Mpumalanga: Culture and History

Mpumalanga offers a local cultural perspective that bridges history and contemporary art. In Mpumalanga Township in Hammarsdale, the Mpumalanga Heritage Centre serves as an educational resource and visitor orientation centre in the Durban Local History Museums network. If you would like to give your stay a cultural focus, history and art offer two tangible themes.

History at the Mpumalanga Heritage Centre

At the Heritage Centre, text and graphic panels present important events and the peace process from 1991 to 1993. This process concluded with the Africa Peace Award in 1993. The Centre also uses filmed oral testimonies from survivors as primary educational material. The panels provide a chronological and thematic framework; the filmed testimonies offer another form of educational work. Together, the Centre combines written and graphic information with oral accounts.

The Mpumalanga Heritage Centre is listed as open Monday to Friday from 08:30 to 16:00 and Saturday from 08:30 to 12:30; it is closed on Sundays and public holidays. Check the hours before your visit.

Art and events

Hammarsdale Arts and Crafts is also located in Mpumalanga Township. The facility promotes and sells contemporary art from Hammarsdale and the surrounding area. Its focus on art thus complements the Heritage Centre’s historical interpretation with a contemporary perspective: the emphasis is on art from the region and its sale. Check whether the facility is operating before visiting.

About 2 km from Mpumalanga Township, in the Nsthongweni area, is the Khabza De Khabza Arts Centre. It offers a fully equipped venue for live music, poetry and comedy. This means that, alongside history and visual art, performing arts are also in focus. The three types of events offer different points of interest if you would like to shape your trip around your cultural interests.

The Magaba Lounge in Mpumalanga Township is considered a place to meet socially and enjoy a drink. As a possible reason to visit, it differs from the cultural and historical themes of the facilities. Check whether the lounge is operating before visiting.

The wider setting: Durban Metro

In Durban Metro, the eThekwini Municipality extends from cosmopolitan coastal areas in the north to rugged valleys in the west. eThekwini’s municipal museums also cover a range of topics: the Durban Local History Museums focus on cultural and historical heritage, the Durban Art Gallery on visual art, and the Durban Natural Science Museum on natural science aspects of heritage. There are 19 Local History Museums sites in eThekwini; they are fully managed by the Municipality.

Other attractions in Durban Metro include a variety of facilities: uShaka Sea World is an aquarium that offers dolphin shows, seal viewing and penguin presentations. uShaka Wet n Wild is a water park. If you plan to attend a show at Sea World, check the current programme before your visit.

When looking for hotels in Mpumalanga, you can first decide whether local history, contemporary art or an event format should shape your stay.

More destinations

Discover more destinations: Pinetown, Hillcrest, La Mercy, Durban South, Mt Edgecombe, Westbrook, Waterfall, Westville.

For the broader travel overview: Ethekwini.