Second Voortrekker Monument

About

The Second Voortrekker Monument was built in the 1960s in honor of the intrepid Voortrekker leaders, who ventured from the British-ruled Cape Colony to South Africa’s tribal-ruled interior. This relocation played a major role in shaping modern South Africa and the Afrikaaner culture and society. The lengths of the monument’s five pillars represent the distances travelled by the Voortrekker parties, with each bearing the name of the group leaders. On December 16th, the sun passes directly over the monument in recognition of the Battle of Blood River, where 470 Voortrekkers fended off an attack by 10,000-15,000 Zulu soldiers. Despite its historical importance to the first town founded by the Voortrekkers, the monument has been abandoned and vandalized, and is not always accessible.