Groote Schuur, Cape Town, South Africa
S 33° 55.617 E 018° 25.077
34H E 261318 N 6242940
This dwelling, located adjacent The Company Gardens, was the official Cape residence of the Prime Ministers of South Africa and later used as a presidential residence.
Waymark Code: WMJ79H
Location: Western Cape, South Africa
Date Posted: 10/05/2013
Views: 4
This elegant structure and gardens is located adjacent The Company Gardens in Cape Town and serves as housing for political leaders. It was originally an estate on the Dutch East India Company land which was developed into a farm for the production of fruits and vegetables to supply ships working the “Spice Route” along the Cape of Good Hope. The structure was built around 1657, and leased by Cecil Rhodes in 1891, then purchased by him in 1893, and nearly entirely distroyed by fire in 1896. Rhodes hired Sir Herbert Baker to restore and remodel the dwelling, and the grounds were heavily landscaped, incorporating many flowers, including fuchsias, roses, canna lillies, and hydrangeas. A menagerie (zoo) was established on the grounds nearby, but have been replaced by several buildings and gardens.
When Rhodes used the facility, it served as his residence as well as place to hold business and political meetings, and large parties.
In 1911, Rhodes bequeathed the facility to the leaders of South Africa to be used as an official residence for the Prime Ministers of South Africa (1910 thru 1984), and later as the president’s residence. It was the location where Nelson Mandela and then President of South Africa, F. W. De Klerk signed the “Groote Schuur Minute”, a document which signified their successful, peaceful negotiation toward ending violence.
Groot Schuur is dutch for "big barn".
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