Treasures at the Castle of Good Hope | Skatte in die Kasteel De Goede Hoop by Fehr,William

Treasures at the Castle of Good Hope | Skatte in die Kasteel De Goede Hoop by Fehr,William

Hardcover
Publisher: Cape Town, Castle Art Collection and Nasionale Boekhandel, 1963

1963. First Edition.

ISBN 9780620030113

When the late Dr Fehr compiled this book in 1963, the collection at the Castle was still his property. However, with the sale of the collection to the Government in 1964, some of the pieces in the back were replaced by others, with the result that the illustrations in the publication do not reflect directly with what is there presently.

Built by the Dutch East India Company between 1666 and 1679, the Castle is the oldest existing colonial building in South Africa. It replaced an older fort called the Fort de Goede Hoop which was constructed from clay and timber and built by Jan van Riebeeck upon his arrival at the Cape of Good Hope in 1652.   Two redoubts, Redoubt Kyckuit and Redoubt Duijnhoop were built at the mouth of the Salt River in 1654.  The purpose of the Dutch settlement in the Cape was to act as a replenishment station for ships passing the treacherous coast around the Cape on long voyages between the Netherlands and the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia).

During 1664, tensions between Britain and the Netherlands rose amid rumours of war. That same year, Commander Zacharias Wagenaer, successor to Jan van Riebeeck, was instructed by Commissioner Isbrand Goske to build a pentagonal fortress out of stone. The first stone was laid on 2 January 1666.  Work was interrupted frequently because the Dutch East India Company was reluctant to spend money on the project. On 26 April 1679, the five bastions were named after the main titles of William III of Orange-Nassau: Leerdam to the west, with Buuren, Katzenellenbogen, Nassau, and Oranje clockwise from it.