Dredzen Shop & House Museum in Pilgrim's Rest, Mpumalanga

The Dredzen Shop and House Museum is situated in Pilgrim’s Rest in Mpumalanga, South Africa.

The Museum represents a general dealer's shop from the 1930’s to 1950’s, completely authentic with a back door leading to the shopkeeper’s residence – the “house museum” section. The house is representative of a middle class family of the period, while the shop displays items that are from this 20 year period. Items on display, range from jams and preserves to candles and matches that were all vital necessities in the day.

In the 1930’s, during the gold rush days, at least 16 general dealers lined the main street of this quaint village town. By 1950 unfortunately mine production had declined considerably and most of the businesses had to shut down.

The museum can be found along Main Street and tickets can be obtained from the Information Office, which is a good place to start your tour of Pilgrim’s Rest as it doubles up as a small museum with interesting exhibits and has loads of information, brochures and maps.

Things to do and see

• House Museum
• General Dealer Store Items
• Period furniture & decorations

Admission

A small admission fee of approximately R20 is charged. Please contact the information office directly to confirm prices.

Climate

Rainfall occurs mainly in the mid-summer months, with December and January seeing the highest levels. 

Summer months, November to March will have average temperatures of between 14˚C and 24˚C.

Winter months, May to August will have average temperatures of between 4˚C and 19˚C.

Transport

There are daily flights from Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town into the Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport in Mombela (Nelspruit). Car rental companies are available for easy access to the surrounding areas with Pilgrim’s Rest being just over an hour away along the R537. Road trips from Johannesburg to Pilgrim’s Rest via the N12 will take about 4 hours.