Pietermaritzburg

Its Zulu name, umGungundlovu, is the name used for the district municipality. This is popularly translated from the Zulu as "Place of the Elephant", although it could also be translated to mean "The elephant wins". Umgungundlovu is thus thought to be the site of some Zulu king's victory since "Elephant" (Indlovu) is a name traditionally taken by the Zulu monarch.

Pietermaritzburg is popularly called Maritzburg in Afrikaans, English and Zulu alike, and often informally abbreviated to PMB. It is a regionally important industrial hub, producing aluminium, timber and dairy products. The public sector is a major employer in the city due to the local, district and provincial governments being located here.

The city was founded by the Voortrekkers, following the defeat of Dingane at the Battle of Blood River, and was the capital of the short-lived Boer republic, Natalia. Britain took over Pietermaritzburg in 1843 and it became the seat of the Natal Colony's administration. Fort Napier, named after the governor of the Cape Colony, Sir George Thomas Napier, was built to house a garrison.

There are two interpretations about the origin of the city's name. One is that it was named after Piet Retief and Gert (Gerrit) Maritz, two Voortrekker leaders. The other is that it was named after Piet Retief alone, since his full name was Pieter Maurits Retief. In this interpretation the original name was "Pieter Maurits Burg", later transliterated to the current name.

Summers are warm and occasionally hot, with frequent rainfall. Winters are dry with high temperature variation, with light air frosts being possible.

Liberty Shopping Mall (which is far away from everything else) contains masses of shops, including specialist stores for a host of different goods. In town you can find plenty of shops that sell food, including fast food outlets. There are also vendors on the pavements, although their goods aren't much to write home about.

Downtown in the CBD you can find large clothing stores, as well as smaller Indian shops that sell anything you can think of. Fireworks are particularly popular around Diwali.