Pietermaritzburg (/ˌpiːtərˈmærɪtsbɜːrɡ/; Zulu: uMgungundlovu)[5] is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa after Durban.

The public sector is a major employer in the city due to local, district and provincial government offices located here.

The city was occupied by Voortrekkers, in April 1838 following the murder of Piet Retief and his seventy-strong party at the Zulu Capital, Mgungundlovu (6 February 1838), when seeking land to settle around Port Natal (The Natal-Land Treaty), and from where the reprisal Wenkommando departed (November 1838) to defeat Dingane at the Battle of Blood River (16 December 1838).

It was Jan Gerritze Bantjes, Secretary General to Andries Pretorius, Commander of the campaign who arranged the financing of the church by the Boer towns folk which by then had taken a low priority after the war.

Britain took over Pietermaritzburg in 1843 and it became the seat of the Natal Colony's administration with the first lieutenant-governor, Martin West, making it his home.

Shivering through the winter night in the waiting room of the station, Gandhi made the momentous decision to stay on in South Africa and fight the racial discrimination against Indians there.

Maritz died of illness on 23 September 1838 near the present-day town of Estcourt, some eighty kilometres northwest of Pietermaritzburg, after the battle with the Zulus at Bloukranz.

[citation needed] At the time of the rise of the Zulu Empire, the site that was to become Pietermaritzburg was called uMgungundlovu.

Legend has it that Shaka had his warriors hunt elephant there to sell the ivory to English traders at Durban (then called Port Natal).

It became a major voice in the struggle against apartheid and was one of the first universities in the country to provide education to African students.

The debate came to an end when the ANC came to power in the province in 2004, and named Pietermaritzburg the sole capital of KwaZulu-Natal.

This has resulted in the relocation of several government offices to Pietermaritzburg, an action that has generally been welcomed as a positive development for the region.

Hulett's Aluminium and Willowton cooking oil contributes a substantial part of the region's industrial output.

The crest was changed to a blue sun displaying gold and silver stars, and two black wildebeest were added as supporters.

Pietermaritzburg is on the N3 highway, the primary route between the harbour city of Durban, some 90 kilometres (56 mi) away, and the Pretoria-Witwatersrand-Vereeniging conurbation.

Pietermaritzburg Railway Station is served by long distance trains on the Durban-Johannesburg and Durban-Cape Town routes of Shosholoza Meyl.

Nowadays regular daily bus services connect Pietermaritzburg to other major cities in South Africa.

Minibus taxis are the standard mode of transport for the majority of the population who cannot afford private vehicles.

Some of the area's tourist attractions include; the KwaZulu-Natal Museum, City Hall, Colonial Buildings, Imperial Hotel, Comrades House and SANBI Botanical Gardens.

Pietermaritzburg is home to a number of prominent civil society organisations including the Abahlali baseMjondolo (shackdwellers) movement, GroundWork, CINDI, PACSA, and the KwaZulu Natal Christian Council.