Signal Hill (Cape Town)
Signal Hill ( Afrikaans : Seinheuwel), also known as the “body of the lion” ( Lion's Rump ), is a prominent mountain with a flat summit next to Table Mountain and Lion's Head in Cape Town , South Africa . It is 350 m high and offers a view of the waterfront and the table bay behind it .
origin of the name
The mountain owes its name "Signal Hill" to a time signal for ships. In 1836, a time ball was installed on a wooden frame at the Cape Town Observatory ( South African Astronomical Observatory ) after the signal had previously been given with a pistol shot from the roof of the building. The time ball was not visible to all ships in the course of the increasing dock expansion in the port. For this reason, a second time ball was set up on Signal Hill . This gave its signal at lunchtime (1 p.m. Cape Town time), after which the ship's chronometers could be reliably checked. For better visibility of the signal, a third time ball tower was built on the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront in 1894 , which now passed the time signal on to the ships. This practice was continued until 1934. Cannon signals from Signal Hill were given when a ship got into trouble in front of the harbor.
The British introduced cannons for signaling in the Cape region in 1795, the battle of Muizenberg became famous for this . Cannon shots for the purpose of notifying the residents of Cape Town about incoming ships were later given in Cape Town. Originally there were two cannons that were in the Castle of Good Hope . Since 1806 the British have also given time signals here with fired cannons. When the gunfire was felt to be too loud for the city center, the cannon signals were relocated. These shots have been fired from Signal Hill with Cape Town's Noon Gun since August 4, 1902 . Even today, to maintain tradition, they are fired daily at 12 noon between Monday and Saturday.
Web link
Individual evidence
- ↑ Cape Town Tour: Travel Guide at www.kapstadt-tour.de, accessed on November 17, 2014.
- ^ Signal Hill . on www.capetownplaces.co.za (English)
- ↑ Cape Town's Noon Gun being fired. on www.saao.ac.za ( Memento of the original from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English)
- ↑ Cape Town Heritage: Time Ball Tower . on www.cape-town-heritage.co.za (English)
- ^ South African History Online : Signal Hill . on www.sahistory.org.za (English)
- ↑ Cape Town's Noon Gun being loaded . on www.saao.ac.za ( Memento of the original from September 24, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English)
Coordinates: 33 ° 55 ′ S , 18 ° 24 ′ E