Castles of "South Africa" PARKTOWN MANSIONS vs UMGUNGUNDLOVU

PARKTOWN MANSIONS

The mansions of Parktown (a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa) are an important part of the history of the city of Johannesburg. They were the home...

The mansions of Parktown (a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa) are an important part of the history of the city of Johannesburg. They were the homes of the Randlords, accountants, military personnel and other influential residents of early Johannesburg, dating back as early as the 1890s. The first of these mansions, Hohenheim was designed by Frank Emley and was built for Sir Lionel Phillips and his wife Lady Florence Phillips. The name Hohenheim had been used originally by Hermann Eckstein, one of the first Rand Lords to name his house after the place of his own birth. When Phillips became the head of Eckstein & Co, he moved in to Eckstein's house but due to the expansion of the city decided to build the new Hohenheim in an enviable site further from the mine workings. Sir Lionel Phillips was banished from the Republic for his involvement in the Jameson Raid. It is perhaps fitting that the next occupant of this famous house was none other than Sir Percy Fitzpatrick, the author of the best selling book 'Jock of the Bushveldt'. The house was demolished but a plaque remains in honor of this building. Countless period homes and mansions were destroyed during the construction of the Wits Education Campus, Pieter Roos Park, the Johannesburg General Hospital and the M1 motorway. The heritage of the remaining houses is closely guarded by the Parktown Westcliff Association. Important architects included Leck and Emley, Aburrow and Treeby, James Cope Christie and Sir Herbert Baker and his partners Masey, Sloper and Francis Flemming.

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UMGUNGUNDLOVU

uMgungundlovu was the royal capital of the Zulu King Dingane (1828–1840) and one of several military complexes (amakhanda) which he maintained. He est...

uMgungundlovu was the royal capital of the Zulu King Dingane (1828–1840) and one of several military complexes (amakhanda) which he maintained. He established his royal kraal in 1829 in the eMakhosini valley against Lion hill (Singonyama), just south of the White Umfolozi River. The name uMgungundlovu stems from the Zulu word or phrase ungungu we ndlovu, which means "the secret conclave of the elephant". Some sources also refer to uMgungundlovu as "the place of the elephant". The word indlovu (elephant) refers to the king of the Zulu people. Dingane established his royal kraal, or capital, at uMgungundlovu in 1829. He took power in 1828 after assassinating Shaka, his half-brother. This was one of the king's military complexes (amakhanda) and was located in the eMakhosini valley, just south of the White Umfolozi River on the slope of the Lion hill. It lay between two streams, the Umkhumbane to the south and Nzololo to the north.

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