11 Kotze St, Johannesburg, 2017, South Africa
A living museum in the heart of Johannesburg, Constitution Hill was built on the 100-acre site of a century-old prison complex, where the leaders of every major South African liberation group—from Nelson Mandela to Mahatma Gandhi—were once detained. Today, visitors can tour the area and its many attractions to learn more about South Africa’s turbulent past and journey to democracy.
Start your visit at the Constitutional Court (the highest in the country), where you can witness a real case as well as an exceptional collection of South African artwork. Next, head to the Old Fort. One of Johannesburg’s oldest buildings, it served as a “whites only” jail during apartheid, with Nelson Mandela as its only black prisoner (his cell now features an exhibition detailing the time he spent here and on Robben Island). The Number Four building, on the other hand, was reserved for black men, and once housed prisoners like Mahatma Gandhi, Robert Sobukwe, and the students of the 1976 Soweto Uprising. In this same complex, you can also visit the Women’s Jail, where female political activists like Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, Albertina Sisulu, and Fatima Meer were held.
April 20, 2021 03:26 PM
·