- Address of place: South Africa, prov. Gauteng, Johannesburg, West Orlando, Str. Vilakazi;
- Opening hours: 09:00 - 17:00, without days off;
- How to get there: by metro, minibus or taxi (recommended)
The National Museum of Nelson Mandela, called simply Mandela's house, is in West Ordando, near Johannesburg . For the local black population, this building is the same symbol as the apartheid museum or Hector Peterson's museum. The only difference is that the museums were built according to the idea of the architects, and Mandela's house existed for a long time. In it, a politician and a fighter for the rights of the Black and Nobel Laureates lived until 1962.
Native land of N. Mandela
Thirty years' imprisonment did not break his connection with this place. Despite the fact that the government of South Africa offered Mandela more comfortable and safer housing, after leaving prison in 1990, he returned here, in the area of Soweto, on Vilakazi street 8115.
In 1997, the politician handed over his house to the Soweto Heritage Foundation. Until now, it has maintained an authentic atmosphere. The building was transferred to the jurisdiction of UNESCO in 1999. In 2007, it was closed to tourists for major repairs.
House-museum
In 2009, the tourists were greeted by an updated house. In addition to the living quarters, there was a visitor center and a small museum telling about the life of the politician and his struggle for equality between blacks and whites.
This landmark is interesting for tourists, not only because the original environment is completely preserved in the living room, but also because its walls still have traces of bullets, and on the facade "burns" from incendiary bottles are specially left. The appearance of Mandela's house-museum is not remarkable. This is a simple brick one-storey building of rectangular shape.
Not far from Mandela's house lived another Nobel laureate - Desmond Tutu.
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