Johannesburg: The City Built on Gold

The south African city built on gold, 40% of the world’s gold is found in this amazing city.

“The desire of Gold is not for gold. It is for the means of freedom and benefit” by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Famed in the name of Gold. It’s a long way to be the city of gold. Johannesburg’s past was prevailed by an anomalous blend of Gold shine and the dark shadow of apartheid. Though the history extends to thousands of years before but neglected from world’s eye, until the roaring shine of Gold brought it into the limelight. Thus, the long forgotten village turned into the city the of gold.

Discovery of the Witwatersrand Reef and gold in 1886 gave away to the formal establishment of the city in 1886 in Gauteng Province, South Africa. This historic discovery changed the city’s fate instantly. Let the saga begin with classic sentence ‘once upon time…’ for it deserves to spill the beans of gold discovery rather in the more dramatic way.

A fine March morning brought a fate to the city in the hands of an Australian gold miner, when George Harrison suddenly discovered a rocky outcrop which was part of the main gold-bearing reef. The area was declared open for the mining after his claim to the government of the time. The Story is folded here on an ironic end when George was not seen again in the same area after his declaration.

However, the city kept the name alive of its fortune bearer. Today one can find a George Harrison Park in Johannesburg, named after its explorer and has been declared a national monument. Your trip to Johannesburg obliges to visit this place to pay a tribute to its name holder.

Since 1886, when gold mining began in Johannesburg, this South African city has been known as the city built on gold. Population exploded in this small village, and in such short span Johannesburg had become the largest city to the south of Cairo Egypt and start of the twentieth century, brought a historical fact that this city produces 40% of the world’s gold.

Johannesburg offers much more than this. Today, the city carries an amazing blend of long-standing traditions and techno moderation, a gateway to a bright future. On your visit just make sure you’ll witness both the sides of the city. All glitters are not gold, but some glitters are more captivating than gold, here lies Gold Reef City as a proof.

Step into Gold Reef City will take you centuries back. Buildings in the park are designed to mimic the same period, and you can even see the staff wearing that era costumes. A real amusement park in Johannesburg. If you are enthusiastic enough to see the gold mining and steps attached, you’ll not be disappointed. For there is an entire museum dedicated to the gold mining on grounds, displaying the whole procedure how the real gold is poured into barrels.

And if this museum fails to hold your attention, still you can amuse yourself with the live shows of Idols South Africa, which are filmed live in the “Hippodrome”, a large auditorium based in the park. Few steps away from the park, Apartheid Museum standing with grandeur, portraying the African Freedom struggle through enthralling illustrations. This theme park is your trip, to return to the ‘golden’ past of Johannesburg of the Gold Rush of the 1880s.

Art Festival in the month of April can make your holidays into ultimate art and fun days. Since three years Johannesburg natives commemorate their celebrated history in another delightful manner “Gold Urban Art Festival”. This event aspires to gather the graffiti artist around the world in one place to boost the local graffiti/street art community. Major events are painting street murals at various sites around the city, film screening, and street art tours.

Such an event primarily focuses to showcase the finest in both international and local artists. This visionary world of art and artists will surely let you escape from the present day techno-world. Hope you are planning not to miss this extravaganza festive occasion during your visit to the City of Gold.