Erasmus Castle, Victorian Art Nouveau mansion in Pretoria, South Africa
Erasmus Castle is a Victorian Art Nouveau mansion perched on a hill in Pretoria's Erasmuskloof area, featuring Oregon pine flooring throughout, multiple fireplaces in different rooms, a dedicated music room, and a nursery tucked beneath the roofline. The building displays carefully designed interior spaces that reflect the lifestyle and interests of its original inhabitants.
Construction began in 1892 under Dutch architect Frans van der Behren and Italian builder Monte Bello, with completion marked by a church service in 1903. The property was later taken over by Armscor, creating a link between the colonial-era mansion and South Africa's modern institutional history.
The grounds hold San artifacts and an early Voortrekker-era dwelling with traditional cow dung flooring, reflecting the layers of people who lived here.
The castle requires advance booking for guided tours to explore its architectural features and rooms as it is owned and managed by Armscor. Plan to spend enough time examining the different interior spaces and walking the surrounding grounds to get the full experience.
The mansion faces south, which is unusual for the Southern Hemisphere, yet this unusual orientation provides natural temperature control across different seasons. This design choice shows how European architecture was adapted to work with South Africa's climate conditions.
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