Observatory is a
suburb
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...
in
Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...
's
east
East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth.
Etymology
As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...
and is located in Region E of the
City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality
The City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality () is a metropolitan municipality that manages the local governance of Johannesburg, the largest city in South Africa. It is divided into several branches and departments in order to expedite se ...
; it borders the suburbs of
Houghton Estate,
Cyrildene,
Linksfield,
Bellevue,
Bellevue East and
Dewetshof.
History
It is named for the
Union Observatory established in early 1903, sited on
Observatory Ridge, the city's highest point. The suburb is situated on part of an old
Witwatersrand
The Witwatersrand (, ; ; locally the Rand or, less commonly, the Reef) is a , north-facing scarp in South Africa. It consists of a hard, erosion-resistant quartzite metamorphic rock, over which several north-flowing rivers form waterfalls, w ...
farm called ''Doornfontein''.
It was established in 1903.
[
It is a well-established suburb: Observatory Girls' Primary was founded in 1918, and Observatory Golf Course founded in 1912 is the oldest golf club in Johannesburg still operating from its original ground. The suburb housed the Yeshivah Gedolah of Johannesburg, until its relocation to Glenhazel.
]
References
External links
Observatory, Johannesburg Information
wheretostay.co.za
Suburb Map
maps.brabys.co.za
{{Greater Johannesburg, communities
Johannesburg Region F