Polokwane Central is the commercial and civic heart of the city, laid out in 1886 as Pietersburg — named after the Boer general Petrus (Piet) Joubert — and renamed Polokwane, "place of safety" in Sepedi, in 2002.
The CBD is known for its wide streets and mix of jacaranda and coral trees, and packs in the city's main shopping streets, banks, government offices and the Civic Centre.
Cultural landmarks cluster here too: the Polokwane Art Museum, the Irish House Museum and the Hugh Exton Photographic Museum all sit within the central grid.
For businesses it remains the busiest trading address in Limpopo's capital, roughly halfway between Pretoria and the Zimbabwean border on the N1.