Last Updated on April 28, 2021
Nelson Mandela House & Vilakazi Street is the present home of Desmond Tutu and the former home of Nelson Mandela. This is the only street in the world where two Nobel Peace Prize winners lived.
Nelson Mandela’s house is open for visits, but the home of Desmond Tutu is not.
It was completely awe inspiring to see this city, how its citizens played a significant role in the fight against apartheid, and the continual daily struggle to better today’s living environment.
The Mandela House is a quite small, single-story-red-brick-matchbox built in 1945. Though it is small, it does provide an effective, efficient and meaningful experience as you learn life-changing facts about President Nelson Mandela’s story and his fight to “promote human rights, democracy, reconciliation, mutual respect and tolerance amongst the peoples of South Africa.”
The house still has the bullet holes in the walls and the facade has scorch marks from attacks with Molotov cocktails, as well as some original furnishings, memorabilia, photographs and citations given to Nelson Mandela.
A long visit is not necessary as even the tours are quite short, but any visit is sure to be informative and educational.
Have you ever visited the Mandela House? What were your thoughts?