
2736-518: A shoreline', 'river bank'. In this area, land reclamation started as early as the late 10th century. Amestelle was located along a side arm of the IJ. This side arm took the name from the eponymous land: Amstel. Amestelle was inhabited by farmers, who lived more inland and more upstream, where the land was not as wet as at the banks of the downstream river mouth. These farmers were starting the reclamation around upstream Ouderkerk aan de Amstel , and later at
2907-556: A strong influence on the 'Amsterdam dialect' adding a large Yiddish local vocabulary. Despite an absence of an official Jewish ghetto , most Jews preferred to live in the eastern part, which used to be the centre of medieval Amsterdam. The main street of this Jewish neighbourhood was Jodenbreestraat. The neighbourhood comprised the Waterlooplein and the Nieuwmarkt . Buildings in this neighbourhood fell into disrepair after
3078-500: A township founded for black workers coming to work in the gold mines of Johannesburg, was intended to house 50,000 people, but soon was the home of ten times that number as thousands of unemployed rural blacks came to Johannesburg for employment and an income to send back to their villages. It was estimated that in 1989, the population of Soweto was equal to that of Johannesburg, if not greater. In March 1960, Johannesburg witnessed widespread demonstrations against apartheid in response to
3249-516: Is 838 mm (33 in). A large part of this precipitation falls as light rain or brief showers. Cloudy and damp days are common during the cooler months of October through March. In 1300, Amsterdam's population was around 1,000 people. While many towns in Holland experienced population decline during the 15th and 16th centuries, Amsterdam's population grew, mainly due to the rise of the profitable Baltic maritime trade especially in grain after
3420-620: Is a popular recreational park. Johannesburg and environs also offer various options to visitors wishing to view wildlife , in addition to the Johannesburg Zoo , one of the largest in South Africa. The Lion Park nature reserve, next to Lesedi Cultural Village , is home to over 80 lions and various other game, while the Krugersdorp Nature Reserve , a 1500 ha game reserve , is a forty-minute drive from
3591-404: Is a smaller number of synagogues serving the city's Reform Jews , including Temple Israel and Beit Emanuel . 32% of Johannesburg residents speak Nguni languages at home, 24% speak Sotho languages , 18% speak English, 7% speak Afrikaans and 6% speak Tshivenda . Johannesburg has a well-developed higher education system of both private and public universities . Johannesburg is served by
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#17327718907633762-403: Is also located on Rissik Street. The region surrounding Johannesburg was originally inhabited by San hunter-gatherers who used stone tools. There is evidence that they lived there up to ten centuries ago. Stone-walled ruins of Sotho–Tswana towns and villages are scattered around the parts of the former Transvaal in which Johannesburg is situated. By the mid-18th century, the broader region
3933-419: Is another possibility. Precise records for the choice of name were lost. Johannes Rissik and Johannes Joubert were members of a delegation sent to England to obtain mining rights for the area. Joubert had a park in the city named after him, and Rissik has his name for one of the main streets in the city where the historically important albeit dilapidated Rissik Street Post Office is located. The City Hall
4104-649: Is considered its Golden Age , during which it became the wealthiest city in the Western world. Ships sailed from Amsterdam to the Baltic Sea , the Caribbean, North America, and Africa, as well as present-day Indonesia , India, Sri Lanka , and Brazil , forming the basis of a worldwide trading network. Amsterdam's merchants had the largest share in both the Dutch East India Company (VOC) and
4275-483: Is historically estimated to have occurred between 1264 and 1275. The settlement first appeared in a document from 1275, concerning a road toll granted by the count of Holland Floris V to the residents apud Amestelledamme 'at the dam in the Amstel' or 'at the dam of Amstelland'. This allowed the inhabitants of the village to travel freely through the County of Holland , paying no tolls at bridges, locks and dams. This
4446-586: Is in the southwest. Amsterdam is connected to the North Sea through the long North Sea Canal . Amsterdam is intensely urbanised, as is the Amsterdam metropolitan area surrounding the city. Comprising 219.4 km (84.7 sq mi) of land, the city proper has 4,457 inhabitants per km and 2,275 houses per km . Parks and nature reserves make up 12% of Amsterdam's land area. Amsterdam has more than 100 km (60 mi) of canals , most of which are navigable by boat. The city's three main canals are
4617-511: Is located in the Western Netherlands, in the province of North Holland , the capital of which is not Amsterdam, but rather Haarlem . The river Amstel ends in the city centre and connects to a large number of canals that eventually terminate in the IJ . Amsterdam's elevation is about −2 m (−6.6 ft) below sea level . The surrounding land is flat as it is formed of large polders . An artificial forest, Amsterdamse Bos ,
4788-475: Is located within the mineral-rich Witwatersrand hills, the epicentre of the international-scale mineral, gold and (specifically) diamond trade. Johannesburg was established in 1886, following the discovery of gold, on what had been a farm. Due to the extremely large gold deposits found along the Witwatersrand , within ten years, the population had grown to over 100,000 inhabitants. A separate city from
4959-485: Is nothing left on the site after being destroyed. The site will consist of a 5,000 m (54,000 sq ft) precinct. On 12 May 2008, a series of riots started in the township of Alexandra , in the north-eastern part of Johannesburg, when locals attacked migrants from Mozambique , Malawi and Zimbabwe , killing two people and injuring 40 others. These riots sparked the xenophobic attacks of 2008. The 2019 Johannesburg riots were similar in nature and origin to
5130-633: Is still owned and actively used by Transnet. Several of the NZASM locomotives have survived and now form part of the Outeniqua Transport Museum 's collection. In 1916, shortly after the establishment of the Union of South Africa , the Central South African Railways was merged with the railways of the former English Cape ( Cape Government Railways ) and Natal ( Natal Government Railways ) Colonies, resulting in
5301-634: Is the most populous city in South Africa with 4,803,262 people, and is classified as a megacity ; it is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world . It is the provincial capital of Gauteng , the wealthiest province in South Africa. Johannesburg is the seat of the Constitutional Court , the highest court in South Africa. Most of the major South African companies and banks have their head offices in Johannesburg. The city
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5472-511: Is the principal clerk attached to the office of the surveyor-general Hendrik Dercksen, Christiaan Johannes Joubert , who was a member of the Volksraad and was the Republic's chief of mining. Another was Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger (better known as Paul Kruger ), president of the South African Republic (ZAR) from 1883 to 1900. Johannes Meyer , the first government official in the area
5643-688: The Concertgebouw were built; At the same time, the Industrial Revolution reached the city. The Amsterdam–Rhine Canal was dug to give Amsterdam a direct connection to the Rhine , and the North Sea Canal was dug to give the port a shorter connection to the North Sea . Both projects dramatically improved commerce with the rest of Europe and the world. In 1906, Joseph Conrad gave a brief description of Amsterdam as seen from
5814-408: The 2008 xenophobic riots . A completely refurbished Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg hosted the 2010 FIFA World Cup final . From 22 to 24 August 2023, Johannesburg hosted 15th BRICS summit . On 31 August 2023, at least 76 people died when a building caught fire in Johannesburg. The building had been taken over by a gang who were illegally renting it out. Johannesburg is located in
5985-633: The Amstel ' ) is the capital and most populated city of the Netherlands . It has a population of 921,402 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the urban area and 2,480,394 in the metropolitan area . Located in the Dutch province of North Holland , Amsterdam is colloquially referred to as the " Venice of the North ", for its large number of canals , now a UNESCO World Heritage Site . Amsterdam
