Sytze Wopkes Wierda (28 February 1839 in
Hemrik
Hemrik () is a village in the municipality of Opsterland in the east of Friesland, the Netherlands. It had a population of around 770 in January 2017.
The village was first mentioned in 1315 as Hemericke, and means village area. Hemrik developed o ...
, the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
– 10 December 1911 in
Sea Point
Sea Point (Afrikaans: ''Seepunt'') is an affluent and densely populated suburb of Cape Town, situated in the Western Cape, between Signal Hill and the Atlantic Ocean, a few kilometres to the west of Cape Town's Central Business District (CBD). M ...
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
) was a
Dutch
Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
** Dutch people as an ethnic group ()
** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship ()
** Dutch language ()
* In specific terms, i ...
architect and engineer who played an important role in the architecture of the
South African Republic
The South African Republic (, abbreviated ZAR; ), also known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer republics, Boer republic in Southern Africa which existed from 1852 to 1902, when it was annexed into the British Empire as a result ...
in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Wierda was trained as a carpenter before studying architecture. In his home country he was involved in the construction of railways and other public works, as well as designing several churches for the
Christian Reformed Church, the protestant denomination of which he was a member. He was brought to the republic by State President
Paul Kruger
Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger (; 10 October 1825 – 14 July 1904), better known as Paul Kruger, was a South African politician. He was one of the dominant political and military figures in 19th-century South Africa, and State Preside ...
who was a great admirer of his work and wanted to establish a typically South African style of architecture with Dutch roots. His works include numerous official buildings and structures like post offices, police stations, gaols and bridges. Most of his buildings are located in Pretoria with the notable exception of the Rissik Street Post Office in
Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...
. One of his most celebrated works is the Palace of Justice on
Church Square in Pretoria.
[Artefacts](_blank)
http://www.artefacts.co.za/main/Buildings/archframes.php?archid=1892&orig_form=archlistframes.php&bldgorder=%60tblbldg%60.%60name%60&orderby=Surname&initial=W&source=0&backbutton=1 WIERDA, Sytze Wopkes] The South African community
Wierdapark
Wierdapark is a suburb of Centurion, Gauteng, near Pretoria, and is located in the province of Gauteng, South Africa.
History
Wierdapark was named after the chief architect of the South African Republic, Transvaal Republic, Sytze Wierda, Sytze ...
is named in his honor.
References
External links
Profile at RKD
1839 births
1911 deaths
19th-century Dutch architects
Cape Colony architects
20th-century South African architects
Christian Reformed Churches Christians from the Netherlands
Dutch ecclesiastical architects
Dutch emigrants to South Africa
History of Pretoria
People from Opsterland
{{Netherlands-architect-stub