The museums in South Africa cover a rich natural and cultural history reaching back to some of the earliest human settlements in the world.

museums are the perfect show cases to exhibit the natural and cultural heritage treasures of a country.

With more the 300 museums out of an approximate 1000 museums in the whole of Africa housing its natural and cultural heritage, South Africa can justifiably be called the museum country of Africa.

The folowing will give you an overview of most of the country's museums available in each of South Africa's nine provinces, including descriptions, locations, contact details and website addresses.

Eastern Cape museums	Limpopo museums
Free State museums	North West museums
Gauteng museums	Northern Cape museums
Kwazulu-Natal museums	Western Cape museums
Mpumalanga museums

Robben island, it was here that former South African president Nelson Mandela was kept for most of his 27 years as political prisoner - Museums in South Africa
copyright © South African tourism
With the earliest one dating back as far as the first half of the 19th century, South Africa’s museums cover a wide range and variety of subjects, from Geology, Natural history, Archaeology, History and Art, to Mining, Agriculture, Apartheid and many others.

You can find them in a variety of settings and places, from elegant 18th century homes to caves in majestic mountain ranges, from cultural villages in rural settings to state-of-the-art buildings in major cities.


Delville Wood memorial and garden in the Company's Garden in Cape Town with the South African Museum and Table Mountain in the background - South African museums
Photo: Ian Junor
Most of the country’s national museums are declared cultural institutions (national museums that have framework autonomy and are managed by their own councils), and fall under the overall jurisdiction of the Department of Arts and Culture.

Some of them are:

Transvaal Museum - Pretoria

Iziko museums - Cape Town

Natal Museum - Pietermaritzburg

National Museum - Bloemfontein

Die Afrikaanse Taalmuseum - Paarl

The National English Literary Museum - Grahamstown

Voortrekker Museum - Pietermaritzburg

War Museum of the Boer Republics - Bloemfontein

Robben Island Museum - Cape Town

William Humphreys Art Gallery - Kimberley

Nelson Mandela Museum - Mthatha

South African Museum of Military History - Johannesburg

The Tsonga Kraal open air museum in the Hans Merensky nature reserve near Tzaneen, illustrating the way of life of the Tsonga tribe a hundred years ago - Museums in South Africa
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