A New Treasure for St George’s Mall – a piece of the Berlin Wall St George’s Mall has landed itself a new treasure in the form of a big chunk of the famous Berlin Wall which was given to former president Nelson Mandela in the 1990s.

The piece of wall has been placed outside the Mandela Rhodes Foundation at 150 St George’s Mall – and already Capetonians and visitors to the city are stopping in their tracks to admire this valuable piece of history.
In 1996, while he was still president Nelson Mandela visited Berlin.

Following his visit, and as a special commemoration of it, the German government sent out a big chunk of the wall as a gift to Mandela. The German ambassador to South Africa organized for the piece to be housed outside the BMW Pavilion at the Waterfront, where it remained until this year.

However, when the BMW Pavilion changed hands earlier this year, the management contacted the Mandela Rhodes Foundation and asked whether they would like to take custody of the piece of wall.
“They said the piece had originally been a gift to Nelson Mandela and to the people of the country, and that it should be available for public display,” says Shaun Johnson, CEO of the Mandela Rhodes Foundation.

“I consulted my trustees and we spoke to the City of Cape Town. We then met with the Council – and, we are happy to report that it didn’t take long before the chunk of wall was outside the Mandela Rhodes Building. People are stopping to look at it all the time. We are delighted. It’s a new and very interesting historical attraction on the mall.”

“The City Council has been amazing in giving its approval and in facilitating this to happen swiftly,” he said.
Johnson said the piece will be kept permanently outside the Mandela Rhodes Foundation.

Related posts:

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2. St George’s Mall – Pedestrianising public space
3. Information Kiosk at St George’s Mall
4. The Wishing Wall
5. Launch of exhibitions marking the 20th anniversary of Mandela’s release from prison