6156-829: The Dam Square , where the Royal Palace of Amsterdam and former city hall are located; the Amsterdam Museum ; Stedelijk Museum , with modern art; the Concertgebouw concert hall; the Anne Frank House ; the Scheepvaartmuseum , the Natura Artis Magistra ; Hortus Botanicus , NEMO , the red-light district and cannabis coffee shops . The city is known for its nightlife and festival activity, with several nightclubs among
6327-634: The Dutch East Indies in the 1940s and 1950s. In the 1960s guest workers from Turkey, Morocco, Italy, and Spain immigrated to Amsterdam. After the independence of Suriname in 1975, a large wave of Surinamese settled in Amsterdam, mostly in the Bijlmer area. Other immigrants, including refugees asylum seekers and undocumented immigrants , came from Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa. In
6498-474: The Dutch Republic , which itself was a much smaller state than Great Britain, France or the Ottoman Empire . In contrast to those other metropolises, Amsterdam was also surrounded by large towns such as Leiden (about 67,000), Rotterdam (45,000), Haarlem (38,000) and Utrecht (30,000). The city's population declined in the early 19th century, dipping under 200,000 in 1820. By the second half of
6669-593: The Dutch West India Company . These companies acquired overseas possessions that later became Dutch colonies . Amsterdam was Europe's most important hub for the shipment of goods and was the leading financial centre of the Western world. In 1602, the Amsterdam office of the Dutch East India Company became the world's first stock exchange by trading in its own shares. The Bank of Amsterdam started operations in 1609, acting as
6840-688: The Edict of Fontainebleau in 1685, while the Flemish Protestants came during the Eighty Years' War against Catholic Spain. The Westphalians came to Amsterdam mostly for economic reasons; their influx continued through the 18th and 19th centuries. Before the Second World War, 10% of the city population was Jewish . Just twenty percent of them survived the Holocaust . Amsterdam experienced an influx of religions and cultures after
7011-459: The Highveld and Pretoria. The resulting agreement was for the Portuguese to construct the section from Delagoa Bay to the border at Komatipoort , while the ZAR would be responsible for the continuation of the line to Pretoria. The Portuguese line from Delagoa Bay had already reached the border on 14 December 1887, but the first train from Delagoa Bay only entered Komatipoort on 1 July 1891, when
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7182-664: The Iberian Peninsula , Protestant Huguenots from France, prosperous merchants and printers from Flanders , and economic and religious refugees from the Spanish-controlled parts of the Low Countries found safety in Amsterdam. The influx of Flemish printers and the city's intellectual tolerance made Amsterdam a centre for the European free press . During the 17th century, Amsterdam experienced what
7353-663: The Johannesburg South Africa Temple ( Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ). Most of Johannesburg's estimated 50,000 Jews live in the North Eastern suburbs; Glenhazel , Raedene Estate , Kew , Norwood , Highlands North , Sandringham , Savoy Estate , Waverley , Orchards , Oaklands and Fairmount . There are many Orthodox synagogues in the city including; Great Park Synagogue , Oxford Shul and Doornfontein Synagogue . There
7524-483: The Netherlands , funded by Dutch , German , and Boer investors. The Pretoria - Delagoa Bay line, with a length of 562 kilometres (ca. 350 miles), was opened on 6 November 1894 and is still in use today. The railway company employed about 3000 people. Of these, about 1500 were employed in the construction of the Pretoria - Delagoa Bay Line. It adopted the 3 ft 6 in ( 1,067 mm ) ( Cape Gauge ) of
7695-766: The North Sea to the west, with prevailing westerly winds. Amsterdam, as well as most of the North Holland province, lies in USDA Hardiness zone 8b. Frosts mainly occur during spells of easterly or northeasterly winds from the inner European continent. Even then, because Amsterdam is surrounded on three sides by large bodies of water, as well as having a significant heat-island effect , nights rarely fall below −5 °C (23 °F), while it could easily be −12 °C (10 °F) in Hilversum , 25 km (16 mi) southeast. Summers are moderately warm with
7866-560: The Oosterlijn progressed slowly by comparison. In May 1890, the rapid population growth of Johannesburg and the need to ship in heavy mining equipment required a railway to reach the city. In June 1890, the ZAR assented to the building of a line between Pretoria and the Vaal River bridge. Construction began two months later, but the NZASM had financial problems and the project stalled. Through an agreement made by James Silverwright,
8037-483: The Orange . Most of the springs from which many of these streams emanate are now covered in concrete and canalised, accounting for the fact that the names of early farms in the area often end with "fontein", meaning "spring" in Afrikaans. Braamfontein, Rietfontein, Zevenfontein, Doornfontein, Zandfontein and Randjesfontein are some examples. When the first white settlers reached the area that is now Johannesburg, they noticed
8208-498: The Prinsengracht , the Herengracht and the Keizersgracht . In the Middle Ages , Amsterdam was surrounded by a moat, called the Singel , which now forms the innermost ring in the city, and gives the city centre a horseshoe shape. The city is also served by a seaport . It has been compared with Venice , due to its division into about 90 islands, which are linked by more than 1,200 bridges. Amsterdam has an oceanic climate ( Köppen : Cfb ) strongly influenced by its proximity to
8379-400: The Second Boer War broke out, the Pretoria-Pietersburg rail line was expropriated from its British owners by the ZAR government and placed under the control of the NZASM. The PPS locomotives were all manufactured in the UK. In 1899 shortly after the outbreak of the South African War, also known as the Second Boer War (1899–1902), the government of the ZAR exercised its rights in accordance to
8550-399: The Sharpeville massacre . On 11 July 1963, the South African Police raided a house in the Johannesburg suburb of Rivonia where nine members of the banned African National Congress (ANC) were arrested on charges of planning sabotage. Their arrest led to the famous Rivonia Trial . The nine arrested included one Indo-South African, one coloured, two whites and five blacks, one of whom was
8721-405: The Soweto uprising of 1976. Between 1984 and 1986, South Africa was in turmoil as a series of nationwide protests, strikes and riots took place against apartheid, and the black townships around Johannesburg were scenes of some of the fiercest struggles between the police and anti-apartheid demonstrators. The central area of the city underwent something of a decline in the 1980s and 1990s, due to
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#17327718907638892-418: The UNESCO World Heritage List . In the 21st century, the Amsterdam city centre has attracted large numbers of tourists: between 2012 and 2015, the annual number of visitors rose from 10 to 17 million. Real estate prices have surged, and local shops are making way for tourist-oriented ones, making the centre unaffordable for the city's inhabitants. These developments have evoked comparisons with Venice ,
9063-427: The Zuiderlijn , the Zuid-Oosterlijn , and the Zuid-Westerlijn . In 1882, George Pigot Moodie, Surveyor General of the ZAR, suggested that the Oosterlijn needed to reach Ermelo through the Cape River Valley rather than through Nelspruit . This was all later rendered moot, as the discovery of gold in 1884 in the Cape Valley near Barberton required the building of a branch line to the mines. The cost of construction
9234-402: The Zuidwesterlijn was extended to Fourteen Streams (near Warrenton ), and today the line is served by the Blue Train . The NZASM did not classify locomotives into specific classes - the eight types used in their fleet were known by their weight. At the end of the 19th century, the German locomotive industry was growing rapidly and had outpaced that of the United Kingdom . Since the NZASM
9405-443: The social housing projects in Amsterdam-West and the Bijlmer. Today, people of non-Western origin make up approximately one-fifth of the population of Amsterdam, and more than 30% of the city's children. A slight majority of the residents of Amsterdam have at least one parent who was born outside the country. However, a much larger majority has at least one parent who was born inside the country (intercultural marriages are common in
