Johannesburg is the financial, economic and cultural giant of South Africa - and by implication the entire African continent. To put things in perspective, Jo'burg (or Jozi as often called) is the capital of Gauteng, South Africa's smallest province. Gauteng boasts the African continent's second-largest economy - excluding South Africa - after Egypt. As such, Jo'burg's essence is defined by the pursuit of

cold, hard cash - whether it's a hawker hustling a soft drink for a few rands or an IT whizz kid closing a multimillion - dollar deal. Money is Jo'burg's raison d'etre -and has been since its foundation in 1886 when the world's richest gold fields were discovered.

Johannesburg can seem overwhelming to the first - time visitor. With a relatively flat natural landscape and few natural landmarks, the city's suburbs and townships stretch as the eye can see. Most international visitor stick to the city's affluent norhern suburbs, home to gleaming shopping malls, international hotel chains and the head offices of the country's leading economic players.

The northem suburbs, en masse, can appear as an endless sprawl of little more tree-lined streets, high walls and satellite dishes. In reality, the north is a series of little villages, each defined by its high street and a distinct personality. Norwood's Grant Avenue is a six-block strip lined with restaurants run and frequented by the city's jewish and Italian-descended residents. Parkhurst's Fourth Avenue is a dining - and - decor street, favoured by the city's decorators and beau monde. The high streets of

Greenside (Greenway for foodies), Melville (Seventh Avenue for students), Parkview (Tyrone Avenue for genteel young families and pensioners) and Cyrildene (Derrick Avenue, home to Jozi's burgeoning Chinese community) : each has its own distinct atmosphere and attractions.

The most important thing to know? Jo'burg is Africa's most dynamic city and things literally change by the minute. The city has been completely rebuit four times in just over a century. When an area goes 'down' , the descent is rapid. So, for the time being, avoid any prior (pre-1999) suggestions to hit Rockey Street in Yeoville, often described as 'Jo'burg's Greenwich Village' - most of the bars, restaurants and clubs closed following a seemingly overnight influx of economic refugees from other parts of Africa. Likewise, Johannesburg's city centre has been 'off limits' for the past decade but at the time of going to press, private redevelopment companies are buying historic office buildings in the city's financial district and redeveloping them into exclusive apartment blocks. Yuppie response has been enthusiastic, and many of the

apartment buildings were sold out within days. It's often said that five - year development spans in Jo'burg are equal to fifty years in other cities. Best bet? Check out the official Johannesburg website (www.joburg.org.za), run by the city council, as it's objective, well-designed, easy to use and updates daily. It's packed with the latest tourist and cultural information, development news, along with historical background and interactive reader commentary.

     Johannesburg has not traditionally been known as a tourist destination, but the city is a transit point for connecting flights to Cape Town , Durban , and the Kruger National Park . Consequently, most international visitors to South Africa pass through Johannesburg at least once, which has led to the development of more attractions for tourists. Recent additions have centred around history museums , such as the Apartheid Museum and the Hector Pieterson Museum . Gold Reef City , a large amusement park to the south of the Central Business District, is also a large draw for tourists in the city. The Johannesburg Zoo is also one of the largest in South Africa.

The city also has several art museums, such as the Johannesburg Art Gallery , which featured South African and European landscape and figurative paintings. The Museum Africa covers the history of the city of Johannesburg, as well as housing a large collection of rock art . The Market Theatre complex attained notoriety in the 1970s and 1980s by staging anti-apartheid plays, and has now become a centre for modern South African playwriting.

     Johannesburg was initially a suburb of Pretoria as one had to get permission from the government in Pretoria to build a house in Johannesburg. The town was much the same as any small prospecting settlement, but, as word spread, people flocked to the area from all other regions of the country, as well as from North America , the United Kingdom , and the rest of Europe . As the value of control of the land increased, tensions developed between the Boer government in Pretoria and the British , culminating in the Second Anglo-Boer War . The Boers lost the war and control of the area was ceded to the British. Controversy surrounds the origin of the name, as there were any number of people with the name "Johannes" who were intimately involved in the early history of the place. Two of the prime candidates are the principal clerk attached to the office of the surveyor general, Johannes Rissik, and Christiaan Johannes Joubert, member of the Volksraad and the Republic's chief of mining

    The 1910 declaration of the Union of South Africa paved the way for a more organised mining structure. Later, the South African government instituted a harsh racial system whereby blacks and Indians were heavily taxed, barred from holding skilled jobs, and consequently forced to work as migrant labour on Johannesburg's growing crop of gold mines .

The South African government then instituted a system of forced removals , moving the population of non-European descent into specified areas. It is this system that created the sprawling shantytown of Soweto ( South Western Townships), one of the areas where blacks were forced to live during the apartheid era. Nelson Mandela spent many years living in Soweto and his Soweto home in Orlando is currently a major tourist attraction

Large-scale violence broke out in 1976 when the Soweto Students' Representative Council organized protests against the use of Afrikaans , considered to be the language of the oppressors, as the primary language of instruction in black schools. Police shot into a peaceful student march in Soweto. 1000 people died protesting the apartheid system, in the following 12 months. One of the most famous victims of the massacre, Hector Pieterson , is commemorated with a large Museum dedicated to his memory, in Soweto.

     The regulations of apartheid were abandoned in February 1990, and, since the 1994 elections, Johannesburg has been free of discriminatory laws. The black townships have been integrated into the municipal government system, and, to some extent, the suburbs have become multiracial. However, there has been a large-scale migration of businesses and commerce away from the Central Business District and the southern suburbs, in favour of the more affluent northern suburbs. This was fueled by a rise in the crime rate, serious traffic congestion, inadequate public transport, and a more favourable tax environment for landlords in the northern suburbs prior to the integration of the city. Currently the Johannesburg Metropolitan Council is implementing a large scale Inner City Revival project, leading to many business moving back to the inner city.