Castle of Good Hope

When Jan van Riebeeck arived at the Cape to set up a trading post, he also ordered a fortress to be built.

When the control of the Cape Colony was handed over to Zacharius Wachenar, the fortress proved to be to small. Wachenar was afraid, the fortress could not defent itself when the fortress was being attacked, he also concluded that the fortress was not well prepared for the weather influences of the Cape.
In the following years (from 1666 till 1679) the fortress was completely rebuilt. Because of the situation with the British he also ordered to prepare the fortress for battles.

When the fortress was finally ready, it proved not ready, in the following years more and more buildings were built in and around the fortress. For example the clock tower right above the main gate. This clock should warn the Capetonians for danger.
In 1691 the Katmuur was built which devided the inner court, the Katmuur was ment to defent the people living in the fortress in case of an attack. Later the Katmuur was used to build more and more buildings within the fortress, including the new governers building.

Nowadays the Castle of Good Hope is still the official headquarter of the south African army, however the Castle of Good Hope is not used as headquarter, only with special occasions. The Castle of Good Hope has been declared a national monument in 1936.

In 1980 the government of South Africa ordered a complete restoration of the Castle, to bring it back to its old look. Nowadays the Castle of Good Hope is used as an exhibition for changing art collection. A permanent collection of William Fehr can be found in the former governors house.