Castle of Good Hope completed

The five-bastioned Castle was completed in 1679 after years of construction by soldiers, sailors and enslaved labourers. Its five bastions—Leerdam, Buuren, Catzenellenbogen, Nassau and Oranje—formed a defensive system around the Company’s headquarters and stores.

Significance

It became the enduring centre of VOC military, judicial and political authority and remains a major surviving heritage site in Cape Town.