SLAVE LODGE

Description

Essentials about the Slave Lodge in brief

The Slave Lodge is one of the oldest buildings in Cape Town. The many names the building has borne over three centuries – Slave Lodge, Government House, Old High Court and Cultural History Museum of South Africa – bear witness to its long and rich history. Today, as a museum, Slave Lodge documents the long history of slavery in South Africa.

The exhibition at the Slave Lodge

In 1998, the museum was renamed Slave Lodge again. Under the guiding theme “From human wrongs to human rights,” the exhibition area on the first floor of the museum shows the long history of slavery in South Africa. Visitors can retrace the travel routes of slaves from their countries of origin India, Indonesia or Madagascar to South Africa and get an insight into the original culture of the slaves. Particularly impressive is the replica of a ship’s hull, which allows visitors to experience the cruel confinement on board a slave transport.

A lighted column with the names of many slaves serves as a memorial at Slave Lodge today. The column is modeled after the trunk of a tree, with fine rings symbolizing the annual rings that connect the past and the future. In addition to the permanent exhibition on the fate of the slaves, the Slave Lodge deals with a wide variety of issues related to human rights in frequent temporary exhibitions and exhibits works by artists who have a connection to this topic.