Cultural sightseeing in South Africa. What to visit - museums, temples, castles and palaces

» 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 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.