Voortrekker Monument

This massive granite monument on a hill south of Pretoria commemorates the Afrikaner pioneers who trekked inland during the 1830s and 1840s. Inaugurated in 1949, its 40-metre cubic structure encloses a Hall of Heroes lined with a marble frieze depicting the Great Trek. Each year at noon on 16 December, a shaft of sunlight falls precisely onto a cenotaph in the lower hall, marking the anniversary of the Battle of Blood River. A wall of the laager surrounds the building, and a museum and nature reserve share the grounds.