Castle of Good Hope

General Information

Built between 1666 and 1679 by the early European settlers from the Dutch East India Company, and the oldest building in South Africa, The Castle of Good Hope is the oldest surviving building in South Africa. With hundreds of years of stories to tell, this iconic building has seen many stages of the history of Cape Town. Built in a pentagonal shape with 5 bastions, it was the headquarters of the VOC (Dutch East India Company) and was where most of the laws were laid down in the early years. Apart from its judicial history, the Castle also played host to many lavish parties for the early aristocracies that walked its halls. Today visit the halls filled with artefacts dating back to the settlers and how life was in early ‘Kaapstad’