Fort Schanskop
Fort Schanskop is a (former) fort in Pretoria , Gauteng Province in South Africa , on the site of the Voortrekker Monument . Today it houses the "Anglo-Boer War Museum" and documents the Second Boer War and the following years up to 1914.
history
background
It is one of four forts built by the South African Republic (CAR) to protect Pretoria shortly before 1900 - the other three forts are Fort Klapperkop , Fort Wonderboompoort and Fort Daspoortrand .
The forts were built in response to the Jameson Raid , which was crushed in 1896 . The Jameson Raid and the high number of foreigners who immigrated after the gold was found on the Witwatersrand (in what is now Johannesburg ) made the security of the capital of the South African Republic (CAR) appear to be at risk.
Therefore, a plan to secure the capital was developed. On March 24, 1896, the government of the South African Republic approved the construction of eight forts (only four of which were built).
History of the fort
Fort Schanskop was built by the German engineers Otto Albert Adolph von Dewitz and Heinrich C. Werner from the Krupp company according to plans by the architect Christiaan Kuntz and handed over on April 6, 1897.
The fort is a south-facing, pentagonal complex with fortified, semi-underground rooms, which was additionally protected by a trench and barbed wire .
Several cannons of various calibers were stationed in the fort to protect Pretoria from advancing troops; the fort itself was able to secure the surrounding area through numerous loopholes .
After the beginning of the Second Boer War, men and weapons were withdrawn from the fort, so that it fell to the British troops on June 5, 1900 without a fight.
After the end of the Second Boer War , Fort Schanskop remained a military facility.
On July 8, 1938 Fort Schanskop - together with Fort Klapperkop - was declared a " National Monument ". In 1978 it was renovated and should become part of the " Fort Klapperkop Military Museum ", which never happened. In 1994 it was bought by the operator of the Voortrekker Monument and has been used as a museum ever since.
Others
Fort Schanskop is located south of Pretoria, east of the N12 national road . On the eastern side is the very similar Fort Klapperkop .
Web links
- Description on the Voortrekker Monument homepage. at www.voortrekkermon.org.za
- brief mention. on www.suedafrikatour.de (German)
Coordinates: 25 ° 46 ′ 37.9 ″ S , 28 ° 11 ′ 4.6 ″ E