The four corner stones of the castle (Kasteel de Goede Hoop) at the Cape are laid

Date: 2 Jan 1666
Updated: 30 Sep 2019

On 2 January 1666 the four corner stones of the Castle of Good Hope (Kasteel van Goede Hoop) at the Cape were laid by Zacharias Wagenaer, Johan van Arckel, Gabbema and Lacus, the structure was completed by 1679. The Castle of Good Hope is the oldest surviving building in South Africa. This fortification replaced a small clay and timber fort built by Jan van Riebeeck in 1652 upon establishing a maritime replenishment station at the Cape of Good Hope for the Dutch East India Company, better known as the VOC. The castle has a pentagonal plan a five-pointed star, with moat and bastions at each corner, the five bastions were called Leerdam, Buuren, Katzenellenbogen, Nassau and Oranje, In 1936 the Castle was declared a National Monument.

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How we know this

01Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.
02SA Places, Castle Of Good Hope, from SA Places, [online], Available at www.places.co.za [Accessed: 12 December 2013]

Last updated · 30 Sep 2019

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2011, March 16). The four corner stones of the castle (Kasteel de Goede Hoop) at the Cape are laid. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0010832

South African History Online (2011) 'The four corner stones of the castle (Kasteel de Goede Hoop) at the Cape are laid', South African History Online, 16 March. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0010832 (Accessed: 19 August 2026).

South African History Online, The four corner stones of the castle (Kasteel de Goede Hoop) at the Cape are laid [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0010832, (accessed 19 August 2026).

"The four corner stones of the castle (Kasteel de Goede Hoop) at the Cape are laid." South African History Online, 16 Mar. 2011, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0010832. Accessed 19 Aug. 2026.

South African History Online. "The four corner stones of the castle (Kasteel de Goede Hoop) at the Cape are laid." South African History Online. March 16, 2011. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0010832.