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Pretoria's sandstone seat of government, where history was made on the terraces
Union Buildings, Pretoria: History & Culture
The Union Buildings sit on Meintjieskop in Arcadia, Pretoria, and are the seat of South Africa’s government. The sandstone building, designed by Sir Herbert Baker, houses the presidential offices. The terraced gardens in front of it are the part you can visit. They hold a 9 m bronze statue of Nelson Mandela and a memorial to the 1956 Women’s March, and they look out over Pretoria.
Sir Herbert Baker designed the Union Buildings in 1908 and was commissioned in 1909. The cornerstone was laid in November 1910 and the building was completed in 1913.
The style is neoclassical, with Cape Dutch and Edwardian elements. The semicircular plan with two wings is said to represent the union of a formerly divided people, and the two wings symbolise English and Afrikaans.
The building is roughly 285 m long and 60 m high, and about 1,265 workers built it. It uses light sandstone and local materials. The building cost £1,310,640 and the site a further £350,000.
The 9 m bronze statue by André Roodt stands on the terraces. It is the most photographed spot on the grounds.
A memorial in the gardens marks the 1956 march. Reading about the march while you stand where the women gathered is worth doing, and the memorial adds weight to a visit that could otherwise be only a photo stop.
The Meintjieskop gardens are terraced and planted with indigenous plants. They give views over Pretoria. SA-Venues also lists an amphitheatre of about 9,000 seats.
The façade is a good photo stop. Because the offices are not open to the public, most visitors spend their time in the gardens and on the terraces.
Pretoria is the executive capital. It lies about 56 km northeast of Johannesburg and about 45 km north of OR Tambo International Airport. The city is served by the Gautrain, Metrorail and the N1, N4 and N14 highways.
October is the month to aim for if you want to see Pretoria’s jacarandas in bloom. The city has about 70,000 of them.
National Women’s Day, 9 August, is tied to the 1956 march that ended at these terraces.
SA-Venues lists the gardens as open 24 hours a day. Entry is likely free, but confirm this before you go. State events or security arrangements could affect access to the grounds, and we have not checked how often that happens. Call +27 12 300 5200 if you want to confirm.
The Union Buildings fit easily into a day of Pretoria heritage sightseeing. SA-Venues lists these nearby attractions:
The Voortrekker Monument and Freedom Park are the most natural pairings for a heritage-focused day.
Walk the gardens, photograph the statue and the views, and take time at the Women’s March memorial. Then add one or two of the nearby sites above. Arcadia, where the Union Buildings stand, is a Pretoria suburb, so you can stay in the city and reach the grounds from there. The Brooklyn and Hatfield restaurant districts are nearby for meals.
Photo: Ruby D-Brown, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Nelson Mandela statue, Women's March memorial, Meintjieskop terraced gardens and amphitheatre, Herbert Baker sandstone building
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