9576-460: The 1970s and 1980s, many 'old' Amsterdammers moved to 'new' cities like Almere and Purmerend , prompted by the third Land-use planning bill of the Dutch Government. This bill promoted suburbanization and arranged for new developments in so-called "groeikernen", literally cores of growth . Young professionals and artists moved into neighborhoods De Pijp and the Jordaan abandoned by these Amsterdammers. The non-Western immigrants settled mostly in
9747-424: The 19th century, especially as a result of the First Boer War (1880–81). Both republics were located in the interior of what is now South Africa , with no route to the coast that did not pass through the British-held Cape Colony and Colony of Natal . Paul Kruger, president of the ZAR, decided that an alternative trade route to the ocean was a priority for the ZAR. The Witwatersrand Gold Rush after 1886 resulted in
9918-422: The 19th century, industrialization spurred renewed growth. Amsterdam's population hit an all-time high of 872,000 in 1959, before declining in the following decades due to government-sponsored suburbanisation to so-called groeikernen (growth centres) such as Purmerend and Almere . Between 1970 and 1980, Amsterdam experienced a sharp population decline, peaking at a net loss of 25,000 people in 1973. By 1985
10089-445: The 21st century, there was light sleet in 2006, as well as snow proper on 27 June 2007 (accumulating up to 10 centimetres or 4 inches in the southern suburbs), 7 August 2012, and 10 July 2023. Regular cold fronts pass over in winter bringing very cold southerly winds but usually clear skies. The annual average rainfall is 713 millimetres (28.1 in), which is mostly concentrated in the summer months. Infrequent showers occur through
10260-400: The 41-km link between Heidelberg and Union Junction (9 km from Germiston) opened. In November 1894, the ZAR and Great Britain agreed to meet in Swaziland, with President Kruger and the British High Commissioner Sir Henry Loch as signatories. Neither Kruger nor Loch's countries recognized each other diplomatically, and therefore a passenger wagon was wheeled onto the bridge in between and
10431-616: The Burgundian victory in the Dutch–Hanseatic War in 1441. The population of Amsterdam was only modest compared to the towns and cities of Flanders and Brabant , which comprised the most urbanized area of the Low Countries. This changed when, during the Dutch Revolt , many people from the Southern Netherlands fled to the North, especially after Antwerp fell to Spanish forces in 1585. Jews from Spain, Portugal and Eastern Europe similarly settled in Amsterdam, as did Germans and Scandinavians. In thirty years, Amsterdam's population more than doubled between 1585 and 1610. By 1600, its population
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#173277189076310602-412: The Cradle of Humankind together with his partner Johannes Stephanus Minnaar where they first discovered gold in 1881, and which also offered another kind of discovery—the early ancestors of all mankind. Some report Australian George Harrison as the first to make a claim for gold in the area that became Johannesburg, as he found gold on a farm in July 1886. He did not remain in the area. On 3 October 1886
10773-438: The Gatsrand Pass (near Zakariyya Park) on 27 May, north of Vanwyksrust—today's Nancefield, Eldorado Park and Naturena—the next day, culminating in a mass infantry attack on what is now the waterworks ridge in Chiawelo and Senaoane on 29 May. During the Boer war, many African mineworkers left Johannesburg creating a labour shortage, which the mines ameliorated by bringing in labourers from China, especially southern China. After
10944-414: The Great Trek , resulted in the establishment of 14 independent republics. By the mid 19th century these republics had merged into the two larger republics: The South African Republic (ZAR) and the Republic of the Orange Free State . The British Empire eventually recognized the independence of these republics in 1852 and 1854. The relationship between the British and the Boers remained strained throughout
11115-433: The Liberals or Conservatives in England, or Molteno or Patterson at the Cape, are in power. In 1874 the Volksraad of the ZAR decided that a railway would be built connecting the ZAR with Lourenço Marques on Delagoa Bay in Portuguese East Africa (now Maputo in Mozambique). A commission was established in 1874 to create a plan for the construction of this railway. After initial success in raising capital and acquiring
11286-421: The Matabele, the name given them by the local Sotho–Tswana), set up a kingdom to the northwest of Johannesburg around modern-day Rustenburg. The main Witwatersrand gold reef was discovered in June 1884 on the farm Vogelstruisfontein by Jan Gerritse Bantjes , son of Jan Bantjes , this triggered the Witwatersrand Gold Rush and the founding of Johannesburg in 1886. The discovery of gold rapidly attracted people to
11457-453: The Metropolitan Municipality, the old centre, established in 1886 and given city status in 1928, has been listed in recent censuses as a "main place". As of 2011 , this main place had a population of 957,441 and an area of 334.81 km . Some authors consider the metropolitan area to include most of Gauteng province. The UN 's Population Division in 2016 estimated the metropolitan area population to be 9,616,000. Blacks account for 73% of
11628-418: The NZASM constructed a railway line between Pretoria and Lourenço Marques in Portuguese East Africa (now Maputo in Mozambique ). The British conquered the then Dutch Cape Colony in 1806. The new administration was not universally accepted by the Dutch colonists and after the 1830s thousands of Dutch-speaking colonists (called Boers ) migrated to the interior of Southern Africa. This migration, known as
11799-439: The NZASM obtained three tramway steam locomotives with an 0-4-0T wheel arrangement for use on the Randtram line. Since the railway classified its locomotives according to their weight, these tank locomotives were known as the 10 Tonners . As the Randtram line was expanded to the west and east to become the Reef line between Roodepoort and Springs, the 14 Tonners remained in service on that line, even though their range of operation
11970-494: The NZASM's contractors completed the bridge across the Komati River. The line from Komatipoort to Nelspruit was completed by 20 June 1892. Waterval Boven was reached on 20 June 1894 and Balmoral, near Witbank , on 20 October 1894, connecting with the line which had simultaneously been built eastwards from Pretoria. The construction of the railway line from Delagoa Bay to Pretoria was beset with difficulties, both in terms of disease and engineering. Malaria claimed many lives among
12141-478: The NZASM's shortest line leaving the ZAR, but was the also the furthest distance inland. In 1888, the Cape Colony and Orange Free State governments agreed to build a railway between Port Elizabeth and Bloemfontein . The Cape government paid for the line and it was built by the Cape Government Railways (CGR). The section from Port Elizabeth to Colesberg was already complete, and the line from Colesberg to Bloemfontein opened on 17 December 1890. The building of
12312-563: The Netherlands. This led to the establishment of many non-Dutch-speaking churches. In 1603, the Jewish received permission to practice their religion in the city. In 1639, the first synagogue was consecrated. The Jews came to call the town " Jerusalem of the West ". As they became established in the city, other Christian denominations used converted Catholic chapels to conduct their own services. The oldest English-language church congregation in
12483-455: The Pretoria - Maputo line, a second, much shorter line was laid down between Pretoria and Johannesburg. It adopted the 3 ft 6 in ( 1,067 mm ) of the neighbouring Cape Government Railways . In addition to the Randtram and Pretoria - Delagoa Bay Lines the NZASM operated another 4 lines: A 1 kilometre track at Elandsfontein near Johannesburg provided a connection between
12654-534: The Rand with the coast. Until the line from Ladysmith reached Newcastle , the governments of Natal and the ZAR agreed to extend the line from Newcastle to the Rand. The line reached Newcastle on 15 May 1890, and was immediately extended to Charlestown , the last town in Natal leading up to the ZAR border. The railway, which climbed 452 m in the 57 km between Newcastle and Charlestown, was opened by President Kruger of
