Johannesburg

/joʊˈhænɪsbɜrɡ/ noun

Definition

The largest city in South Africa, originally built around gold mines and now a major economic and cultural center of the country.

Etymology

Named after Johannes Rissik and Christiaan Johannes Joubert, two early European settlers in the 1880s when the gold rush brought colonizers to the region.

Kelly Says

Johannesburg literally grew overnight because of gold fever in the 1880s—it went from empty land to a major city in just decades, making it one of the world's newest old cities.

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