Jan van Riebeeck Statue — Attraction in Cape Town Ward 115

The Jan van Riebeeck statue stands as a quiet sentinel in the center of Cape Town, South Africa, commemorating a watershed point in the country's history. This monument, erected to commemorate the man who founded the first European settlement at the Cape of Good Hope, has become a source of both admiration and hatred.

Jan van Riebeeck, a Dutch naval physician commissioned by the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in 1652, landed to the rocky Cape with a single goal: to establish a refreshment station for the VOC's ship, which was operating the lucrative spice route between Europe and Asia. His seemingly benign visit triggered a series of events that would forever change South Africa's fate.

The age of European colonialism in Southern Africa began with the planting of the first European flag on the Cape's windswept coasts. What had previously been a lively and diversified indigenous landscape underwent a tremendous shift as new cultures, languages, and governing systems were introduced.

While some see van Riebeeck as the visionary builder of Cape Town, others consider him as the forerunner of a terrible era in South African history. As a result, his statue stands as a powerful emblem of the country's complicated and often terrible history. For many, it signifies indigenous peoples' dispossession, the imposition of colonial power, and the long-standing legacy of racial inequity.

The monument, located at the crossroads of Heerengracht and Grote Kerk Street, is a notable feature in the city's historic center. Its position near other notable sites emphasizes its relevance in Cape Town's communal memory.

Van Riebeeck is shown in formal clothes and in a statuesque attitude, frequently flanked by a statue of his wife, Maria de la Queillerie. The monument's classical form emphasizes power and stability, evoking...

Considering that there is usually a lot of traffic around you, this inaccurate statue of Jan van Riebeeck (there is no historical evidence that he ever looked like this) is only best enjoyed while taking an open top bus trip (red or blue bus) that is available to take from the nearby V&A Waterfront. Walking in this part of the city is a bit...

The statue probably due for some TLC. Always fun to admire the good looking chiselled features, flowing locks and manicured moustache of Mijnheer Bartholomeus Vermuyden, a Dutch local who never set foot...