12825-407: The Second World War a large section of the neighbourhood was demolished during the construction of the metro system. This led to riots, and as a result the original plans for large-scale reconstruction were abandoned by the government. The neighbourhood was rebuilt with smaller-scale residence buildings on the basis of its original layout. Catholic churches in Amsterdam have been constructed since
12996-409: The Second World War. With 180 different nationalities, Amsterdam is home to one of the widest varieties of nationalities of any city in the world. The proportion of the population of immigrant origin in the city proper is about 50% and 88% of the population are Dutch citizens. The first mass immigration in the 20th century was by people from Indonesia, who came to Amsterdam after the independence of
13167-493: The ZAR and the Governor of Natal on 7 April 1891. When it reached Laing's Nek Pass, a 674-m tunnel was built to move it through. The NGR (Natal Government Railways) line had already reached Charlestown on 7 April 1891, but President Kruger did not give them permission to extend their line into the ZAR before the Oosterlijn was finished to Delagoa Bay. The Delagoa Bay line was commissioned on 1 January 1895. In accordance with
13338-588: The ZAR government and NZASM agreed that the government would cover half of the costs and guarantee the NZASM's interest. The route was surveyed during the first half of 1894, and on 18 September of that year, the Volksraad granted the permit to start construction. Construction began on 18 July 1895, and after the work was delayed by the Jameson Raid , the line opened to near Potchefstroom on 11 July 1897, and finally began serving Klerksdorp on 3 August. In 1897,
13509-544: The above list, only the major settlements on the line are named; the station names are not given. The line was officially inaugurated on 1 January 1895. Today the line runs through the South African provinces of Gauteng and Mpumalanga . These two provinces, which previously made up the Transvaal Province , contain part of the territory of the former ZAR (along with Limpopo ). After the completion of
13680-628: The administrative boundary of the municipality . The population of the whole area has been estimated to be variously at 7,860,781 in 2011 by "citypopulation.de",. Johannesburg's suburbs are the product of urban sprawl and are regionalised into north, south, east and west, and they generally have different personalities. Greater Johannesburg consists of more than five hundred suburbs in an area covering more than two hundred square miles (520 square kilometres). Although black Africans can be found throughout Johannesburg and its surrounding area, greater Johannesburg remains highly racially segregated. Within
13851-475: The advancement of cultural and economic ties between the Netherlands and South Africa. The ZASM also purchased a building in Amsterdam to house the organization's archives and collections, including a part of the NZASM's archives. This building is now used by a variety of organizations under the common banner Zuid-Afrikahuis (South Africa House). A great deal of the NZASM's infrastructure including bridges, drains, houses, and stations still exists and in many cases
14022-475: The area, making necessary a name and governmental organisation for the area. Jan, Johan and Johannes were common male names among the Dutch of that time; two men involved in surveying the area for the best location of the city, Christian Johannes Joubert and Johann Rissik, are considered the source of the name by some. Johannes Meyer, the first government official in the area is another possibility. Precise records for
14193-676: The choice of name were lost. Within ten years, the city of Johannesburg included 100,000 people. In September 1884, the Struben brothers discovered the Confidence Reef on the farm Wilgespruit near present-day Roodepoort, which further boosted excitement over gold prospects. The first gold to be crushed on the Witwatersrand was the gold-bearing rock from the Bantjes mine crushed using the Struben brothers stamp machine. News of
14364-482: The city centre. The De Wildt Cheetah Centre in the Magaliesberg runs a successful breeding program for cheetah , wild dog and other endangered species . The Rhino & Lion Nature Reserve, situated in the "Cradle of Humankind" on 1200 ha of "the typical highveld of Gauteng" also runs a breeding programme for endangered species including Bengal tigers, Siberian tigers and the extremely rare white lion . To
14535-527: The city expanded and new neighborhoods and suburbs were built. The city has a long tradition of openness, liberalism, and tolerance. Cycling is key to the city's modern character, and there are numerous biking paths and lanes spread throughout. Amsterdam's main attractions include its historic canals ; the Rijksmuseum , the state museum with Dutch Golden Age art; the Van Gogh Museum ;
14706-425: The city had only 675,570 residents. This was soon followed by reurbanization and gentrification , leading to renewed population growth in the 2010s. Also in the 2010s, much of Amsterdam's population growth was due to immigration to the city. In the 16th and 17th century, non-Dutch immigrants to Amsterdam were mostly Protestant Huguenots and Flemings , Sephardic Jews , and Westphalians . Huguenots came after
14877-410: The city with the number growing every year—1.2 million on pavements and sidewalks, and a further 4.8 million in private gardens. City Parks continues to invest in planting trees, particularly those previously disadvantaged areas of Johannesburg which were not positive beneficiaries of apartheid Johannesburg's urban planning. Johannesburg Botanical Garden , located in the suburb of Emmarentia ,
15048-496: The city's Zuidoost (southeast) exclave and the centre of Amsterdam. Further plans were to build a new highway above the metro to connect Amsterdam Centraal and the city centre with other parts of the city. The required large-scale demolitions began in Amsterdam's former Jewish neighborhood. Smaller streets, such as the Jodenbreestraat and Weesperstraat, were widened and almost all houses and buildings were demolished. At
15219-557: The city). Only a third of inhabitants under 15 are autochthons ( person with two parents of Dutch origin). In 2023, autochthons were a minority in 40% of Amsterdam's neighborhoods. Segregation along ethnic lines is clearly visible, with people of non-Western origin, considered a separate group by Statistics Netherlands , concentrating in specific neighborhoods especially in Nieuw-West , Zeeburg , Bijlmer and in certain areas of Amsterdam-Noord . In 2000, Christians formed
15390-673: The city. During the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars , Amsterdam's significance reached its lowest point, with Holland being absorbed into the French Empire . However, the later establishment of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1815 marked a turning point. The end of the 19th century is sometimes called Amsterdam's second Golden Age. New museums, a railway station, and
15561-596: The collection of the Zuid-Afrikahuis have also been digitized and may be viewed online. NZASM related archival material may also be found in various other archives, including The National Archives of the United Kingdom. Amsterdam Amsterdam ( / ˈ æ m s t ər d æ m / AM -stər-dam , UK also / ˌ æ m s t ər ˈ d æ m / AM -stər- DAM , Dutch: [ˌɑmstərˈdɑm] ; lit. ' Dam in
15732-1053: The community, social and personal services and 12% are in manufacturing. Only 0.7% work in mining. 53% belong to mainstream Christian churches, 24% are not affiliated with any organised religion, 14% are members of African Independent Churches , 3% are Muslim , 1% are Jewish and 1% are Hindu . There are Muslim mosques, Hindu temples, A Sikh Gurudwara (Sikh Temple) in Sandton and a large number of synagogues. Places of worship in Johannesburg are predominantly Christian churches: Serbian Orthodox Church , Zion Christian Church , Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa , Assemblies of God , Baptist Union of Southern Africa ( Baptist World Alliance ), Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa (NGK) , Methodist Church of Southern Africa ( World Methodist Council ), Anglican Church of Southern Africa ( Anglican Communion ), Presbyterian Church of Africa ( World Communion of Reformed Churches ), Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Johannesburg ( Catholic Church ) and
