Voortrekker Monument

South of the city is the looming granite hulk of the Voortrekker Monument, a controversial Afrikaner memorial. The monument, a 40-m cube, was completed in 1949 after 11 years of work. It is a sombre and unattractive structure, a windowless block dominating the landscape, but one of particular significance to Afrikaners. It was built to commemorate the Great Trek of the 1830s, when the Afrikaners struck inland from the Cape with just their ox wagons and little idea of the trials that lay ahead of them. Inside is the cavernous Hall of Heroes, guarded by a carved head of a buffalo above the entrance (thought to be the most dangerous animal in Africa). Around the walls 27 marble friezes depict both the trek and scenes from the Zulu wars, including a seriously suspect portrayal of the Battle of Blood River , where the Afrikaners are shown as brave soldiers and the Zulus as cowardly savages. The monument was, until recently, the site of a huge annual celebration on 16 December, the date of the battle (known as the Day of the Covenant). At exactly midday on this date a ray of sunlight falls onto a large slab of stone in the centre of the basement (rather like a tomb), spotlighting the carved words: “Ons Vir Jou, Suid Afrika” (We are for you, South Africa). The fact that this date celebrated the bloody massacre of Zulus proved, unsurprisingly, hugely controversial, and after the end of Apartheid, this national holiday was renamed the Day of Reconciliation. Today, the celebrations are very low key indeed. For impressive views of the surrounding countryside and the city, take the lift to the viewing area around the roof. In the basement are some displays of life during the Great Trek. Outside, the surrounding wall recreates the circular laager of 64 ox-wagons that can be seen at the battlefield site.