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Native name | Kerkplein (Afrikaans) |
---|---|
Former name(s) | Market Square |
Area | 1 ha |
Coordinates | 25°44′47″S 28°11′18″E / 25.7465°S 28.1882°E |
North | Palace of Justice |
East | Tudor Chambers |
South | Ou Raadsaal |
West | Old Netherlands Bank building, Old Capitol Theatre |
Church Square (Afrikaans: Kerkplein), originally Market Square (Dutch: Marktplein),[1] is the square at the historic centre of the city of Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa. The founder of Pretoria, Marthinus Pretorius, determined that the square be used as a market place and church yard. It was subsequently named for the church buildings that stood at the centre of the square from 1856 to 1905. The square's most prominent feature, since June 1954, is the statue of the late Boer leader and president of the South African Republic, Paul Kruger, at its centre.[2] Statues of four anonymous Boer citizen-soldiers surround that of Kruger on a lower level of the plinth.