15903-561: The company being seized by the British. The NZASM was formally dissolved in 1908, and the final financial statements were presented to shareholders in 1909. The company also published a book, In Memoriam , about the history of the NZASM in 1910. The money from the company's liquidation was used to establish the Zuid-Afrikaansche Stichting Moederland (ZASM) in 1908. The ZASM is an organization dedicated to
16074-572: The concession granted to the NZASM to place the company under government control. Towards the end of the war, the company, along with the rail company of the Orange Free State (OVSM), was placed under military control by the British, and in 1904 the NZASM and the OVSM were merged into the Central South African Railways. After protracted negotiations, NZASM's shareholders and creditors were given some compensation for debts and losses incurred by
16245-635: The construction crews, and some of the terrain was mountainous. In the Elandspruit Valley, where the river formed a 295-foot-high (90 m) waterfall, the adjacent cliffs presented a natural barrier to the continuation of the railway from the Eastern Transvaal Lowveld up to the Transvaal Highveld. In terms of construction, the climb up the escarpment was arguably the most difficult section to be encountered by
16416-527: The country. Some Amsterdam citizens sheltered Jews, thereby exposing themselves and their families to a high risk of being imprisoned or sent to concentration camps. More than 100,000 Dutch Jews were deported to Nazi concentration camps , of whom some 60,000 lived in Amsterdam. In response, the Dutch Communist Party organized the February strike attended by 300,000 people to protest against
16587-421: The course of the winter months. The lowest nighttime minimum temperature ever recorded in Johannesburg is −8.2 °C (17.2 °F), on 13 June 1979. The lowest daytime maximum temperature recorded is 1.5 °C (34.7 °F), on 19 June 1964. According to the 2011 South African National Census , the population of Johannesburg is 4,434,827 people, making it the most populous city in South Africa (it has been
16758-494: The discovery soon reached Kimberley and directors Cecil Rhodes and Sir Joseph Robinson rode up to investigate the rumours for themselves. They were guided to the Bantjes camp with its tents strung out over several kilometres and stayed with Bantjes for two nights. In 1884, they purchased the first pure refined gold from Bantjes for £3,000. Incidentally, Bantjes had from 1881 been operating the Kromdraai Gold Mine in
16929-462: The eastern plateau area of South Africa known as the Highveld , at an elevation of 1,753 metres (5,751 ft). The former Central Business District is located on the southern side of the prominent ridge called the Witwatersrand (English: White Water's Ridge) and the terrain falls to the north and south. By and large the Witwatersrand marks the watershed between the Limpopo and Vaal rivers as
17100-521: The entire city centre. Although the success of this struggle is visible today, efforts for further restoration are still ongoing. The entire city centre has reattained its former splendour and, as a whole, is now a protected area . Many of its buildings have become monuments, and in July 2010 the Grachtengordel (the three concentric canals: Herengracht, Keizersgracht, and Prinsengracht) was added to
17271-823: The establishment of the South African Rail and Harbour Administration or Spoornet. In 1980, Spoornet was renamed to Transnet , and it was granted company status in 1990. The NZASM archives may be found in the South African National Archives in South Africa; the Dutch National Archives in the Netherlands; and in the archives of the Zuid-Afrikahuis and the Dutch Economic History Archive (NEHA), both in Amsterdam. The NZASM photos in
17442-681: The expense. In 1885, the Cape railway reached Kimberley , and the following year, when the ZAR had difficulty obtaining a £5,000 loan and McMurdo struggled to build the Delagoa Bay line through the swamps near Delagoa Bay, President Kruger and the Cape government proposed extending the Kimberley line to near the Rand. No agreement was reached, and therefore the Zuid-Westerlijn started as a domestic rather than an international line. Gold
17613-514: The founding of Amsterdam is later than other urban centres in the Low Countries . However, around the area of what later became Amsterdam, farmers settled as early as three millennia ago. They lived along the prehistoric IJ river and upstream of its tributary Amstel. The prehistoric IJ was a shallow and quiet stream in peatland behind beach ridges . This secluded area was able to grow into an important local settlement centre, especially in
17784-453: The future president Nelson Mandela . At their trial, the accused freely admitted that they were guilty of what they were charged with, namely of planning to blow up the hydro-electric system of Johannesburg to shut down the gold mines, but Mandela argued to the court that the ANC had tried non-violent resistance to apartheid and failed, leaving him with no other choice. The trial made Mandela into
17955-408: The glistening rocks on the ridges, running with trickles of water, fed by the streams—giving the area its name, the Witwatersrand, "the ridge of white waters". Another explanation is that the whiteness comes from the quartzite rock, which has a particular sheen to it after rain. The site was not chosen for its streams, however. The main reasons the city was founded where it stands today was because of
18126-452: The gold. Indeed, the city once sat near massive amounts of gold, given that at one point the Witwatersrand gold industry produced forty per cent of the planet's gold. Parks and gardens in Johannesburg are maintained by Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo . City Parks is also responsible for planting the city's many green trees, making Johannesburg one of the 'greenest' cities in the world. It has been estimated that there are six million trees in
18297-405: The goldfields on the Witwatersrand in the 1880s and the demand for coal by the growing industry, on 20 July 1888 the ZAR government granted a concession to the NZASM to construct a 16 miles (26 kilometres) railway line from Johannesburg to Boksburg . The line was opened on 17 March 1890, with the first train being hauled by a 14 Tonner locomotive. It became known as the "Randtram", even though it
18468-508: The government to live separately. Work was considered to be an exception to apartheid in order to keep Johannesburg functioning as South Africa's economic capital. In the 1950s, the government began a policy of building townships for black families (prior to this unskilled workers were asked to work on "single status" in male-only hostels at the mines and had to commute to see their families in whatever province they originated) outside of Johannesburg to provide workers for Johannesburg. Soweto ,
18639-765: The heyday of the Stille Omgang , which became the expression of the pilgrimage after the Protestant Reformation , up to 90,000 pilgrims came to Amsterdam. From the 14th century on, Amsterdam flourished, largely from trade with the Hanseatic League . From the 15th century on the city established an independent trade route with the Baltic Sea in grain and timber, cutting out the Hanseatic League as middlemen. The city became
18810-577: The high crime rate and when property speculators directed large amounts of capital into suburban shopping malls, decentralised office parks, and entertainment centres. Sandton City was opened in 1973, followed by Rosebank Mall in 1976, and Eastgate in 1979. During the 1990s, the city faced rapid growth of crime throughout large parts of the city. Some areas of skyscrapers were abandoned, many residents left their homes, and businesses moved out. Some historical buildings in central areas were destroyed by fires that spread relentlessly. Like many cities around
18981-471: The high elevation and its location in the subtropics. Winter is the sunniest time of the year, with mild days and cool nights, dropping to 4.1 °C (39.4 °F) in June and July. The temperature occasionally drops to below freezing at night, causing frost . Snow is a rare occurrence, with snowfall having been experienced in the twentieth century during May 1956, August 1962, June 1964 and September 1981. In
19152-401: The industry. The herring industry relied on international trade cooperation and large initial investments in ships. This required many highly skilled and unskilled workers cooperating, as well as the import of the necessary raw materials to turn an unfinished product into a marketable one. This required merchants to then sell it throughout the continent and book-keepers and accountants to divide
