The Castle of Good Hope is marked by a distinctive pentagonal shape and five stone bastions that project outward from its corners. Built by the Dutch East India Company between sixteen sixty-six and sixteen seventy-nine, it stands as the…
Slave Lodge and Remembrance
This walking tour traces the history of forced labor and early colonial injustice in Cape Town, from the castle built by enslaved people to the vibrant historic quarter of Bo-Kaap.
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1. Castle of Good Hope
2. Church Square
Church Square is a small, cobbled public space defined by a central statue of the nineteenth-century statesman Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr. Flanked by the Groote Kerk on its southern side, the square occupies land that was once part of a garden…
3. The Old Slave Tree Memorial
The Old Slave Tree Memorial sits on a concrete traffic island in the middle of Spin Street, marked by a low, circular stone structure. Built into the paving, a bilingual plaque reads, "On this spot stood the old slave tree," and, in…
4. Groote Kerk Kaapstad
The Groote Kerk in Cape Town is recognizable by its distinctive steeple and its massive, neoclassical exterior sitting prominently in Church Square. This structure, completed in eighteen forty-one, incorporates the original stone tower…
5. Iziko Slave Lodge
The Iziko Slave Lodge is a building with plain, heavy walls located at the corner of Adderley and Wale Streets. Built in sixteen seventy-nine, it stands as one of the oldest structures in Cape Town and was commissioned by the Dutch East…
6. The Company’s Garden
The Company’s Garden is recognized by the long, tree-lined avenue that runs through its center, shaded by mature oaks and frequented by resident squirrels. It is the oldest cultivated urban space in South Africa, originating in sixteen…
7. Auwal Masjid
The Auwal Masjid on Dorp Street is identified by its gray walls and traditional Islamic architectural features. Established in seventeen ninety-four, it is the oldest mosque in South Africa. The building originated as a warehouse that was…
8. Iziko Bo-Kaap Museum
The Iziko Bo-Kaap Museum is identifiable by the curvilinear Baroque parapet crowning its white facade, a classic feature of early Cape Dutch architecture. Housed in a structure dating to seventeen sixty-eight, the building is one of the…