The imposing buildings are located in Pretoria, atop Meintjeskop at the northern end of Arcadia, close to historic Church Square.

It has become an iconic landmark of Pretoria and South Africa in general, and is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the city and an emblem of democracy.

These buildings, built from light sandstone, were designed by the architect Sir Herbert Baker[6] in the English monumental style and are 285 m long.

[8] The east and west wings, as well as the twin-domed towers, represent two languages, English and Afrikaans, and the inner court was designed and built to symbolise the Union of South Africa.

The matching statues on top of the domed towers are Atlas, holding up the world, sculpted by Abraham Broadbent.

The statue on the domed rostrum in the amphitheatre between the wings is Mercury, a mythic Roman messenger and a god of trade, sculpted by George Ness.

Marthinus Wessel Pretorius, later to become first president of the Transvaal Republic, was the original owner of the farm 'Elandsfontein' on which Meintjieskop stands.

In 1856 Andries Francois du Toit (1813–1883), in exchange for a Basotho pony, acquired part of the farm, which he named 'Arcadia' and on which the Union Buildings were later constructed.

In 1909 Herbert Baker was commissioned to design the Government Building of the Union of South Africa (which was formed on 31 May 1910) in Pretoria.

Lord Selborne and Henry Charles Hull, a member of the first Union Cabinet, chose Meintjieskop as the site for Baker's design.

[13] The site was that of a disused quarry and the existing excavations were used to create the amphitheatre, which was set about with ornamental pools, fountains, sculptures, balustrades, and trees.

The design consisted of two identical wings, joined by a semi-circular colonnade forming the backdrop of the amphitheatre.

The cornerstone was laid in November 1910, shortly after the Union of South Africa – for which the buildings are named – was formed.

Baker envisaged identical wings of rectangular office blocks, each representing one of the two official languages.

For the overall design of the building, Baker chose the neo-classic architecture of the Italian Renaissance, and also combined an idiom of the English Renaissance, as well as significant elements of Cape Dutch detail, such as in the carved main doorways and fanlights and in much of the wrought-iron brass work and balustrades of the smaller areas.

On approaching the imbokodo, visitors trigger infrared beams, which activates history's "whispered voices", echoed in all 11 official languages, the rally cry, repeated softly.

Various monuments adorn the expansive lawns, including the Delville Wood War Memorial and a statue of the country's first Prime Minister, General The Rt Hon.

The lawn in front of the Union Buildings are often the location for public gatherings, whether they be protest or celebration, such as the presidential inauguration.

Starting at the bottom of the gardens, a large statue of General Louis Botha (first prime minister of the Union of South Africa) on horseback dominates the lawn.

The South African National Film, Video and Sound Archives is also located in the grounds of the Union Buildings, adjacent to the Police Memorial.

[20] The Union Buildings share duties with Cape Town as the seat of the South African Government.

Pretoria shares duties with Cape Town and Bloemfontein as the capital cities of South Africa.