19323-467: The informal leadership of Col Ignatius Ferreira , was located in the Fordsburg dip, possibly because water was available there, and because of the site's proximity to the diggings. Following the establishment of Johannesburg, the area was taken over by the Transvaal government who had it surveyed and named it Ferreira's Township, today the suburb of Ferreirasdorp . The first settlement at Ferreira's Camp
19494-576: The land increased, tensions developed between the Boer –dominated Transvaal government in Pretoria and the British, culminating in the Jameson Raid that ended in fiasco at Doornkop in January 1896. The Second Boer War (1899–1902) saw British forces under Field Marshal Frederick Sleigh Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts, occupy the city on 30 May 1900 after a series of battles to the south-west of its then-limits, near present-day Krugersdorp. Fighting took place at
19665-470: The largely Catholic city of Amsterdam joined the revolt against Spanish rule, late in comparison to other major northern Dutch cities. Catholic priests were driven out of the city. Following the Dutch takeover, all churches were converted to Protestant worship. Calvinism was declared the main religion. It was forbidden to openly profess Roman Catholicism and the Catholic hierarchy was prohibited until
19836-549: The largest religious group in the city (28% of the population). The next largest religion was Islam (8%), most of whose followers were Sunni . In 2015, Christians formed the largest religious group in the city (28% of the population). The next largest religion was Islam (7.1%), most of whose followers were Sunni . Amsterdam has been one of the municipalities in the Netherlands which provided immigrants with extensive and free Dutch-language courses, which have benefited many immigrants. Religion in Amsterdam (2015) In 1578,
20007-515: The late Bronze Age , the Iron Age and the Roman Age . Neolithic and Roman artefacts have also been found in the prehistoric Amstel bedding under Amsterdam's Damrak and Rokin , such as shards of Bell Beaker culture pottery (2200–2000 BC) and a granite grinding stone (2700–2750 BC), but the location of these artefacts around the river banks of the Amstel probably point to a presence of
20178-484: The late 1970s until 1994, Soweto is now part of the Greater Johannesburg metropolitan area. An acronym for "South-Western Townships", Soweto was organised initially as a collection of nondescript settlements on the outskirts of the city, populated mostly by African labourers working in the gold mining industry. Soweto , although eventually incorporated into Johannesburg, had been explicitly separated as
20349-511: The line carried 3,975 passengers boarding at Klersdorp station, more than 270 tons of freight, and around 1,848 horses, livestock, and vehicles. Income was £5,976, but expenses were £6,779. At the beginning of 1898, to help the gold mining industry, railway tariffs were lowered, despite losses growing to £13,047 by the end of that year. In 1905, after the NZASM was merged into the Central South African Railways (CSAR),
20520-443: The mid-19th century . This led to the establishment of clandestine churches , covert religious buildings hidden in pre-existing buildings. Catholics, some Jews and dissenting Protestants worshipped in such buildings. A large influx of foreigners of many religions came to 17th-century Amsterdam, in particular Sefardic Jews from Spain and Portugal, Huguenots from France, Lutherans , Mennonites , as well as Protestants from across
20691-521: The most populous city in South Africa since at least the 1950s). From the 2001 census, the people live in 1,006,930 formal households, of which 86% have a flush or chemical toilet , and 91% have refuse removed by the municipality at least once a week. 81% of households have access to running water, and 80% use electricity as the main source of energy. 29% of Johannesburg residents stay in informal dwellings. 66% of households are headed by one person. Johannesburg's urban agglomeration spreads well beyond
20862-477: The name Johannesburg was first used. Surveyor Jos de Villiers surveyed Johannesburg's first neighborhood, Randjeslaagte, between 19 October and 3 November that year. Gold was earlier discovered some 400 kilometres (249 miles) to the east of present-day Johannesburg in Barberton . Gold prospectors soon discovered the richer gold reefs of the Witwatersrand offered by Bantjes. The original miners' camp, under
21033-492: The negotiators returned to their home countries. As the agreement was signed a year before the line's opening, it appears that this short rail line was completed before the Volksrust-Standerton line was built, and that it was used to transport railway construction goods to the area. The government of Natal paid for the line. They were eager to pay the costs since they anticipated profits that would more than cover
21204-592: The neighbouring Cape Government Railways . On 19 February 1896, a train loaded with dynamite was struck by a shunter while being unloaded. The resulting Braamfontein Explosion was one of the largest artificial non-nuclear explosions in history, resulting in more than 70 deaths and 200 injuries. In 1897, a new station was constructed in Johannesburg . The building was constructed in 1895 in Rotterdam and
21375-702: The north of the city. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, tower blocks (including the Carlton Centre and the Southern Life Centre ) filled the skyline of the central business district. The system of apartheid , a comprehensive system of racial separation was imposed upon South Africa starting in 1948. For its growth, the economy of Johannesburg depended upon hundreds of thousands of skilled white workers imported from Europe and semi- and un-skilled black workers imported from other parts of Southern Africa. Though they worked together they were forced by
21546-615: The northern part of the city is drained by the Jukskei River while the southern part of the city, including most of the Central Business District, is drained by the Klip River . The north and west of the city has undulating hills while the eastern parts are flatter. Johannesburg may not be built on a river or harbour, but its streams contribute to two of southern Africa's mightiest rivers, the Limpopo and
21717-479: The other side of the river at Amstelveen . The Van Amstel family , known in documents by this name since 1019, held the stewardship in this northwestern nook of the ecclesiastical district of the bishop of Utrecht . The family later served also under the count of Holland . A major turning point in the development of the Amstel river mouth was the All Saint's Flood of 1170 . In an extremely short period of time,
21888-507: The parts of the former Transvaal province in which Johannesburg is situated. Many Sotho–Tswana towns and villages in the areas around Johannesburg were destroyed and their people driven away during the wars emanating from Zululand during the late 18th and early 19th centuries (the mfecane or difaqane wars), and as a result, an offshoot of the Zulu kingdom, the Ndebele (often referred to as
22059-592: The peak of the demolition, the Nieuwmarktrellen ( Nieuwmarkt riots ) broke out; the rioters expressed their fury about the demolition caused by the restructuring of the city. As a result, the demolition was stopped and the highway into the city's centre was never fully built; only the metro was completed. Only a few streets remained widened. The new city hall was built on the almost completely demolished Waterlooplein. Meanwhile, large private organizations, such as Stadsherstel Amsterdam , were founded to restore
22230-437: The population, followed by whites at 18%, coloureds at 6% and Asians at 4%. 42% of the population is under the age of 24, while 6% of the population is over 60 years of age. 37% of city residents are unemployed. 91% of the unemployed are Black African. Women comprise 43% of the working population. 19% of economically active adults work in wholesale and retail sectors, 18% in financial, real estate and business services, 17% in
22401-611: The profit. In short, the herring industry was setting up the foundations for what would later become the transcontinental trade system and the Dutch Golden Age , with Amsterdam at its centre, hence the saying "Amsterdam is built on Herring bones". The Low Countries were part of the Hapsburg inheritance and came under the Spanish monarchy in the early sixteenth century. The Dutch rebelled against Philip II of Spain , who led
