Afrikaans Language Monument

Completed in 1975, the monument is unusual in being an argument rendered in concrete rather than a statue. Architect Jan van Wijk designed a series of linked forms of different heights, each assigned a meaning by the designers: tall columns for the European languages, rounded domes of increasing size for the African influences, a bridging section for Malay, and a soaring central spire for Afrikaans itself, with a pool and a wall representing the Republic. Whether a building can carry that much explanation is a fair question, but the shapes work as sculpture, and the site - high on Paarl Mountain's granite with views over the winelands to Table Mountain - does most of the work. The monument's framing has been debated since it was built, and the on-site interpretation has shifted over the decades to acknowledge the language's mixed origins more directly than the 1975 version did.

What you actually see

• The column diagram - forms of different heights each assigned a linguistic meaning.
• The 1975 design - Jan van Wijk's concrete architecture rather than figurative statuary.
• The mountain site - granite domes and views over the winelands to Table Mountain.
• The shifting interpretation - on-site framing that has changed since it opened.

When to go

September to April; late afternoon light suits the concrete. One hour.

Honest expectations

There is an entrance fee and the site is essentially one structure and a view. The symbolism needs the signage to read at all. The road up the mountain is winding. The monument's politics are contested and visitors bring their own views.

Nearby

Paarl Rock is on the same mountain; the town and its wine farms are below.