OLDEST - National Heritage Site Monument in South Africa - Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa
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denben
S 25° 46.566 E 028° 10.548
35J E 617898 N 7148585
The huge granite Voortrekker Monument is built on a hill and can be seen from all sides of Pretoria. It is a memorial to the northward migration of Voortrekkers from the Cape Colony into the interior of modern South Africa between 1835 and 1854.
Waymark Code: WM17CTE
Location: Gauteng, South Africa
Date Posted: 01/27/2023
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The Voortrekker monument is a well thought out work of art with a lot of symbolism. No image is made for aesthetic value only; everything means something. The architect was Gerard Moerdijk, and it was his ideal to design a monument that should be "a memorial for a thousand years and more."
The monument offers the opportunity to learn about the history of the Afrikaners, from the Great Trek to the Anglo-Boer War and more. The monument tells a story of heroism, perseverance and a vision for the future. The two main points of interest inside the building are the Historical Frieze and the Cenotaph.
The monument was declared a national heritage site on Friday 16 March 2012. Read this excerpt from the IOL article:
"The Voortrekker monument in Pretoria was formally declared a national heritage site on Friday.
“This symbolises a new era... to tell the South African story and tell it in its entirety,” Arts and Culture Minister Paul Mashatile said during the declaration event held at the monument.
The monument is the first Afrikaner one in the country to be declared a national heritage site.
Mashatile said the Voortrekker monument had a deep historical meaning to the Afrikaner community.
Declaring it a national heritage site was an important step towards reconciliation.
Even though South Africa had a painful past, history had to be remembered “to remind all that democracy in South Africa came at a high price and should be guarded with jealousy”, Mashatile said." (
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