Orlando, Soweto

Orlando is a township in the urban area of Soweto, South Africa. The township was founded in 1931 and named after Edwin Orlando Leake, Mayor of Johannesburg from 1925 to 1926. It is divided in two main areas: Orlando West and Orlando East.

Orlando
Orlando
Orlando
Coordinates: 26.241°S 27.917°E / -26.241; 27.917
CountrySouth Africa
ProvinceGauteng
MunicipalityCity of Johannesburg
Main PlaceSoweto
Area
 • Total10.01 km2 (3.86 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)[1]
 • Total108,813
 • Density11,000/km2 (28,000/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+2 (SAST)
PO box
3680

History

The township of Orlando was directly involved in some of the most important events of the fight against the apartheid system. Some of the most dramatic clashes between the South African police and anti-apartheid demonstrators occurred in Orlando West. This includes the Soweto uprising where 12-year-old Hector Pieterson was killed. The Hector Pieterson Memorial Museum was established in Orlando West to commemorate those events.[2] In the surroundings of the museum is the house where Nelson Mandela lived for several years while practicing law; the house now hosts the Mandela Family Museum.[3]

Orlando Stadium is the home of the soccer team Orlando Pirates of the South African Premier Division. They have won nine total top-flight league titles (four in the modern Premier Division), and nine national cup championships.

Notes
  1. Sum of Orlando West and Orlando East
  2. Hector Pieterson Memorial Site
  3. The Mandela Family Museum Archived 2010-05-27 at the Wayback Machine
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.