The Castle, which was a Fort

Van Riebeeck was Commander of the Cape from 1652 to 1662; he was charged with building a fort, with improving the natural anchorage at Table Bay, planting cereals,fruit and vegetables and obtaining livestock from the indigenous Khoi people.

In the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden in Cape Town there is a Wild Almond hedge still surviving, that was planted on his orders as a protective barrier around the Dutch settlement.

The initial fort, named Fort de Goede Hoop ('Fort of Good Hope') was made of mud, clay and timber, and had four corners or bastions.

This first fort should not be confused with Redoubt Duijnhoop or the Cape Town Castle. The Castle, built between 1666 and 1679, four years after Van Riebeeck's departure, has five bastions and is made of brick, stone and cement. (Zacharias Wagenaer laid the cornerstone of this castle.)