Pietermaritzburg City Hall

The first city hall here burned down in 1898 and the replacement, completed in 1901, is the red-brick Victorian pile that dominates the centre of Pietermaritzburg - domes, a clock tower rising about forty-seven metres, stained glass and an organ inside. It is commonly described as the largest all-brick building in the southern hemisphere, a claim repeated widely and documented loosely, but the scale is real and the brickwork is the point. The city has one of the densest collections of Victorian and Edwardian architecture in the country, much of it in red brick from local clay, and the hall is the centrepiece. Pietermaritzburg was founded by Voortrekkers in 1838 and named for two of their leaders, and it served as the capital of colonial Natal, which is why the public buildings are grander than the city's present size suggests.

History

The hall was built between 1899 and 1901 to replace a town hall of 1893 lost to fire in 1898, and the Duke of Cornwall opened it in August 1901 (Wikipedia, Pietermaritzburg City Hall).

What you'll find

• The 1901 rebuild - a red-brick Victorian hall replacing one lost to fire in 1898.
• The clock tower - about forty-seven metres over the city centre.
• The brick claim - said to be the largest all-brick building in the southern hemisphere.
• The colonial capital - public buildings scaled for Natal's former seat of government.

When to go

April to September. One hour. Interior access depends on events and staffing.

What to expect

The interior is not reliably open to casual visitors - it is a working municipal building. The "largest all-brick" claim is repeated more than it is verified. The city centre has ordinary urban safety considerations; visit in daylight.

Nearby

The Tatham Art Gallery is opposite; the Midlands Meander starts north of the city.

Key facts