 |
| "Castle of good hope" by "Ossewa" licensed under "CC BY-SA 3.0" |
Castle of Good Hope is a pentagonal fortress built by the Dutch East India Company, back in the 17th century. Castle of Good Hope is the oldest surviving colonial building in South Africa. Besides being known as the oldest castle in South Africa, this landmark is also infamous as a haunted place.
A Brief History of the Castle of Good Hope
 |
| "Castle of Good Hope" by Xevi V licensed under "CC BY-NC-SA 2.0" |
Castle of Good Hope was built by the Dutch East India Company between 1666 and 1679 in Cape Town, South Africa. This Castle replaced an older fort called the "Fort de Goede Hoop".
The majority of the construction work of this castle was done by soldiers, sailors and slaves.
One of the key reasons that the Dutch East India Company ordered to build this castle was because they needed a strong base at the Cape of Good Hope. After all, there was a threat of war between Britain and the Netherlands at that time.
There were 5 bastions of the castle named - Leerdam, Buuren, Katzenellenbogen, Nassau and Oranje which were named after William the prince of orange
The inside wall of the castle also has a church, bakery
The main goal of the Dutch settlement in South Africa was to replenish the Dutch ships which were from Europe to Dutch East Indes and other Asian Colonies of Dutch back then and this castle played a major role in this.
Castle of Good Hope operated for the Dutch East India Company until 1795 when South Africa became a British Colony.
In the 19th century, the British used this castle as the official residence of the governor of the cape.
After the use of the castle as the official residence of the governor, this castle continues to serve as a political union until the formation of the Union of South Africa.
In 1936 the Castle of Good Hope was declared a National Monument.
Hauntings and Legends
 |
| "Castle of Good Hope" by Victor Bergmann licensed under (CC BY-ND 2.0) |
Besides being famous as a National Monument and a historic landmark. The castle of Good Hope is also infamous as a haunted place.
Though the ghosts of many people who died here are said to haunt this castle the ghost of the colony's first lady named Lady Anne Barnard is one of the most famous legends regarding this castle.
Another legend says about a ghost of a soldier who hung himself from the bell tower. His ghost is said to be roaming around the premises of the bell tower.
Many other people claimed to have paranormal experiences here. Some visitors claimed to hear strange voices from the dungeon.
The most famous legend regarding this place is a ghost of a Dutch governor named Pieter Gysbert Van Noordit.
It is said that he unjustly sentenced many soldiers to death for military desertion in the mid 18th century and one of those soldiers cursed this governor to death and after some time the governor was found dead in his office.
It is believed that his ghost still roams around the office.
This is dummy text. It is not meant to be read. Accordingly, it is difficult to figure out when to end it. But then, this is dummy text. It is not meant to be read. Period.
ConversionConversion EmoticonEmoticon