Pilgrims+Rest

Pilgrim's Rest is a small town in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa. It is protected as a provincial heritage site. This area is rich with natural, cultural, and historic remembrance of what happened here. There was a colossal amount prospectors attracted here because of the Transvaal gold field in 1873. The first piece of gold that was found here was in 1000-1300 A.D. by unknown miners that worked at the quartz reefs. Proof of their digging can still be found today in northern and eastern parts of South Africa and Zimbabwe. When the gold was found, Great Zimbabwe and Thulamela started a complex trading culture where the gold reached all the way to Arabia, India, and Phonicia. The town of Pilgrim's Rest was declared a National Monument in 1986 as a living memory of the gold rush in different parts of South, Eastern, and Northern Africa. The unique artifacts of this historic village is thoroughly understood in museums and historic sites. Historians, architects, curators, and special interests groups watch carefully over all of the man made objects and refurbishments in the village to sustain it's original look.