22 interesting facts about South Africa

22 interesting facts about South Africa

We share the most interesting facts about South Africa that we collected on our two-week trip to this fascinating country

South Africa is, if nothing else, a country of contradictions. This “rainbow nation” ostensibly celebrates multiculturalism, but has a long and dark history of racial segregation. It is part of the largest nature reserve in the world and yet remains a hotbed of poaching. It has a high murder rate, but is the only country in the world that has voluntarily dismantled its nuclear weapons.

Needless to say, South Africa, with all its quirks and quirks, is an absolutely fascinating country. We share the most interesting facts we learned on our two-week trip from Cape Town to Jo’burg.

Interesting facts about South Africa

1. Südafrika hat drei Hauptstädte: Pretoria ist die offizielle Hauptstadt und das Verwaltungszentrum, Kapstadt ist die Hauptstadt der Gesetzgebung und Bloemfontein ist die Hauptstadt der Justiz. (Quelle: CIA World Factbook)
2. Südafrika hat 11 Amtssprachen: isiZulu, isiXhosa, Afrikaans, Sepedi, Setswana, Englisch, Sesotho, Xitsonga, siSwati, Tshivenda und isiNdebele. (Quelle: CIA World Factbook)
3. Von 1948 bis 1991 (43 Jahre) bestimmte das politische System der Apartheid – Herrschaft der weißen Minderheit – jeden Aspekt des Lebens in Südafrika. Im Rahmen dieser Politik trennte die Regierung Schwarze und Weiße, zwang Hunderttausende von Menschen zur Umsiedlung in schwarze „Heimatländer“ und inhaftierte, tötete oder verbannte Gegner. (Quelle: BBC)

alt=“Anti-apartheid revolutionary Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years”>Rnkadsgn/ShutterstockNelson Mandela was the first black president of South Africa

1. Der Anti-Apartheid-Revolutionär Nelson Mandela wurde von der Regierung für 27 Jahre inhaftiert. Er wurde 1990 unter wachsendem nationalem und internationalem Druck und der Angst vor einem rassistischen Bürgerkrieg freigelassen. Vier Jahre später, 1994, wurde er zum ersten schwarzen Präsidenten Südafrikas gewählt. (Quelle: BBC, Britannica)

2. One of the more charming facts about South Africa is that Vilakazi Street in Soweto is the only street in the world that has hosted two Nobel Peace Prize winners: Nelson Mandela, who won the prize in 1993, and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who won in 1984. (Source: Guardian, The Nobel Prize)

3. South Africa comprises two landlocked countries; it completely surrounds Lesotho and almost completely surrounds Eswatini (Swaziland). (Source: CIA World Factbook)

alt="South Africa is home to the endangered African penguin">Atlas & BootsSouth Africa is home to the endangered African penguin

1. Südafrika und das benachbarte Namibia sind die Heimat des vom Aussterben bedrohten afrikanischen Pinguins. Die Art ist seit den frühen 1980er Jahren um mehr als 60 % zurückgegangen. (Quelle: Britannica)

2. In South Africa, the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet along the southern and southwestern Cape coast between Cape Agulhas and Cape Point. (Source: The New York Times)

3. It is possible to ski in the mountain ranges of the Drakensberg region of South Africa and neighboring Lesotho. Tiffindell is a popular holiday resort and offers a variety of winter activities. (Source: BBC)

alt="Lions drinking from a pool in Manyeleti Game Reserve">Atlas & BootsSouth Africa is one of the best places in the world to view wildlife

1. Der Krüger-Nationalpark ist einer der besten Orte der Welt, um wild lebende Tiere zu sehen, einschließlich der fünf großen Wildtiere (Elefanten, Löwen, Leoparden, Nashörner und Büffel). Im Jahr 2002 schloss sich Kruger mit dem Limpopo-Park in Mosambik und dem Gonarezhou-Nationalpark in Simbabwe zusammen, um den Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park zu bilden, der ungefähr so ​​groß ist wie die Niederlande und als das größte Naturschutzgebiet der Welt gilt. (Quelle: Britannica)

