The Castle of Good Hope brings heritage to life
A fortress and custodian of multiple museums, the Castle of Good Hope sits at the doorstep of a bustling Cape Town CBD and holds the history of 358 years, with each museum contributing to a narrative described as “unapologetically decolonial, inclusive, brave, challenging, and educational”.
As the oldest surviving colonial building, the Castle is a National Heritage Site with its infrastructure of a former army base, a former seat of government, a slave port, and many more.
It is a 17th-century bastion fort which was built between 1666 and 1679 by the Dutch East India Company.
The Castle stands as a distinct reminder of the country’s complex colonial past.
According to its website, the Castle has been many things to different people, a place of pleasure and pain. To the first white settlers it was a refreshment station for ships from their home country. To the indigenous people it eventually became a symbol of dispossession – of land, livestock and, ultimately, dignity.
Recently, to drive tourism to the National Heritage Site, the Castle has also become home to a smorgasbord of entertainment and it brings history to life as a place for community dialogue and empowerment.
The site often hosts art and photography exhibitions, as well as some of the city’s premier commercial events.
This weekend, the Castle will host its monthly family-friendly Kuier@ TheCastle event – hosted by the Craft +Design Institute (CDI) in collaboration with the Castle of Good Hope.
Visitors to the event and tourists can look forward to pop-up boutiques with local craft artisans, performers and designers, showcasing a unique cultural heritage.
A visit to the Castle will also bring you to the Cape Heritage Museum where visitors can discover the captivating stories of diverse individuals and communities that have shaped South Africa’s history.
As a community-driven initiative, the Cape Heritage Museum showcases the arts, history, culture and rich heritage of Cape Muslims, their ancestors, and indigenous communities.
While only in operation for two-and-a-half years, the museum has already raked in two coveted National Heritage Council awards: as Best National Heritage Destination in 2021 and Best National Heritage and Education Museum in 2023.
Another significant installation on the Castle lawns, at the intersection of Darling and Castle streets, and the approximate spot of the Gallows, is the “Crying for Justice” outdoor exhibition.
“Crying for Justice” is a site specific installation by Haroon GunnSalie presented on the unmarked site of the historic gallows.
“Crying for Justice” is excavated into the landscape to form 118 graves, representing the 117 known activists killed in detention by apartheid security forces.
The last grave is symbolic of those who died in detention who are not known and remain unacknowledged, and others who survived near-death treatment and torture in detention.
The graves highlight the need to dig up the past to reveal the truth behind these brutal killings; the graves are intended to remain unmarked until the whole truth is told.
Castle Control Board CEO Calvyn Gilfellan said the Castle has seen a 24% increase in visitor numbers year-on-year. In 2023, 82889 visitors were recorded, and festivals and events are a significant contributor to this growth in the local tourism economy.
“But decoloniality is also much more than tactility. As the oldest colonial apartheid symbol, its outdated, orthodox heritage practices led to generations of scarred and scared visitors. So, an initial tactic was to delay dealing with the tangible but invest time, money and effort in the intangible: perceptions, attitudes and representation.
“Our decolonisation had to conquer the limiting ‘Ghost-and-Torture Chamber’ visitor mentality. We had to re-educate, inspire, engender hope, motivate, and get new and old audiences into the space.
“The historical and psychological damage is immeasurable, so our calling was monumental,” said Gilfellan.
Cape Times