Union Building Gardens

The Union Buildings are surrounded by beautifully terraced gardens of indigenous plants as well as various monuments and a 9,000 seat amphitheatre. On our visit the roses were in full bloom, the weather nice and warm and people were just relaxing all over the gardens.The lawn in front of the Union Buildings are often the location for … Continue reading Union Building Gardens →

Union Buildings

The Union Buildings on Meintjieskop in Pretoria is the official seat of the South African government and also house the offices of the President of South Africa. The Boer Republics of the ZAR (Transvaal) and the Orange Free State united with the Cape Colony and Natal Colony in 1910 to for the Union of South Africa. Pretoria … Continue reading Union Buildings →

Soldier statue silhouette

The silhouette of the South African Nation Defence Force Memorial at Fort Klapperkop outside PretoriaVisit Skywatch for more pictures of the sky

South African National Defence Force Memorial

The South African Defence Force Memorial is situated just outside the entrance to Fort Klapperkop in Pretoria. The memorial was unveiled on May 31 1979 and includes a statue of a soldier holding a R1 rifle, in memory of all members of the South African Defence Force who lost their lives serving their country. The individuals … Continue reading South African National Defence Force Memorial →

Fort Klapperkop

Sitting on top of the koppies (hills) overlooking Pretoria is a number of forts that was built prior to the Anglo Boer War in the late 1800's. After the abortive Jameson Raid in 1895, the South African Republic (also known as the Transvaal Republic) had a number of forts built to protect their capital in case … Continue reading Fort Klapperkop →

Bloemfontein statues

This is my last Bloemfontein post from this trip, I promise. I was actually very disappointed that I didn't have time to explore the city some more. I have never been to Bloemfontein before and it has so many places, most of historical value, to see. The one thing I did notice is that there are … Continue reading Bloemfontein statues →

Hertzog Square

Across the road from the Bloemfontein City Hall in Hertzog Square stands a fine monument dedicated to General JBM Hertzog. General Hertzog was a military officer in the Anglo Boer War (1899-1902) and later became Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa.Hertzog Square consists of fountains, a reflection pool and the statue created by sculptor Danie … Continue reading Hertzog Square →

Bloemfontein City Hall

I hope you're not tired of Bloemfontein yet, but there are still a couple of things to show you. Bloemfontein's City Hall is a stately sandstone building designed by Sir Gordon Leithe. Even though its looks like a very old building from the outside, it was only built in 1935 and is decorated with Italian marble and … Continue reading Bloemfontein City Hall →

National Afrikaans Literature Museum

The National Afrikaans Literature Museum in Bloemfontein is only about a block from the Fourth Raadsaal I featured yesterday. This building originally accommodated the government structures of the Republic of the Orange Free State in the 1800s and is reminiscent of the old Cape-Dutch architecture in the area. The National Afrikaans Literature Museum, with the … Continue reading National Afrikaans Literature Museum →

The Fourth Raadsaal

Bloemfontein in the Free State has a collection of beautiful historic buildings and statues all situated in the centre of town. The one I liked the most on my recent visit was the Fourth Raadsaal. The foundation stone was laid by then Orange Free State President F. W. Reitz in 1890 and the building was completed in … Continue reading The Fourth Raadsaal →