Castle of Good Hope (Cape Town)

 castle, museum, place with historical importance, fortification, interesting place, star fort

The Castle of Good Hope is a fortification which was built on the original coastline of Table Bay and now, because of land reclamation, seems nearer the centre of Cape Town, South Africa. It is located at 33°55′33″S, 18°25′37″E.

Built by the VOC between 1666 and 1679, the Castle is the oldest building in South Africa. It replaced an older fort made out of clay and timber that was built in 1652 by Jan van Riebeeck upon his arrival at the Cape of Good Hope. The purpose of both were to act as replenishment station for ships passing the treacherous coast around the Cape on long voyages between the Netherlands and the Dutch East Indies.

During 1664, tensions between Britain and the Netherlands rose with rumours of war being imminent — that same year, Commander Zacharius Wagenaer was instructed to build a pentagonal castle out of stone. On 26 April 1679, the five bastions were named after the main titles of William III of Orange-Nassau: Leerdam to the west, with respectively Buuren, Katzenellenbogen, Nassau and Oranje clockwise from it.