22572-619: The public streets, however, were still forbidden under law at the time. Only in the 20th century was Amsterdam's relation to Catholicism normalised, but despite its far larger population size, the episcopal see of the city was placed in the provincial town of Haarlem . Johannesburg Johannesburg ( / dʒ oʊ ˈ h æ n ɪ s b ɜːr ɡ / joh- HAN -iss-burg , US also /- ˈ h ɑː n -/ - HAHN - , Afrikaans: [jʊəˈɦanəsbœrχ] ; Zulu and Xhosa : eGoli [ɛˈɡɔːli] ) (colloquially known as Jozi , Joburg , Jo'burg or " The City of Gold ")
22743-532: The raids. The most famous deportee was the young Jewish girl Anne Frank , who died in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp . At the end of the Second World War, communication with the rest of the country broke down, and food and fuel became scarce. Many citizens traveled to the countryside to forage. Dogs, cats, raw sugar beets , and tulip bulbs—cooked to a pulp—were consumed to stay alive. Many trees in Amsterdam were cut down for fuel, and wood
22914-428: The railway builders on the route. When the line reached Waterval Onder , they had a choice between a lengthy detour with sharp curves and costly deep cuttings, embankments and viaducts, to comply with the agreed upon gradient of 1 in 50 (2%), or a shorter 4 + 1 ⁄ 2 -mile-long (7.2 km) section, which would entail a gradient of 1 in 20 (5%) over a distance of 2.1 miles (3.4 kilometres) in one place, as well as
23085-547: The rapid industrialization of the ZAR, making access to the ocean even more important, and allowed the suddenly cash-flush republic to invest in large-scale infrastructure projects. It will set an indelible seal upon the freedom, the independence, the nationality of the Republics, and will put an effectual barrier on the extension of British dominion over the Vaal and Orange Rivers, it will make it perfectly immaterial to us whether
23256-661: The restoration of the episcopal hierarchy in 1853. One of the principal architects behind the city's Catholic churches, Cuypers , was also responsible for the Amsterdam Centraal station and the Rijksmuseum . In 1924, the Catholic Church hosted the International Eucharistic Congress in Amsterdam; numerous Catholic prelates visited the city, where festivities were held in churches and stadiums. Catholic processions on
23427-738: The seaside, in The Mirror of the Sea . Shortly before the First World War , the city started to expand again, and new suburbs were built. Even though the Netherlands remained neutral in this war, Amsterdam suffered a food shortage, and heating fuel became scarce. The shortages sparked riots in which several people were killed. These riots are known as the Aardappeloproer (Potato rebellion). People started looting stores and warehouses to get supplies, mainly food. On 1 January 1921, after
23598-582: The second half of the 17th century, Amsterdam experienced an influx of Ashkenazim , Jews from Central and Eastern Europe . Jews often fled the pogroms in those areas. The first Ashkenazis who arrived in Amsterdam were refugees from the Khmelnytsky uprising occurring in Ukraine and the Thirty Years' War , which devastated much of Central Europe. They not only founded their own synagogues, but had
23769-472: The shallow river IJ turned into a wide estuary, which from then on offered the Amstel an open connection to the Zuiderzee , IJssel and waterways further afield. This made the water flow of the Amstel more active, so excess water could be drained better. With drier banks, the downstream Amstel mouth became attractive for permanent habitation. Moreover, the river had grown from an insignificant peat stream into
23940-670: The south, 11 kilometres (6.8 miles) from the city centre, is the Klipriviersberg Nature Reserve home to large mammals and hiking trails. Separating Lenasia and the Soweto suburbs is the Olifantsvlei Nature Reserve protected area. Johannesburg is situated on the highveld plateau, and has a subtropical highland climate ( Köppen Cwb ). The city enjoys a sunny climate, with the summer months (October to April) characterised by hot days followed by afternoon thundershowers and cool evenings, and
24111-410: The staple market of Europe for bulk cargo . This was made possible due to innovations in the herring fishery , from which Amsterdam reaped great wealth. Herring had demand in markets all around Europe. Inventions of on-board gibbing and the haringbuis in 1415, made longer voyages feasible, and hence enabled Dutch fishermen to follow the herring shoals far from the coasts, giving them a monopoly in
24282-544: The terms of an agreement forged on 3 February 1894, between the ZAR government and the NGR, the NGR built the 250-km link between the Natal-ZAR border and the existing NZASM rail network. The first portion of 210 km between the border and Heidelberg opened on 27 April 1895, and the remainder opened on 15 November of that same year. On 1 December 1895, the 4-km link between the border and Charlestown opened, and that 15 December,
24453-402: The top financial centres in Europe, Amsterdam is considered an alpha world city . The city is the cultural capital of the Netherlands. Many large Dutch institutions have their headquarters in the city. Many of the world's largest companies are based here or have established their European headquarters in the city, such as technology companies Uber , Netflix , and Tesla . In 2022, Amsterdam
24624-420: The war and other events of the 20th century, almost the entire city centre had fallen into disrepair. As society was changing, politicians and other influential figures made plans to redesign large parts of it. There was an increasing demand for office buildings, and also for new roads, as the automobile became available to most people. A metro started operating in 1977 between the new suburb of Bijlmermeer in
24795-420: The war, they were replaced by black workers, but many Chinese stayed on, creating Johannesburg's Chinese community, which during the apartheid era, was not legally classified as "Asian", but as "Coloured". The population in 1904 was 155,642, of whom 83,363 were whites . In 1917, Johannesburg became the headquarters of the Anglo-American Corporation founded by Ernest Oppenheimer which ultimately became one of
24966-412: The winter months (May to September) by dry, sunny days followed by cold nights. Temperatures in Johannesburg are usually fairly mild due to the city's high elevation, with an average maximum daytime temperature in January of 25.6 °C (78.1 °F), dropping to an average maximum of around 16 °C (61 °F) in June. The UV index for Johannesburg in summers is extreme, often reaching 14–16 due to
25137-505: The world . The Dutch capital is one of the most multicultural cities in the world, with about 180 nationalities represented. Immigration and ethnic segregation in Amsterdam is a current issue. Amsterdam's notable residents throughout its history include painters Rembrandt and Vincent van Gogh , 17th-century philosophers Baruch Spinoza , John Locke , René Descartes , and the Holocaust victim and diarist Anne Frank . Due to its geographical location in what used to be wet peatland ,
25308-425: The world outside the United Kingdom is found at the Begijnhof . Regular services there are still offered in English under the auspices of the Church of Scotland . Being Calvinists, the Huguenots soon integrated into the Dutch Reformed Church , though often retaining their own congregations. Some, commonly referred to by the moniker 'Walloon', are recognizable today as they offer occasional services in French. In
25479-451: The world's largest corporations, dominating both gold-mining and diamond-mining in South Africa. Major building developments took place in the 1930s, after South Africa went off the gold standard. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Hillbrow went high-rise. In the 1950s and early 1960s, the apartheid government constructed the massive agglomeration of townships that became known as Soweto . New freeways encouraged massive sub urban sprawl to
25650-400: The world's most famous. Its artistic heritage, canals and narrow canal houses with gabled façades , well-preserved legacies of the city's 17th-century Golden Age, have attracted millions of visitors annually. The Amsterdam Stock Exchange , founded in 1602, is considered the oldest "modern" securities market stock exchange in the world. As the commercial capital of the Netherlands and one of
25821-420: The world, there is an increasing focus on the rejuvenation of the inner city of Johannesburg. One of these initiatives is the Maboneng District located on the south-eastern side of the CBD . Originally a hub for art, it has expanded to include restaurants, entertainment venues and retail stores as well as accommodation and hotels. Maboneng calls itself "a place of inspiration—a creative hub, a place to do business,
