This massive granite building was built as a national shrine to commemorate the heroes of the epic Great Trek of the late 18th and early 19th Centuries. The four walls of the Hall of Heroes, which is the main body of the building, are decorated with an Italian frieze depicting the history of the Great Trek in 1838, when Afrikaaners left Cape Town for the hinterland. One of the most interesting features of the monument is the 260-step stairway which leads to the dome, and the spectacular view it offers of the city.
