One hundred years ago, Mohandas Gandhi lived in this house in Johannesburg. Within these walls, the future Mahatma created and developed his philosophy of passive resistance: Satyagraha in sanskrit. A pacifist method of protest that he employed in India to lead the country to independence. Today, the Satyagraha House is both a museum and a guest house. A unique way to immerse yourself in the privacy of a man and the history of a country.
Renovations overseen by a team comprising a historian, a curator, an architect, two interior designers, and their respective teams, have restored the original spirit of the house, bringing back an important page in the history of both South Africa and Mohandas Gandhi. The Satyagraha House is now a registered part of the country’s historical heritage and presents an innovative accommodation concept linking guesthouse to museum.
“To spend a night in a museum”. This is the concept of the Satyagraha House. Particular attention has been paid to the decor in order to faithfully restore the atmosphere of sobriety in which lived Gandhi and Kallenbach. A harmonious compromise between asceticism and comfort is reached using furniture, objects, fabric and bedding found in India, in Gandhi’s native state of Gudjarat.
The main house counts three rooms, two of which have direct access to the museum.
The Kallenbach Cottage: this annex to the main house was built a few years later and includes two separate rooms.
The New Wing: built in 2010, this section is composed of two large brick and glass cubes offering three rooms. It was conceived by the architect Rocco Bosman in a manner that complements yet distinguishes it, with its lines and sober style, from the original house, the goal being to create a harmony between the two.
Very simple and attractive