Top architectural sightseeing and landmarks of Cape Town - ideas on city exploration routes

» Cape Town Hall - a large majestic building of European architecture. It was built by European architects Henry Austin Reed and Frederick George Green. Their project won at the specially organized contest.
»  The building material (a honey-colored stone), from which the town hall is built, was brought directly from England. They finished the construction of the building in 1905.
»  The organ, installed in the Town Hall, is considered as the pearl of Cape Town.
»  The organ was made by specialists from London and Norwich in accordance with the drawings of the organist of the St. Paul's Cathedral. The wooden parts of the instrument were made of mahogany and pine wood of the highest quality. In the aftermath, the organist George Martin evaluated the sound of the instrument as ‘just perfect’.
»  In addition to the organ, a carillon (a musical instrument that performs melodies using bells) was installed in the memory of the First World War. In 1990, Nelson Mandela has given his famous speech from the balcony of this Town Hall.
»  Now the Town Hall building is used as a concert hall.

» The Cape Town Stadium was built for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
»  It was decided to destroy the old Green Point stadium and to erect a new one on the same site. When the old stadium hosted only 18,000 fans, the new tribunes were designed for 66,000 people. During the championship, five games were played on this field.
»  The stadium building has a parabolic shape that provides a convenient overview of the football field to all spectators. Spectators are protected from wind, rain and sun by a roof, which, in itself, is a masterpiece of an engineering project. Thanks to this roof, the stadium looks like a white cloud.
»  The sports facility is located in the famous place near the Cape of Good Hope at the confluence of two oceans. It became a noticeable landmark of the city, complementing the wonderful landscape of the area.
»  In addition to sports, the stadium is used for various events. For example, the concerts of Michael Jackson and Robbie Williams were held here.

» The Castle of Good Hope is the most popular tourist attraction of Cape Town. Ancient fort, built by the Dutch in 1666, was originally fully wooden. A few years later, the actual pentagonal stone fortress was erected.
»  The main gate was built into the tower with a bell (the bell is brought from Amsterdam in 1679. This bell is still in its place.
»  The blazon of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands is still located on the arch of the main entrance.
»  For a long time, the fortress hosted a monastery, food shops, residential rooms and a prison. On the walls of the underground casemates, one can find the carved inscriptions made by prisoners centuries ago.
»  In 1936, half of the fortress was occupied by the National Military Museum. It contains a large exposition of weapons and historical facts of military conflicts in this area.
»  The second half is still occupied by the Army Headquarters of South Africa. The image of the castle is marked on the flags of several military formations and on insignia of the local military uniforms.

» The South African National Gallery is a unique place, which arouses great interest of tourists and guests of Cape Town. The history of the gallery begins in 1850, when the rich philanthropists Thomas Butterworth Bailey and Avraham de Schmidt created the South African Association of Fine Arts and decided to find a suitable place for organizing the exhibition.
»  The main objects of the exhibition were paintings of Dutch, British and French artists of the XVII- XIX centuries, since the city was founded by Dutch maritime navigators.
»  The gallery construction began in 1900 and only in 1930 it was officially opened. Gradually, the collection of exhibits increased due to the inclusion of paintings and sculptures of South African artists. At present, besides the permanent exhibition, the gallery hosts periodic exhibitions of contemporary artists of South Africa. Especially popular is the exhibition of ritual masks and body adornments of African people.
»  An interesting fact: all the gallery doors are decorated with the carving made by Vladimir Meierovich. Drawings on the doors depict the wanderings of Jews in the desert.
»  The gallery hosts demonstrations of costumes made by local fashion designers. In a small shop, located in the gallery, you can buy interesting gifts and souvenirs.

» The Iziko Museum of Cape Town unites twelve museums located in the central district of the city. Translated from the local dialect, the word "iziko" means "home".
»  The assembly includes the South African National Gallery, the Va-Kaar Museum of Suburbs, the Maritime Museum, the Sixth Quarter - the "home of slaves", and the national museum of South Africa. In museums, various topics are presented: history of wars, palaeontology, and cultural heritage of society.
»  South African Museum is located in an old mansion. It was founded by Lord Charles Somerset in 1825. There are collections of artifacts dating back to the age of millions of years (fossils, stone tools, skeletons of ancient marine animals).
»  The total number of objects in the museum exceeds 1.5 million. 400,000 people visit it every day.
»  The museum includes a planetarium, opened in 1958. The cinema hall regularly shows various popular science movies.
»  The whole assembly of museums is financially supported by the Department of Art Culture, Science and Technology of South Africa, the city budget of Cape Town and private donations.

» The Cathedral of St. George was erected on the site of an old church. The building was designed by the English architect Herbert Baker for the Christian community of English people.
»  The construction lasted from 1901 to 1936 and only in 1953 the organ was installed in the cathedral, thereby finalizing the original design.
»  The interior looks impressive with its huge stained-glass windows depicting scenes of fighting with an evil.
»  Among the figures, it is easy to recognize Mahatma Gandhi, who fought for human rights and became a symbol of this struggle.
»  Some time ago, the sermon was preached by the famous African archbishop Desmond Tutu, who actively struggled against apartheid and received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984. Cathedral of St. George is called "nationwide", since people of both the white and black race were always accepted here, trying to extinguish the enmity and unite the people.

» The Two Oceans Aquarium was opened in 1995 near the Cape of Good Hope, where the waters of the Atlantic and Indian oceans meet. It is the largest in the Southern Hemisphere.
»  More than 30 pools of different volumes present more than 3,000 marine inhabitants. It is interesting to see how the underwater life differs in the cold waters of the Atlantic and in the warm Indian seas.
»  The most popular is the huge aquarium with large sharks and rays. Experienced divers are allowed to swim among sharks for a certain fee. During the feeding of animals, many people come to see this spectacle.
»  For penguins and seals an artificial coast has been created, with all necessary conditions of their natural habitat.
»  In a tall cylindrical aquarium, illuminated from the inside, fishes of different shapes and colors are magically floating around. This is accompanied by beautiful relaxing music. In a twilight of the aquarium hall, this performance looks really fascinating.