Rhodes, Mandela and other top landmarks in SA

·7 Apr 2015

South African landmarks and statues have been in the spotlight over the past few weeks, since the initial outcry against the relevance of the Rhodes statue on the University of Cape Town’s campus.

The protest against the Rhodes statue was initially a one-man show, led by Chumani Maxwele, a student at UCT. Since then, many students and alumni have pledged to support the removal of the controversial statue.

Joining the fold was the iconic Two Ocean Half Marathon, with the Rhodes statue already omitted from the 2015 marathon’s medals.

But it seems the Rhodes statue was but the tip of the iceberg on the entire landmarks debate, and since the plea to remove it, other statues all over South Africa have come under scrutiny, and even vandalism.

Over the Easter Weekend, the EFF claimed responsibility for vandalizing the Paul Kruger statue in Church Square in Pretoria. On Sunday night, the Paul Kruger and the Burgher statues were covered with green paint. This vandalism comes just days after the radical party threatened to physically remove the monuments.

So far, statues of Cecil John Rhodes in Cape Town, King George in Durban, Queen Victoria in Port Elizabeth have all been defaced and vandalised. Some of the statues that are being targeted, are vandalised completely out of context.

In Port Elizabeth for example, a statue erected to honour the animals that died during the South African war, was vandalized. The Herald reports that this vandalism was allegedly also done by the EFF.

Tripadvisor, with the help of reviews from visitors to the various landmark around SA, has put together 2015’s Top 10 landmarks in the country.

These landmarks are a mix between our political places of importance, our courts of law and some include South Africa’s breathtaking and unique natural places of interest, like the Storms River Suspension Bridge, for example.

Regardless of their difference in form and style, these places in SA all add up to represent what our country stands for.

Join the debate, gather the family and check out if these landmarks of SA before they’re gone.