Constitution Hill

Constitution Hill is the home of South Africa’s Constitutional Court, as well as the country’s founding documents: its Constitution and Bill of Rights. But for nearly a hundred years, from 1892 to 1983, the hill was the site of the Old Fort Prison Complex, which included the notorious men’s prison known as “Number Four.” At various times, the Fort held rebellious British soldiers, Defiance Campaigners, Treason Trialists, youths caught up in the Soweto Uprising, and many other political prisoners, including the young Mohandas Gandhi and countless ordinary women and men who had violated the apartheid Pass Laws. 

As part of a plan to convert the Fort into a hilltop campus devoted to constitutional rights, most of the prison buildings have been turned into museums. Other sections of the prison were demolished to make way for the Constitutional Court, as well as constitutional monitoring organizations such as the Commission for Gender Equality.

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References

Constitution Hill, official website:
External Link

“Making the cell walls talk.” The Economist, August 13, 2005.

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Discussions

Discussion of Constitution Hill

Constitution Hill is, in many ways, a model for what a multi-faceted memorial site can be. In supplanting a former political prison with the home…

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Design of Constitution Hill

After it was decided, in 1995, to move the Constitutional Court to the site of the Old Fort, a major international competition was held in…

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Related Resources

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