South Africa Guide
Gauteng
The Union Buildings
In the Arcadia district, Pretoria's Union Buildings, the headquarters of the South African government, perch majestically on the main hill. Designed by Herbert Baker in 1910, allegedly to symbolize the union of Briton and Boer, the lashings of colonnades and lavish amphitheatre seem instead to glorify British imperial self-confidence. Nelson Mandela had an office inside, and the buildings were famously the site of his inauguration in 1994. This was perhaps the first time their imperialist symbols were transformed, not least by the African praise-singers who delivered their odes from the amphitheatre, proclaiming Mandela as the latest in a long line of African heroes from Shaka to Hintsa, and beyond. You can walk around the buildings and their gardens, and, if you're a particular enthusiast of Baker's work and the Union Buildings in particular, take one of the tours called The Baker's Dozen, run by the talkative Leone Jackson (around R50; t012 344 3197).