Nowadays the city of Tshwane encompasses the old Pretoria municipal area while Pretoria is one of the regions within Tshwane. However, as Pretoria consist of the main city business area as well as the Eastern Suburbs, and many people still use the name Pretoria for the area, this city guide will use the cumbersome Pretoria / Tshwane name for the most part.

The city of Pretoria was founded in 1855 by the Voortrekker leader Marthinus Pretorius and named for his father, Andries Pretorius. The city became the capital of the Boer republic, Transvaal.

Later the Pretoria part of Transvaal became part of the Gauteng Province.

Pretoria / Tshwane is a city with a rich cultural history.