Pietermartizburg
Pietermaritzburg boasts a high concentration of
tourist attractions with
the vast majority easily accessed via comfortable, self-guided Town
Trails. Standing on the original Voortrekker site, the City Hall holds two
southern hemisphere records - for the largest all-brick building and the
largest pipe- organ. The Parliament Buildings are rooted
in history...the foundation stone laid on 21 June 1887 to mark Queen
Victoria's Jubilee, and its soaring columns plus copper domes reflecting
the grand, seemingly-invincible mood of the time.
The central shopping
area's pedestrian precinct reveals perfectly how the short-lived
Voortrekker ideal was superimposed with Victorian London. A browser's
delight, the specialist shops - notably colonial-era literature and
Africana - are conveniently interspersed with quaint cafes and taverns.
Two museums in Pietermaritzburg convey the importance of church
life in pioneering the Midlands region. St Peter's became Bishop Colenso's
cathedral in 1857 after his doctrinal rebellion caused a schism in the
colony's Church of England congregation - his tomb stands before the
altar. Macrorie House is the former residence of the Bishop of
Pietermaritzburg 1869 - 1891, and contains Bishop Macrorie's famous
miniature chapel complete with altar and ornamental screen. The Natal
Museum, meanwhile, covers all aspects of our kingdom's
history...beginning with the artwork of pre- Zulu, San hunter-gatherer
inhabitants. Tatham Gallery is among this country's top seven art museums,
attracting curious and connoisseur alike with its eclectic mix of beadwork
and basketry, oils and linocuts. British and French 19th and 20th century
masterpieces are well-represented with Picasso, Matisse, Degas, Renoir and
Hockney...while travelling and locally-curated exhibitions are well worth
the wait.
At the risk of clich , it must be said that the parks and gardens of
Pietermaritzburg
are also a picture both private and public domains bursting with
lush greenery and blooms-of- the-season. Splendid azaleas are displayed
among the majestic indigenous trees that fill the National Botanic Gardens
proteas highlight the features at Wylie Park and Alexandra Park's olde
worlde Pavilion is surrounded by superb roses and winter-flowering aloes.
An avenue of palm trees provides the perfect finishing touch!
Try one of the easy hiking trails on the edge of
Pietermaritzburg for a higher
ratio of country-to-city. The Green Belt at Ferncliff and aptly-named
World's View, plus Savannah at Bisley Nature Reserve, each offer the
enjoyment of wild flowers, birdlife and small animals within a gentle
stroll. Queen Elizabeth Park is not only the reserve home of KZN Wildlife
authorities, but also the opportunity to picnic, explore and view rhino. A
garden of more sombre mood is among the city's war memorials - the Garden
of Remembrance holds the famous Weeping Cross of Delville Wood...built of
timber salvaged from that dreadful battlefield. The cross 'weeps' on, or
around, the July anniversary of the First World War battle in which many
South African servicemen lost their lives.
A trail with more sombre affiliations is the Route du Prince
Imperial Louis Napoleon that traces, through the streets of Pietermaritzburg,
the funeral procession of any last hope of a Napoleonic dynasty. Emperor
Napoleon Bonaparte's great- nephew Louis - exiled to England - had
volunteered to 'observe' with British forces engaged in the Anglo-Zulu War
of 1879...and was speared to death after dismounting to sketch the
surrounding countryside. His coffin passed through the town en route from
the battlefields of Zululand back to England.
Another unfortunate event with enormous ramifications was the eviction,
in 1893, of young Indian lawyer Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi from a 1st
Class 'Whites Only' railway carriage on Pietermaritzburg Station. A
striking statue in Church Street Mall pays homage to the Mahatma - Great
Soul - whose profoundly influential, deeply revered philosophy-in-practice
began here with a racial incident typical of the 'Old South Africa'.
More currently - and inextricably linked to our 'New South Africa' -
former president Nelson Mandela's biography sees Pietermaritzburg heading
three chapters. These are his first appearance in a court of law...final
public speech as leader of our country and - beyond city limits near Howick
- the arrest that led to his 26-year incarceration. A small monument
at this last-mentioned site is regularly visited by school tours, foreign
and local visitors.
