Castle of Good Hope

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The current and the five historical flags of South Africa in chronological order on the castle (the flags have since been removed)

The Castle of Good Hope ( Afrikaans Kasteel die Goeie Hoop , Dutch Kasteel de Goede Hoop 'Castle of Good Hope' ) is a fortress in Cape Town , South Africa . It was built between 1666 and 1679 and is the oldest building in South Africa designed by Europeans and still preserved in its original form.

history

The previous wooden building was built in 1652 by Jan van Riebeeck on behalf of the Dutch East India Company . This was replaced by a contemporary fortress in the form of a pentagon . The five bastions were named after the titles of Wilhelm II of Oranjen . The western bastion was called Leerdam , followed by Buuren , Catzenellenbogen , Nassau and von Oranje (clockwise).

The pentagon with corner bastions goes back to the ideas of the French fortress builder Vauban , who was also active in the Dutch-French war . After the British takeover of the Cape Colony , Anne Barnard resided here and had the interior expanded in the style of the English Regency from 1797 to 1802 .

The fortress was originally located directly on the sea, the original north entrance had to be moved to the west due to frequent storm surges. It was not until the 1940s that the harbor bay ( foreshore ) was filled in to create today's inland location.

photos

  • The fortress around 1680

  • Main entrance

  • balcony

  • Heraldry above the main entrance

  • Key handover ceremony (daily at 12 noon)

Web links

Commons : Castle of Good Hope  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 33 ° 55 ′ 34 ″  S , 18 ° 25 ′ 39 ″  E