Pietermaritzburg

Pietermaritzburg, or MARITZBURG, capital of Natal (q.v.), occupies a fine situation near the Umsundusi river, 54 miles N. of Durban, and 2218 feet above sea-level. The chief buildings are the Legislative Assembly Buildings, Government House, the Colonial Offices, Town-hall (rebuilt 1899, after being burnt); the supreme court, the post-office, railway station, police barracks, &c. Fort Napier, the headquarters of the imperial troops, overlooks the city from a hill on the south-west. There are a college library and museum, asylums, a park, botanical gardens, &c. The city takes its name from its founders (1839), the Boer leaders Pieter Relief and Gert Maritz. There is railway connection with Durban, with the Orange Free State, and with Johannesburg and Pretoria in the Transvaal. The place has steadily increased in importance with the development of the colony, especially since the establishment of the railways. Pop. (1887) 15,767; (1898) 24,595, about half whites, the rest Kaffirs and Indian coolies.