The Beyers Naudé Square is a large city square in the center of

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, named after Beyers Naudé, a former dominee in the Dutch Reformed Church, who was banned by the apartheid government for campaigning against

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

. The square was originally called Market Square because it was Johannesburg's first market place after it came into existence.

History

Coronation Parade of Imperial troops in 1902

Market square was formed soon after the gold rush in Johannesburg and later in 1913 the market was moved to Newtown when the new building, now

Museum Africa Museum Africa or MuseuMAfricA (formerly known as the Africana Museum) is an historical museum in Newtown, Johannesburg, South Africa. History The museum was established in 1933, when the Johannesburg Public Library bought a large quantity of ...

and the Market Theatre, was built.Beyers Naude Square goes natural
, joburg.org.za, retrieved 20 September 2014 Over the years the Square was given several names including Market Square Gardens, City Hall Gardens, Library Gardens, and Harry Hofmeyr Gardens.Beyers Naude Square
Citypress, retrieved 20 September 2014

Monuments

* The Cenotaph

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beyers Naude Square Squares in South Africa