Postcard ZA-39914

City Hall

The present City Hall was built on the site of the Volksraadsaal of the Voortrekkers and completed in 1900. On June 6, 1969, the Pietermaritzburg City Hall was declared a National Monument.

It is notable for its fine stained-glass windows and domes and, according to Ripley’s "Believe it or not!" is the largest all-brick building south of the Equator.

One of the most important features of the City Hall is the clock tower, which rises majestic 47 metes from the pavement to the finial at the top of the tower. The clock itself is a Westminster 4/4 chime Tower Clock and was manufactured by Gillette and Johnston of Croydon, England.

It began to keep track of time on June 16, 1900, at precisely the same hour of the day as its predecessor, which stopped; due to a fire on July 12, 1898 when the first City Hall was destroyed. The dials of the clock are on the fifth storey of the tower and the 12 city bells are in the belfry above.

The first chime of each hour denotes the correct time. Gillette and Johnston also manufactured the carillon in the belfry of the clock tower. It is an automatic machine similar to a music box and has a repertoire of several tunes. The carillon can also be rung by an experienced bell-ringer, as the bells are fitted with a set of 12 smaller hammers on the inside, with ropes attached. Brindley and Foster built the magnificent organ in 1901, replacing the original pipe organ destroyed in the 1898 blaze.

The second organ, reputed to be one of the largest in the Southern Hemisphere, was modernised in 1975 and equipped with a mobile console, making it one of the finest in the world.