South Africa Guide
Gauteng
Church Square
The heart of Pretoria is undoubtedly Church Square, surrounded by dramatic and important buildings, and a place where you can at least try to put South Africa's complex history into perspective. It was here that Boer farmers outspanned their oxen when they came into town for the quarterly Nagmaal (Holy Communion) of the Dutch Reformed Church, turning the square temporarily into a campsite. Today this spot continues to be a meeting point for Pretorians of all races, many of whom you'll see lounging on the grass in the sun, gathering to protest with placards and singing, or simply watching it all go on while sipping coffee at the cultured Café Riche.
Nearly every important white meeting, protest or takeover the city has known happened in Church Square; the ZAR Vierkleur ("four colours") flag was lowered here in 1877 to make way for the Union Jack, only to rise again in 1881, after the British eviction from the republic; the British flag flew again in 1900 but was lowered for the last time in 1910; Paul Kruger was proclaimed head of state in the square four times, and 30,000 crammed it in 1904 for his memorial service. Such historical resonances are viewed differently by Pretoria's black community, and the square's central statue of Paul Kruger – the work of Afrikaner sculptor Anton Van Wouw – is for many an unwanted relic of a dismal past. Van Wouw had to work fast: Kruger hated posing and the sculptor had little time with him. Nevertheless he still managed to produce this frighteningly miserable representation, set above four rugged Voortrekker archetypes; today, the pigeons that squat on his top hat provide a suitably subversive touch.