South Africa has three capital cities. Cape Town is the legislative capital, Bloemfontein is the judicial capital, and Pretoria–or Tshwane is the administrative capital. It was founded in 1855 by Marthinus Pretorius, a descendant of Dutch settlers, and today has a population of one million people. Jacaranda trees with purple flowers line its streets and some people call it Jacaranda City. One of its most famous places is Church Square. Here, in 1963 during the Rivonia Trial at the Palace of Justice, Nelson Mandela was charged with treason and imprisoned. Church Square is off Church Street, which is one of the longest straight streets in the world.

The reason South Africa has three capitals is in part the result of its political and cultural struggles as a result of the influence of Victorian-era colonialism. Apartheid—an extreme version of segregation—is only one of the many issues the country has faced since the 20th century.

In 1910, when the Union of South Africa was formed, there was a great dispute about the location of the new country's capital city. A compromise was reached to spread a balance of power throughout the country and this led to the current capital cities. This is not a province, but an independent country formally called the Kingdom of Lesotho. It is often referred to as an 'enclave of South Africa' because it is surrounded by the larger nation.