South Africa Guide
Gauteng
Palace of Justice
Address: Northwest side of Church Square
The grandiose Palace of Justice was started in 1897 and, half completed, was used as a hospital for British troops during the second Anglo-Boer War. After its completion in 1902, the building was home to the Transvaal Supreme Court for many years and was the location of the Rivonia Trial in 1963–64, which saw Nelson Mandela and other leaders of the ANC sentenced to life imprisonment. Recent restoration work has revealed and repaired the splendid facade and balconies, although the new court is an ugly box sitting squatly in a street behind the Palace.