2. South Africa is home to almost 80% of the world's rhinos. Unfortunately, it has been hit hardest by poachers, with more than 1,000 rhinos killed each year. (Source: Save The Rhino)

3. The iconic Table Mountain is one of the New7Wonders of Nature. At 1,085m, it is not the mountain's height but its width that is most impressive; the bare, scarred north wall stretches for three kilometers. (Source: New7Wonders)

alt=“hiking the table mountain panorama”>Alexcpt_photography/ShutterstockCape Town's famous Table Mountain

1. JRR Tolkien, der berühmte Autor von Der Herr der Ringe und Der Hobbit, wurde 1892 in Bloemfontein in Südafrika geboren. Er verließ das Land mit seiner Familie im Alter von vier Jahren und wuchs anschließend in England auf. (Quelle: Britannica)

2. The Karoo region of South Africa contains the most complete and unbroken fossil record of life on Earth, from about 260 million years ago to 180 million years ago. It contains some of the best fossils of early dinosaurs and was instrumental in convincing the scientific establishment that mammals evolved from reptiles and not directly from amphibians. (Source: New Scientist)

3. About two billion years ago, a meteor the size of a mountain (about 10 km in diameter) fell to Earth, forming a crater between 180 and 300 km wide; what is now known as Vredefort Dome in South Africa. The impact remains the world's largest known single energy release event. (Source: NASA, UNESCO)

alt="The formation of Vredefort is the largest known single energy release event">Public domainThe origin of the Vredefort Dome is one of the most interesting facts about South Africa

1. Südafrika beherbergt 10 UNESCO-Welterbestätten, darunter Robben Island, wo Nelson Mandela inhaftiert war, und der bereits erwähnte Vredefort Dome. (Quelle: UNESCO)

2. One of the most encouraging facts about South Africa is that in 2006 it became the fifth country in the world to recognize same-sex marriage. (Source: The New York Times)

3. The “Sardine Run” is one of the largest marine events in the world and takes place along the east coast of South Africa from May to July. The shoals are so large – 15 km long and 4 km wide – that they can even be seen from space. (Source: BBC, National Geographic)

alt="One of the most interesting facts about South Africa is that the Sardine Run is one of the largest marine events in the world">Greg Lecoeur/Fair UseThe Sardine Run is one of the largest marine events in the world

1. Die erste menschliche Herztransplantation wurde 1967 im Groote Schuur Hospital in Kapstadt durchgeführt. Das Herz eines 26-jährigen Verkehrsunfallopfers, Denise Darvall, wurde einem 54-jährigen Lebensmittelhändler, Louis Washkansky, transplantiert. Leider starb Washkansky 18 Tage nach der Operation. (Quelle: BBC)

2. The famous activist Mahatma Gandhi lived in South Africa for 21 years. It is said that he developed his political views, ethics and politics there, but he has also been criticized for his views towards black South Africans. (Source: BBC)

alt="Gandhi spent 21 years in South Africa; one of the least known facts about South Africa">Violet/ShutterstockGandhi spent 21 years in South Africa

1. Eine der interessantesten Tatsachen über Südafrika ist, dass es das einzige Land der Welt ist, das freiwillig selbst gebaute und kontrollierte Atomwaffen abgebaut hat. (Quelle: The Atlantic)

2. At 216 m, the Bloukrans Bridge in South Africa is one of the longest bungee jumps in the world - quite a bit longer than Kia's Nevis bunge jump in New Zealand! (Source: CNN)

Lonely Planet South Africa, Lesotho & Swaziland is a comprehensive travel guide to South Africa, ideal for those who want to both explore the top attractions and take the road less traveled.

Main image: Toniflap/Shutterstock

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