Kliptown, a suburb in the heart of Soweto, is the oldest residential district of Soweto and was first laid out in 1891 on land which formed part of Klipspruit (i. e. ‘rocky stream’) . From 1903 the area was home to informal settlements and in the well-known Union Street, the architectural history from this era can still be seen. In 2005 the Johannesburg City Council announced plans for renewal of the Kliptown area, including a large-scale housing project and the area now contains a mixture of purpose-built housing, offices and shops as well as the Walter Sisulu Square of Dedication. Kliptown falls within the “Struggle Route” which takes the visitor along the history of the struggle for freedom. On June 26, 1955 the Congress of the People met in Kliptown. Organised by the African National Congress, the South African Indian Congress, the South African Congress of Democrats and the Coloured People’s Congress the Congress saw the declaration and adoption of the Freedom Charter, which ...