Why were they established in the first place and how have they survived this long? Their histories provide clues for their successes and failures
The Union Buildings in Pretoria seem to have escaped the anger unleashed on "colonial monuments", unlike statues of Paul Kruger and Cecil John Rhodes.
The controversial Afrikaans singer said illiteracy "has everything to do with" the defacement of historical statues.
Opposition political parties on Wednesday expressed shocked at the reaction of local African National Congress (ANC) leaders on the ruling of the Pretoria High Court preventing the name Pretoria being replaced with Tshwane on road signs. On Tuesday the court granted an urgent interim interdict to the Freedom Front Plus and AfriForum.