Welcome to Pietermaritzburg!
Pietermaritzburg is a city in the center of South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal province. The capital of Kwazulu-Natal, it is famous for its history and architecture.
Pietermaritzburg (Zulu: umGungundlovu) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. Its Zulu name umGungundlovu is the name used for the district municipality. Pietermaritzburg is popularly called Maritzburg in Afrikaans, English, and Zulu alike, and is often informally abbreviated to PMB. It is a regionally important industrial hub, producing aluminum, timber, and dairy products, as well as the main economic hub of Umgungundlovu District Municipality. The public sector is a major employer in the city due to local, district, and provincial governments located here.
The city has many schools and tertiary education institutions, including a campus of the University of KwaZulu-Natal. It had a population of 228,549 in 1991, the current population is estimated at over 600,000 residents (including neighboring townships) and has one of the largest populations of Indian South Africans in South Africa. Pietermaritzburg is an emerging metropolitan area.