V.O.C Kruithuis


After walking around in Dorp Street we made our way to the Braak or “fallow land”.  This open piece of land had many different uses over the years from fair grounds, market place and military parade.
Powder Magazine, Stellenbosch
Powder Magazine, Stellenbosch
At the one end we saw a small white building surrounded by a wall.  The date on the building was 1777 and immediately we were interested.  At first I thought it was a church due to the bell tower.  And I guess that was the reason the bell tower was added to the building.
Powder Magazine, Stellenbosch
Powder Magazine, Stellenbosch
This was the V.O.C Kruithuis or Powder Magazine built in 1777 to store ammunition.  It is the only remaining powder magazine from the days of the VOC. 
Inside Powder Magazine, Stellenbosch
Inside Powder Magazine, Stellenbosch

Today it is a museum.  The entrance fee was only R5 and we decided to take a look inside.  The museum displays a collection of firearms, cannons, military uniforms etc. It is very small with only two rooms.  It did not take long to look at all the displays.  Included in the entrance fee was a booklet with the history of the building and information about each item on display.
 Powder Magazine, Stellenbosch

It was an unexpected visit and an interesting part of our day.

For more information visit http://www.stelmus.co.za/voc_kruithuis.htm

Linking up with a Compass Rose for Travel Tuesday
Location: V.O.C. Kruithuis, Mark Road, Stellenbosch 7599, South Africa

Comments

  1. Firefly the Travel Guy25 October, 2013 12:16

    I never realised there was a museum inside. The doors were closed when I was there so never got in.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Daar’s ‘n hoender wat ‘n eier nie kan lê

Image
   Weather vane on the VGK Church in Carnarvon    This photo made me think of a song we used to sing as kids.    It is a traditional Afrikaans song about the rooster on top of the church. The words of the song and its translation: Daar’s ‘n hoender wat ‘n eier nie kan lê There is a chicken that cannot lay an egg Daar’s ‘n hoender wat ‘n eier nie kan lê There is a chicken that cannot lay an egg Daar’s ‘n hoender wat ‘n eier nie kan lê There is a chicken that cannot lay an egg Dis die haan wat op die kerktoring staan It’s the rooster standing on the church tower Dis die haan, Dis die haan It’s the rooster, It’s the rooster Dis die haan wat op die kerktoring staan It’s the rooster standing on the church tower More about all the churches and other buildings we saw in Carnarvon in the next post.
Read more

Dutch Reformed Mother Church, George

Image
One of my favourite sights in George is the white Dutch Reformed Mother Church with the beautiful Outeniqua Mountain as background.   I have many memories of visiting this church: On a history class trip when I was about 10, for a art class when I was about 13, for my cousins wedding in 2004, for her baby’s christening a few years later and many other times.   But most of all I like seeing this church every time we drive through town.   The cornerstone for the church was laid on 14 April 1832.   Slaves were used for some of the building work like the digging of the six-foot deep by five-foot wide foundations.   Due to financial problems it took 12 years to complete the church and it was consecrated in 9 October 1842.  The church is a National Heritage Site. On 13 September 1905 disaster struck when the church tower collapsed.   The wood rotted from water damage and lead to the walls weakening.   After a lot of rain for two days the tower collapsed.   The tower was reb
Read more

Eyewitness Travel Guides – A Book Review

Image
  Last month I wrote a book review and I enjoyed it.   Today I want to share some more of my favourite travel books.   DK Eyewitness Travel Guides I bought my first travel guide in 2008. I was planning a trip with my friend Lelanie to London and Europe.   While planning the trip I bought the DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Europe and I paid R 282.00 for it.   Except for my university textbooks, this was the most expensive book I have ever bought for myself.    We were doing a Contiki Tour and visited 7 countries.   I studied the information in guide the about the cities we would visit.    I made lists of places I want to see and then looked for more information about them.   In the end I did not take the guide with me (the 800 pages was just to heavy to carry along) but packed all my lists to use.  At Departures at Cape Town Airport in 2008 My second guide was for the same trip.   The Eyewitness Travel Top 10 London traveled with us.   We stayed in London for 4 da
Read more