Sights in Pretoria
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Union Buildings
These sweeping sandstone buildings are the headquarters of government and home to the presidential offices. They sit in an elevated position, surveying beautiful terraced gardens planted with indigenous trees and the city beyond. The gardens are often used for public celebrations and Mandela’s inauguration took place here back in 1994. Statues of a few former prime ministers inhabit the grounds, including an impressive General Louis Botha on horseback. There’s also a WWI memorial here, and a memorial to the South African police. The buildings, designed by Sir Herbert Baker, are about a 2km walk from the city centre; alternatively, catch just about any bus heading east on…
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Voortrekker Monument & Nature Reserve
A visit to the striking Voortrekker Monument is a near spiritual experience for many Afrikaners. It was constructed between 1938 and 1949 – a time of great Afrikaner nationalism – to honour the journey of the Voortrekkers, who trekked north over the coastal mountains of the Cape into the heart of the African veld. It pays tribute in particular to the Battle of Blood River on 16 December 1838, during which 470 Boers, under the command of Andries Pretorius, defeated approximately 12,000 Zulus, killing many of them.
A visit to the striking Voortrekker Monument is a near spiritual experience for many Afrikaners. It was constructed between 1938 and 1949 – a time of great A…
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Church Square
At the heart of Pretoria, imposing public buildings surround Church Sq. These include the Palace of Justice, where the Rivonia Trial that sentenced Nelson Mandela to life imprisonment was held, on the northern side; the Ou Raadsaal (Old Government) building on the southern side; the Old Capitol Theatre in the northwestern corner; First National Bank in the northeast; the Old Nederlandsche Bank building, which adjoins the Café Riche and houses the Tourist Information Centre; and the main post office at the western side. Look for the clock, surrounded by nude figures by Anton van Wouw, above the Church Sq entrance to the post office.
‘Old Lion’, Paul Kruger takes pride o…
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Paul Kruger House Museum
A short walk west from Church Sq is the former residence of Paul Kruger, now the Paul Kruger House Museum. The house, built in 1884, would have been grand at the time, but today seems lost on the busy street. Guarded by two stone lions, the house contains period furniture and a random collection of personal knick-knacks belonging to Kruger and his wife Gezina, from which it’s hard to conjure up an image of their lives there. There are some interesting bits of memorabilia though, including the knife that Kruger used to amputate his thumb after a shooting accident. The Dutch Reformed Church, where he worshipped and preached, is just across the road.
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Transvaal Museum
Opposite City Hall, this grand museum is a good place to go if you’re interested in natural history. Outside the building are the museum’s most impressive exhibits – giant replica skeletons of an enormous whale and a dinosaur. Inside you’ll find a series of fascinating exhibits including menacing reptile displays, the reconstructed jaws of a giant extinct shark, plenty of life-size mammal statues, and a rather creepy hall full of stuffed birds. The Insect Hall includes live displays of weed-eating grasshoppers and giant hissing cockroaches, and there’s a geological section with a collection of precious and semiprecious stones.
There’s plenty of interesting info …
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Freedom Park
One of the most exciting undertakings in Gauteng is Freedom Park. The site chosen for this massive project, on a kopje facing the Voortrekker Monument, provoked an outcry from those who saw this as politically motivated, but this is hardly a self-important ode to nationalism. Rather, it’s a sombre memorial to those people, local and international, who have sacrificed their lives in the name of freedom. At the time of writing you could only visit Hlapho, where the names of heroes have been inscribed, and the peaceful Isivivane Garden of Remembrance. It was scheduled to be completed sometime in 2009.
Visitor numbers to the park are strictly controlled, so calling beforeha…
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Heroes’ Acre Cemetery
Around 1.5km west of Church Sq you’ll find this cemetery, the burial place of a number of historical figures including Andries Pretorius, Paul Kruger and Hendrik Verwoerd. Henry H ‘Breaker’ Morant, the Australian Boer War antihero executed by the British for war crimes, is also buried here – look for the low sign pointing to the gravestone from one of the north–south avenues. If you miss this, you’ll never find it.
To get here by bus, take the West Park 2 or Danville service from Church Sq.
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National Cultural History Museum
Concentrating on the cultural history of South Africa, the National Cultural History Museum is dedicated to preserving the country’s cultural heritage. It features exhibitions on San rock art, Iron Age figurines from Limpopo and a small gallery of contemporary South African works, among others. At the time of writing the museum was developing new exhibits, including an exhibition on Tshwane.
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Pretoria National Zoological Gardens
The zoological gardens, about 1km out of the city centre, are a fun place to spend an afternoon. There’s a reptile park and an aquarium here, as well as a vast collection of exotic trees and plenty of beautiful picnic spots. The highlight, though, is probably the cable car, which runs up to the top of a hill that overlooks the city.
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Pretoria Art Museum
To get an idea of the cultural influences that have influenced modern South Africa, head to this art museum, which is just off Schoeman St and specialises in South African art from throughout the country’s history. It also features regularly changing exhibitions.
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South African Police Museum
The police museum contains exhibits covering the turbulent history of the nation’s police force and includes some grisly exhibits on celebrated crimes, and a display on police transport both inside and outside the museum.
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Melrose House
In 1886 a splendid mansion was built for George Heys opposite Burgers Park. Today Melrose House is a national monument, and an interesting blend of English Victorian and Cape Dutch styles.
During the 1899–1902 Anglo-Boer War, Lords Roberts and Kitchener (both British commanders) lived here. On 31 May 1902 the Treaty of Vereeniging, which marked the end of the war, was signed in the dining room. Highlights of the house include a grand billiard room with a vibrant stained-glass smoking nook and a conservatory containing a collection of political cartoons from the Anglo-Boer War.
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