Pretoria, the administrative capital of South Africa and part of City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, is in Gauteng. Its wide avenues are lined with purple-flowered jacaranda trees and stately architecture. The city has many museums and art galleries, and a large student population that gives its centre a boisterous atmosphere.

The area known today as Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, with Pretoria (City) at its centre, is believed to have been occupied by the Sotho people for many centuries. During the 15th century the Ndebele people also migrated into the area and settled along the banks of the Apies River. Tshwane is the Setswana name of the Apies River. Around 1820 the Matabele under the leadership of Mzilikaza also entered the region, leading to local conflicts between the Matabele newcomers and the already established Sotho and Ndebele tribes as well as the European "Voortrekkers" who were steadily moving northward through the country. 

When the Union of South Africa was established in 1910, Pretoria was elected the capital and is still the administrative capital of the Republic of South Africa today.

- Wikivoyage