| Hartbeespoort | |
| Pushpin Map: | South Africa North West#South Africa |
| Coordinates: | -25.7442°N 27.8994°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | South Africa |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | North West |
| Subdivision Type2: | District |
| Subdivision Name2: | Bojanala |
| Subdivision Type3: | Municipality |
| Subdivision Name3: | Madibeng |
| Subdivision Type4: | Main Place |
| Established Title: | Established |
| Leader Title: | Councillor |
| Leader Name: | Maritza du Plessis (Ward 33) Erna Rossouw (Ward 30) [1] |
| Area Footnotes: | [2] |
| Area Total Km2: | 125.89 |
| Population Total: | 22374 |
| Population As Of: | 2011 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Demographics Type1: | Racial makeup (2011) |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Black African |
| Demographics1 Info1: | 38.2% |
| Demographics1 Title2: | Coloured |
| Demographics1 Info2: | 1.1% |
| Demographics1 Title3: | Indian/Asian |
| Demographics1 Info3: | 0.7% |
| Demographics1 Title4: | White |
| Demographics1 Info4: | 59.4% |
| Demographics1 Title5: | Other |
| Demographics1 Info5: | 0.5% |
| Demographics Type2: | First languages (2011) |
| Demographics2 Title1: | Afrikaans |
| Demographics2 Info1: | 46.5% |
| Demographics2 Title2: | Tswana |
| Demographics2 Info2: | 19.3% |
| Demographics2 Title3: | English |
| Demographics2 Info3: | 7.3% |
| Demographics2 Title4: | Tsonga |
| Demographics2 Info4: | 6.2% |
| Demographics2 Title5: | Other |
| Demographics2 Info5: | 20.7% |
| Timezone1: | SAST |
| Utc Offset1: | +2 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code (street) |
| Postal Code: | 0216 |
| Postal2 Code Type: | PO box |
| Postal2 Code: | 0216 |
| Area Code Type: | Area code |
| Area Code: | 012 |
Hartbeespoort, informally known as "Harties", is a small resort town in the North West Province of South Africa, situated on slopes of the Magaliesberg mountain and the banks of the Hartbeespoort Dam. The name of the town means "gateway of the hartbees" (a species of antelope) in Afrikaans. Schoemansville, named after General Hendrik Schoeman, a Boer General in the Anglo-Boer War, who owned the farm that the Hartbeespoort Dam was built on, is the oldest neighbourhood of Hartbeespoort.[3]
Hartbeespoort is the collective name of a few smaller towns situated around the Hartbeespoort Dam, including the towns of Meerhof, Ifafi, Melodie, Schoemansville and Kosmos.
The town consists of holiday homes and permanent residences around the dam as it is popular with visitors from nearby Gauteng Province. It is home to the Om Die Dam (English: Around the dam) ultra marathon of 50 km, which takes place annually in the first half of the year.
Some of the main tourist attractions in or around the town are:
Other leisure-oriented venues around the dam include Pecanwood Golf Estate, Hartbeespoort Boat Club (near Kosmos), Sandy Lane Golf Club (at Caribbean Beach Club), Kosmos Marina Club, Magalies Park (estate and golf club). A number of other leisure developments and resorts are in progress.
In 2010 the Hartbeespoort Aerial Cableway was completely revamped and modernised and officially reopened on 14 August 2010 by Minister of Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk.[5]
Hartbeespoort is part of the Madibeng Local Municipality, that also includes the nearby town of Brits.
Despite the semi-rural setting of the Hartbeespoort environs, it is ranked by the World Health Organization as the most polluted city in South Africa in terms of airborne particulates, with air pollution levels roughly twice that of Vereeniging, a heavily industrialised city south of Johannesburg.[6]