Pretoria - At the ripe old age of 101 the Union Buildings just keep getting better with time.
Considered South Africa’s architectural masterpiece, the designer and builder Herbert Baker would surely smile if he he were around today to see what has become of the site he completed in 1913.
Today it is still the official seat of government and houses the offices of the President of South Africa.
Situated on Meintjieskop it has been the stage for many events in the nation’s history, ranging from the march of Afrikaner women to the Union Buildings in 1915, to ask for the revision of prison sentences for those who rebelled against the government’s decision to take part in the First World War, to 40 years later, in 1956, when some 20 000 women, protesting against apartheid laws, undertook a procession to the Union Buildings to hand over a memorandum.
But the Union Buildings have not only been a site of protest, it has served as a venue for many important events in South Africa, such as the inauguration of South Africa’s first democratically elected President and a gathering point for Freedom Day celebrations on April 27.
The terraced gardens with their monuments and statues, especially the 9m bronze statue of Madiba created by sculptors André Prinsloo and Ruhan Janse van Vuuren, are a great draw card for locals and tourists alike.
Pretoria News