Groote Schuur, Colonial estate in Rondebosch, South Africa
Groote Schuur is an estate with museum and national heritage site in Rondebosch, South Africa, located beneath Devil's Peak. The main building shows a colonnaded veranda in yellow wood, while the grounds include several outbuildings, manicured lawns, and a long avenue lined with pine trees.
Cecil Rhodes acquired the property in 1893 and commissioned architect Herbert Baker to redesign it after a fire in 1896. Rhodes hosted political guests in this residence, and later South African prime ministers used the house as an official dwelling until the 1980s.
The Dutch name means large barn and refers to an old grain storehouse that once served ships of the Dutch East India Company. Today this past shows in the architectural mix of Cape Dutch gables and British colonial forms.
Visitors must book tours two hours in advance and present their passport, as the property on Klipper Road operates under high security. Paths through the gardens are mostly level and lead between formal beds and tree groves.
In 1990 Nelson Mandela and F.W. De Klerk signed the Groote Schuur Minute here, a foundation agreement to end violence and begin genuine negotiations. This moment transformed the estate from a symbol of colonial power into a site of historical reconciliation.
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