The house is located on the crossing of Ngakane Street / Vilakazi Street in Orlando West, Soweto. The house is right in the middle of the place where the Soweto Uprising took place in 1976.
The Hector Pieterson museum is located a short walk away; the spot where Hector Pieterson was killed is very close to the house.
The small exhibition in the house shows some personal items from the Mandela family.
A local guide from the Soweto Heritage trust will show you around in the tiny home and tell you some stories about the house as well as over the former house owner himself Mandela.
Although it’s a bit overrated, it belongs to a Soweto visit as well as a visit to the Hector Pieterson museum.
Why would you visit an ugly 1960s building when there’s Nelson Mandela’s house and the Hector Pieterson Museum nearby? That’s what you may ask yourself when you stand in front of the Catholic Regina Mundi Church (meaning “Queen of the World”).
This church was a gathering place of local Anti-Apartheid activists, but is more known for the role it played during the Soweto uprise of 1976. Hundreds fearing the police attacks fled to this church looking for sanctuary.
But their hopes were not fulfilled as the police did not respect the church in the summer of 1976. Bullet holes and a broken marble altar are the tracks left after armed police forces stormed the church in this clash between black students and the Apartheid state.
During opening times, a volunteer of the church will guide tourists through the church showing you the most important places of this building. It includes the picture of the “Black Madonna of Soweto” and photographs showing the younger history of Soweto.
Today, the church is sometimes called the peoples church and it is acknowledged by high-rank political figures as an important spot. Still, it plays a central role in Soweto’s community, no matter if catholic or non-catholic.
Website: http://www.mandelahouse.com/trust.asp
