Known for its beautiful examples of Victorian and Edwardian architecture, the Voortrekker Settlers Cottage is located in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, the capital of the KwaZulu-Natal province. The city was founded in 1838 by Dutch-speaking Voortrekkers (early Dutch settlers) who moved away from the British authorities in the Cape and headed north into Natal. The town was laid out according to the traditional Voortrekker grid pattern and from 1840 people quarried shale and manufactured bricks to construct the thatched Voortrekker cottages like this one. 