Exterior of the Hector Pieterson Memorial Museum in Soweto.

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Hector Pieterson Museum

Top choice in Gauteng


This powerful museum, named after the 12-year-old boy shot dead during the student protests in Soweto on 16 June 1976, illuminates the role of Sowetan life in the history of the independence struggle. It's a major stop on all tours of Soweto and thus is almost always busy.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Gauteng attractions

1. Hector Pieterson Memorial

0.01 MILES

North of Vilakazi St is Hector Pieterson Sq; it’s named after the 12-year-old who was shot dead in the run-up to the Soweto uprising in 1976. The poignant…

2. Mandela House Museum

0.25 MILES

Nelson Mandela lived with his first wife, Evelyn, and later with his second wife, Winnie, in this four-room house, just off Vilakazi St. The museum…

3. Home of Archbishop Desmond Tutu

0.27 MILES

Close to the Mandela House Museum is the home of Archbishop Desmond Tutu. A plaque marks the location but the house is not open to visitors.

4. June 16 Memorial Acre

2.27 MILES

Opposite one of the schools from which students marched on 16 June 1976 is this stunning open-air memorial to the bloody events that presaged the Soweto…

5. Regina Mundi Church

2.42 MILES

South Africa's largest Catholic church, with a capacity of 5000, was an important meeting point during the apartheid years. It's a calm and impressive…

6. Walter Sisulu Square of Dedication

3.17 MILES

Located in Kliptown, the oldest settlement in Soweto to accommodate all races, the Walter Sisulu Sq of Dedication is the site where the Freedom Charter…

7. Freedom Charter Monument

3.17 MILES

This brick tower right on Walter Sisulu Sq symbolises freedom and democracy. It's built where the Freedom Charter was adopted by the Congress of the…

8. Kliptown

3.19 MILES

Established in 1891 and found southwest of Orlando West, Kliptown is Soweto's oldest settlement. Informal settlements (shacks) for black families started…