25992-449: Was a Dutch company financed by 50% Dutch and 47% German capital, most of its locomotives were German-built. Out of 258 locomotives in the fleet, 249 were designed by the German firm Maschinenfabrik Esslingen , six by the British manufacturer Manning Wardle , and Louis Smulders & Co. out of Utrecht , Netherlands. Although most of the locomotives were built by their developers, 26 of the Esslingen locomotives were built by Smulders. When
26163-420: Was a move in a years-long struggle for power in the area between the count of Holland and the Amstel family who governed the area on behalf of the bishop of Utrecht. By 1327, the name had developed into Aemsterdam . The bishop of Utrecht granted Amsterdam zone rights in either 1300 or 1306. The Mirakel van Amsterdam [ nl ] in 1345 rendered the city an important place of pilgrimage . During
26334-421: Was a rough and disorganised place, populated by white miners from all continents, African tribesmen were recruited to perform unskilled mine work, African women beer brewers cooked for and sold beer to the black migrant workers, a very large number of European prostitutes, gangsters, impoverished Afrikaners, tradesmen, and the " AmaWasha ", Zulu men who surprisingly dominated laundry work. As the value of control of
26505-418: Was actually a railway in every aspect and not singularly dedicated to tram traffic. This was the first working railway line in the Transvaal . The concession was extended the following year to continue the line eastward to Springs , where coal was known to exist, and westward via Roodepoort to Krugersdorp . The entire 49-mile (79-kilometre) line was opened to traffic on 10 February 1891. In 1889 and 1890,
26676-491: Was also a member of the Society of Suriname , an organisation founded to oversee the management of the Dutch colony of Surinam , which was economically dependent on slave plantations . On 1 July 2021, the mayor of Amsterdam , Femke Halsema , apologised for the city's involvement in the slave trade. Amsterdam's prosperity declined during the 18th and early 19th centuries. The wars of the Dutch Republic with England (latterly, Great Britain ) and France took their toll on
26847-424: Was around 50,000. During the 1660s, Amsterdam's population reached 200,000. The city's growth levelled off and the population stabilized around 240,000 for most of the 18th century. In 1750, Amsterdam was the fourth largest city in Western Europe , behind London (676,000), Paris (560,000) and Naples (324,000). This was all the more remarkable as Amsterdam was neither the capital city nor the seat of government of
27018-421: Was completed in 2018. Since 2014, renewed focus has been given to urban regeneration and renewal, especially in areas directly bordering the city centre, such as Frederik Hendrikbuurt . This urban renewal and expansion of the traditional centre of the city—with the construction on artificial islands of the new eastern IJburg neighbourhood—is part of the Structural Vision Amsterdam 2040 initiative. Amsterdam
27189-426: Was connected to Cape Town as well as Port Elizabeth. Upon completion of this railway line, it became possible to import heavy machinery, both for gold mining and for the construction of the western portion of the Oosterlijn . The Zuid-Oosterlijn was the last of the three NZASM lines connected to foreign rail lines and the coast. After the discovery of gold, the Cape Colony and the Colony of Natal raced to connect
27360-421: Was discovered in August 1886 on Rietvlei Farm near Klerksdorp , and therefore the Randtram line was built between Krugersdorp and Springs . On 18 August 1884, the Volksraad decided to build a line between Krugersdrop and Klerksdorp. This line, the Zuid-Westerlijn , was an extension of the Randtram with the same gauge. NZASM was not eager to build the line since they realized it would be unprofitable. Eventually,
27531-459: Was established as a tented camp and which soon reached a population of 3,000 by 1887. The government took over the camp, surveyed it and named it Ferreira's Township. By 1896, Johannesburg was established as a city of over 100,000 inhabitants, one of the fastest growing cities ever. Mines near Johannesburg are among the deepest in the world, with some as deep as 4,000 metres (13,000 ft). Like many late 19th-century mining towns, Johannesburg
27702-411: Was founded at the mouth of the Amstel River, which was dammed to control flooding. Originally a small fishing village in the 12th century, Amsterdam became a major world port during the Dutch Golden Age of the 17th century, when the Netherlands was an economic powerhouse. Amsterdam was the leading centre for finance and trade, as well as a hub of secular art production. In the 19th and 20th centuries,
27873-409: Was in use on European mountain railways, with the rack laid between the rails. The line, also known as the Oosterlijn (East Line) from Pretoria to Lourenço Marques had a total length of 562 kilometres (ca. 350 miles), of which 472 kilometres (ca. 293 miles) formed part of the Oosterlijn. The full line followed the following route:* Border crossing between South Africa and Mozambique (*) In
28044-431: Was largely settled by various Sotho–Tswana communities (one linguistic branch of Bantu-speakers), whose villages, towns, chiefdoms and kingdoms stretched from the Bechuanaland Protectorate (what is now Botswana ) in the west, to present day Lesotho in the south, to the present day Pedi areas of the Limpopo Province . More specifically, the stone-walled ruins of Sotho–Tswana towns and villages are scattered around
28215-417: Was one of the host cities of the official tournament of the 2010 FIFA World Cup including the final . The metropolis is an alpha global city , as listed by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network . In 2019, the population of the city of Johannesburg was 5,635,127, making it the most populous city in South Africa. In the same year, the population of metro Johannesburg's urban agglomeration
28386-416: Was put at 8 million. Land area of the municipal city (1,645 km or 635 sq mi) is large in comparison with those of other major cities, resulting in a moderate population density of 2,364 per square kilometre (6,120/sq mi). Controversy surrounds the origin of the name. There were quite a number of people with the name "Johannes" who were involved in the early history of the city. Among them
28557-413: Was ranked the ninth-best city to live in by the Economist Intelligence Unit and 12th on quality of living for environment and infrastructure by Mercer. The city was ranked 4th place globally as a top tech hub in 2019. The Port of Amsterdam is the fifth largest in Europe. The KLM hub and Amsterdam's main airport, Schiphol , is the busiest airport in the Netherlands , third in Europe , and 11th in
28728-401: Was so significant, given the mountainous terrain, that the ZAR government objected. The local business Lewis, Marks & Watkins formed a syndicate to build the line and the work was contracted to Pettegrew & Co. After heavy rain damaged the bridge, the contractor went bankrupt and the syndicate was dissolved. NZASM took over construction and completed the line in 1896. The Zuiderlijn was
28899-470: Was somewhat limited by their small coal and water carrying capacities. The first locomotive, No. 1, named Transvaal , entered service on 18 July 1889. It hauled the first train on the Randtram line when it was opened on 17 March 1890, and was retired in December 1903, by which time it had covered a distance of 113,309 miles (182,353 kilometres). By 1899 the Randtram Line had expanded to a length of 82 kilometres (ca. 51 miles). In order to have an outlet to
29070-512: Was taken from the houses, apartments and other buildings of deported Jews. The city was finally liberated by Canadian forces on 5 May 1945, shortly before the end of the war in Europe. Many new suburbs, such as Osdorp , Slotervaart , Slotermeer and Geuzenveld , were built in the years after the Second World War. These suburbs contained many public parks and wide-open spaces, and the new buildings provided improved housing conditions with larger and brighter rooms, gardens, and balconies. Because of
29241-419: Was used in the Amsterdam Exhibition before being dismantled and shipped to Johannesburg, where it was rebuilt in 1897. Although Johannesburg Park Station has twice been reconstructed, the 1897 building was preserved and moved a short distance to Newtown where it still stands, unused, today. By 1899, the NZASM had constructed 1147 kilometres (ca. 712 miles) of railway. As a result of the rapid development of
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