Freedom Park offers visitors a unique and exceptional opportunity to experience and appreciate the history of this nation – it is about the South African tale in the voice of the South African people. Using South Africa’s unique culture, heritage, history and spirituality, Freedom Park tells previously untold stories. It allows visitors to walk where their ancestors have walked and to understand a shared heritage as brothers and sisters of a diverse nation. Freedom Park is the heart and soul of South Africa captured in one breathtaking space.
The mandate of Freedom Park is the creation of a memorial and monument that will narrate a story spanning a period of 3.6 billion years through the following seven epochs: Earth, Ancestors, Peopling, Resistance and Colonisation, Industrialisation and Urbanisation, Nationalism and Struggle, Nation Building and Continent Building; as well as the Garden of Remembrance to acknowledge those that contributed to the freedom of the country.
Vision
To be a leading national and international icon of humanity and freedom.
Mission
To provide a pioneering and empowering heritage destination in order to mobilise for reconciliation and nation building in our country; to reflect upon our past, improving our present and building our future as a united nation; and to contribute continentally and internationally to the formation of better human understanding among nations and peoples.
The Park has been divided into different areas, each one dedicated to a different aspect and serving a dedicated purpose.
Isivivane is a spiritual place – the resting place for those who died fighting for freedom and liberation in South Africa.
To build Isivivane, each of the nine provinces in our country sent a boulder that comes from an important place in that province. These nine boulders, together with a boulder representing national government and a boulder representing the international community, were used to build the Lesaka – the burial ground for the country’s heroes and heroines.
S’khumbuto is the main memorial. It tells of the most important conflicts in South Africa’s history. S’khumbuto has many different elements, each one with its own symbolism and meaning.
The Wall of Names is inscribed with the names of heroes and heroines who died fighting for humanity and freedom during the major conflicts in South African history, namely: the Pre-Colonial Wars, Slavery, Genocide, Wars of Resistance, the South African War, the First and Second World War and the Struggle for Liberation. This brings honour to those who laid down their lives so South Africans can enjoy freedom today.
The Sanctuary is a quiet place where one can go to think or to pay respect to a loved one who has passed on.
The Eternal Flame is for the heroes and heroines who died without their names being recorded. The flame burns continuously to remind us of the names we will never know.
Contact details:
Salvokop off Potgieter Street across from the Pretoria Central Prison, Pretoria, 0002
Tel: +27 12 336 4000
Tax: +27 12 336 4021
Toll-free: 0800 470 740
Email: info@freedompark.co.za
Operating hours: Daily at 9am, 12pm & 3pm
Open 7 days a week and on public holidays (except Good Friday and Christmas Day)
Gauteng
