Mandela House is located at Orlando West Soweto on the famous Vilakazi Street. Nelson Mandela lived in this house from 1946 to 1962 and the house address is 8115 at the corner of Vilakazi and Ngakane Streets which happens to be a short distance from Desmond Tutu house.
In September 1997, Nelson Mandela donated this house to Soweto Heritage Trust which runs it as a Museum. The house was declared a National Heritage Site in 1999 and currently you can view the house on our Private Pretoria, Soweto, and Apartheid Museum Tours.
The house was built in 1945, a single storey red-brick Matchbox build by the Government of the day in those years. It has also bullet holes distinct from attacks with Molotov Cocktails. These is a term used to describe a homemade Petrol bomb
Nelson Mandela came to live in the house after his release from prison in 1990 but moved out after 11 days.
In the year 1999, Soweto was 16th place of the place one must visit in the world, and these was because of the Museum which was opened in December 1997 by the Soweto Heritage Trust.
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela who was imprisoned for a few times lived in the house with her daughters while Nelson Mandela was in Jail.
These house is a tourist attraction that is visited by Tourists from all over the world. The house is a beehive of activities for 7 days a week and it is normally closed on the Christmas day and the New Year Day.
Other major sites to visit while touring Soweto includes the Vilakazi Street, Hector Pieterson Museum which are located a few meters from Mandela house.
You can also visit the Orlando Towers Station and have Lunch at Sakhumzi Restaurant that is located at the heart of Vilakazi Street.