The Kruger house is a house museum, i.e. it attempts to recreate the ambience of a historic period, event or person.An almost total historic environment has been recreated. Visitors to Kruger House should feel as though the President or Mrs Kruger might return at any moment.
The house was built in 1884, the architect being Tom Claridge from the Orange Free State and the builder Charles Clark, from Pretoria. Milk instead of water was used for mixing the cement, because at that time the cement was of poor quality.
It was one of the first homes in Pretoria to be lit by electricity. The unusual brass switches, of German make and marked Dunkel-Licht, are said to be those installed originally. They were manufactured by Siemens & Schuckert and probably installed by them.
The ceiling in the President's reception room has been redecorated in its original white and gold colours. The carpet in the President's reception room is similar to that which covered the floor in Kruger's day. The present carpet was woven in 1974 (previous one 1933) by the same London company that supplied the original.
The flag seen in front of the house is that of the South African Republic (ZAR), that is the Transvaal. It is generally called the Vierkleur.The Lions on the verandah were given to President Kruger as a birthday gift on 10 October 1896 by Barney Barnato, the mining magnate.
The furnishing plan has been based on a thorough study of the available evidence of original furnishings. In accordance with this several changes have recently been made to the interior, with a view to give the visitor a more accurate conception of the life style of the Krugers.
