Berea, Gauteng
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2009) |
Berea | |
|---|---|
  Berea  Berea | |
| Coordinates: 26°11′06″S 28°03′11″E / 26.185°S 28.053°E | |
| Country | South Africa |
| Province | Gauteng |
| Municipality | City of Johannesburg |
| Main Place | Johannesburg |
| Established | 1893 |
| Area | |
| • Total | 1.01 km2 (0.39 sq mi) |
| Population (2011)[1] | |
| • Total | 42,801 |
| • Density | 42,000/km2 (110,000/sq mi) |
| Racial makeup (2011) | |
| • Black African | 97.1% |
| • Coloured | 0.9% |
| • Indian/Asian | 0.9% |
| • White | 0.7% |
| • Other | 0.4% |
| First languages (2011) | |
| • Zulu | 32.9% |
| • Southern Ndebele | 18.7% |
| • English | 13.0% |
| • Northern Sotho | 5.0% |
| • Other | 30.4% |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (SAST) |
| Postal code (street) | 4001 |
Berea is an inner city neighbourhood of Johannesburg, in the South African province of Gauteng. It is east and adjacent to the Johannesburg CBD. It is located in Region F of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality.
It is located in between Yeoville and Hillbrow to the east and west respectively. It is notorious for high levels of crime and population density. Barnato Park High School is located in the neighbourhood
History[edit]
The suburb is situated on part of an old Witwatersrand farm called Doornfontein.[2] It was established in 1893 and is named after Berea, Durban.[2]
Jewish community[edit]
For much of the twentieth century, the area was home to a significant Jewish community.[3] Berea Shul was consecrated in 1968.[4] A year earlier, the shul commissioned Herman Wald to design and create a sculpture. From sheet copper, Wald designed a large pair of wings. They were installed above the ark and surrounded a plaque of the Ten Commandments.[4]The late Rabbi Morris Swift, a prominent champion of halachic law, also served the congregation for a time.[5]As most Jewish residents eventually migrated to the northern suburbs, the synagogue was de-consecrated and the building now houses a church.[4]
In 1902, Corona Lodge was built as a Masonic Society Lodge. The Lodge later fell out of use and was then used by the local Jewish community.[6]The lodge was used by the precursor to the Yeshiva College of South Africa, which was established in 1953. The Yeshiva Katanah divided classes between Corona Lodge and the Beth Hamedrash Hagadol in Doornfontein. Afternoon classes were held at the lodge under the supervision of Rabbi Michel Kossowsky, an Eastern European Talmudic scholar who had settled in South Africa during the Holocaust, and Rabbi Baruch Rabinowitz. The subjects the rabbis taught classes around Talmud, Mishnah, Prophets, Laws and Customs and Ethics of Judaism.[6]
Redevelopment[edit]
A small central section of Berea is Johannesburg's first residential city improvement district (CID). Since mid-2006 crime in Berea has dropped between 70 and 80 percent. The 2198 Boys from Berea (Prince Mnaphi known as Pringle Maarbiter and Fortune Mkhwebu known as Fox alongside Warren Mnguni known as Picasso) are Berea representatives with their street wear clothing brand known as Extraordinary.
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d "Sub Place Berea". Census 2011.
- ^ a b Raper, Peter E.; Moller, Lucie A.; du Plessis, Theodorus L. (2014). Dictionary of Southern African Place Names. Jonathan Ball Publishers. p. 1412. ISBN 9781868425501.
- ^ The Jewish Community of Johannesburg, 1886-1939: Landscapes of Reality and Imagination University of Pretoria. December 2004
- ^ a b c Biblical celebration in old Berea Shul South African Jewish Report. 23 January 2020
- ^ Morris Swift Dead at 76 Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 21 September 1983
- ^ a b The Bnei Akiva Yeshiva and the founding of Johannesburg's Yeshiva College Jewish Affairs. Rosh Hashanah 2011
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