JOHANNESBURG in the 20th century underwent enormous changes. These stories look at apartheid, buildings, famous men and women, early cemeteries, and war on the streets of the city.
Forgotten tales from when Jo'burg was at war
Johannesburg's past involves memories of concentration camps in and around the city.
When war came to Jo'burg's streets
In 1922 the residents of Johannesburg were at war with one another, leaving 150 people dead.
Exploring Jo'burg with Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi spent 21 years in South Africa, 13 of them in Johannesburg.
Tolstoy Farm to house Gandhi once more
Tolstoy Farm, the property to the south-west of Johannesburg used by Mahatma Gandhi as a base almost a century ago, is to house a museum to "keep his legacy alive"
AmaWasha – Jozi's
first black businessmen
Taking a leaf out of the book of Hindu washermen in Durban, scores of Zulu men migrated to the new mining town, where they washed the townsfolk's laundry in the Braamfontein Spruit. Back home, they ploughed their earnings into land.
A makeover for historic Kliptown
Kliptown was one of Joburg's first multiracial areas, begun in 1903.
Kippies, the club that wasn't always there
Kippies has become an institution in Newtown. Read about the history of the building and the characters involved.
The Foster Gang terrorise Johannesburg
An old mine shaft provided the backdrop to a thrilling showdown between a notorious gang and the police
The last meeting at Liliesleaf Farm
The last meeting at the secret headquarters of the banned African National Congress took place at Liliesleaf Farm.
The search for the man who wrote our anthem
The search for Enoch Sontonga's grave in the Braamfontein Cemetery took close to a year.
The charter of 'our singing tomorrows'
Thousands of South Africans had a hand in writing the Freedom Charter, a document proposed by Professor ZK Matthews for the democratic South Africa of the future.
Too young to die
Thirty-one year old Samuel Alfred Long, nicknamed Taffy, was hanged in 1922 although many people believed he was innocent.
Jozi remembers
Indian war dead
Jozi's highest point, the Observatory Ridge, commemorates the Indian Army with a monument to the contributions its men made in the South African War.
Mary Fitzgerald - first woman of Jo'burg
Mary "Pickhandle" Fitzgerald made her name in Johannesburg for her trade union activities and a number of other things.
The Fort turns into the Court
One of Johannesburg's most restricted and hated buildings is being turned into one of its most open and people-friendly buildings - The Fort and prison.
A flat mountain? We have our Tower
Johannesburg has the long, tall, Hillbrow Tower, the tallest tower in Africa.
The powerful Apartheid Museum
In 1994 South Africa turned its back on apartheid. This Museum allows you to explore the evils of the system.
Hector: the famous child whose face is unknown
Hector Pieterson died on the streets on Soweto on 16 June, 1976. He has become a symbol of the cruel repression of apartheid.
Have a speedy bath in an Art Deco house
Johannesburg has a number of Art Deco buildings dotted around the city and suburbs.
Joburg's only dry suburb
Joburg has a suburb that has no bottle store. It's a long story . . .
There's life yet behind the scars of Fietas
Fietas - a name whose origins no one can recall - was a thriving community and home to several thousands of coloureds, Malays, Indians and whites in the decades before the 1970s.
Jo'burg's oldest buildings
Human settlement in Johannesburg goes back some 25 000 years, but when were the first brick buildings built, and how many still survive?
Johannesburg books
There are many histories of Johannesburg. Here is a review of some of the books that trace the history of the city.
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