Bronkhorstspruit

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Bronkhorstspruit
The Nan Hua Temple Complex in Bronkhorstspruit
Bronkhorstspruit
 Bronkhorstspruit shown within South Africa
Coordinates: 25°48′18″S 28°44′47″E / 25.80500°S 28.74639°E / -25.80500; 28.74639Coordinates: 25°48′18″S 28°44′47″E / 25.80500°S 28.74639°E / -25.80500; 28.74639
Country South Africa
Province Gauteng
Municipality City of Tshwane
Area[1]
  Total 3.11 km2 (1.20 sq mi)
Elevation 1,375 m (4,511 ft)
Population (2011)[1]
  Total 3,720
  Density 1,200/km2 (3,100/sq mi)
Postal code (street) 1020
PO box 1020
Area code 013

Bronkhorstspruit is a small developing town 50 km east of Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa along the N4 highway towards Witbank. It lies on the border between the Gauteng and Mpumalanga provinces. It also consists of two townships called Zithobeni and Ekangala.

In 1858, a group of Voortrekkers settled in the Bronkhorstspruit creek, which was originally called Kalkoenkransrivier ('Turkey Cliff River'). In June 1897, the South African Republic gave its approval for the town, then already named Bronkhorstspruit by locals after the Bronkhorstspruit River.[2]

In 1880 it was the scene of the action at Bronkhorstspruit, an important event in the early days of the First Boer War.

There is disagreement about where the town got its name from. Some believe it was named after the farmer JG Bronkhorst, while others say that it was named after the plant, bronkors (Afrikaans for watercress), that grew in the region of the creek.

Cultura Park, a suburb of Bronkhorstspruit, hosts the largest Buddhist temple in the Southern Hemisphere, which houses the South African headquarters of the Humanistic Buddhist order.

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