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Several historically and architecturally
significant buildings surround the square:
the Palace of Justice, the Old Capitol
Theatre, the Tudor Chambers, the Ou Raadsaal
(Old Council Chamber) and the General Post Office.
Paul Kruger Street in Pretoria forms an axis between
the
Pretoria Station and Church Square.
The turreted Palace of Justice forms part of the northern
façade of Church Square. Dating from the end of the
19th century, it was designed in the typical Italian
Renaissance style by Dutch architect Sytze Wierda.
Headquarters of the Gauteng Supreme Court, it was the scene
of arguably the most famous political trial
in South Africa's history, the Rivonia
Trial. During this trial leading members of
the African National Congress (ANC), including
Nelson Mandela, were charged with treason
and subsequently incarcerated.
Today the bronze statue of
Paul
Kruger occupies the centre stage in Church Square.
Statues of four anonymous Boer citizen-soldiers
surround that of Kruger's on a lower level of the
plinth.
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Sammy
Marks commissioned Anton van Wouw
(1862-1945) in 1896 to create the statue and
the pedestal was ready in 1900. The bronze figures were
cast in Italy at the turn of the century, but it was
not until 1954 that it was installed in Church
Square. First placed
in front of Princes Park, and later in front
of the Pretoria Station, it was moved to
Church Square and unveiled by Prime Minister D.F. Malan
on 10 October 1954.
The Ou Raadsaal on the
southern side of the square was designed by Dutch
architect Sytze Wierda and erected by JJ Kirkness, a
Scotsman from the Orkney Isles in 1887.
Parades have been in the square every Wednesdays
from 09:30 to 10:30. The procession consists of
members of the National Ceremonial Guard (NCG) and
one of the military bands, e.g. the South African
Air Force, the South African Navy or the NCG`s own
band.
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