Cape Town, English Cape Town [ ke ɪ p ta ʊ n], Afrikaans Kaapstad [ k ɑ ː pstat], capital of the province of Western Cape, South Africa, (last raised in 2011) 433,700 residents in the metropolitan area, as Metropolitan Municipality 2 445 km 2 and 3.74 million residents.
Its core area south of the Table Bay of the Atlantic Ocean is made up of the steep face of Table Mountain (up to 1,086 m above sea level), in the south the urban area extends to the coast of False Bay. Cape Town is the legislative capital of the country (seat of parliament) and seat of many other authorities as well as the seat of Catholic and Anglican archbishopric; important cultural center with university (English-speaking; founded in 1829); the English-speaking University of the Western Cape (founded in 1959, university since 1970) is located in the suburb of Bellville. Cape Town has important museums, theaters, an opera house, a zoological garden, an aquarium and a famous botanical garden in the southern suburb of Kirstenbosch (528 ha). The diverse industry is mainly located in the east and north of the city. Cape Town is an international tourist center, the starting point for important railway lines and roads; Commercial and fishing port,
Cityscape
Much evidence from Cape Town’s past is still present. According to softwareleverage, the oldest preserved building in South Africa is the fortress (Castle of Good Hope) with five bastions, built 1666–79. Buildings in the Dutch colonial style (Cape Dutch style) have been preserved in the regularly laid out town center, including Koopmans-de-Wet-Haus (1701, now a museum) as well as the Groote Kerk (1700–04) and the Lutheran church with a rococo facade (1783–92) and adjoining rectory (Martin-Melck-Haus, 1781).
In the former garden of the Dutch East India Company, that of J. van Riebeeck The South Africa Museum (anthropology, ethnology, zoology) with observatory is located, near the Museum of Cultural History (former slave quarters of the company), the parliament building (1886) with adjoining De Tuynhuys (today the official seat of the President) and the National Gallery. The Old Town Hall (1755–61) on Greenmarket Square now houses a collection of European paintings; The Rust-en-Vreugd-Haus, built in 1777, has a collection of South African paintings and watercolors from the 18th and 19th centuries. Century. The Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (MoCAA), the first South African museum for contemporary art, opened in 2017 in a historic grain silo. The historic Malaienviertel is located northwest of the city center at the foot of Signal Hill (350 m above sea level).
Around 200 hectares of new land were reclaimed from Table Bay in 1937–45 by backfilling. The older part of the harbor was transformed into an entertainment center in 1988. Outside the city is Groot Constantia, the former country house and winery of the Dutch governor Simon van der Stel, started in 1685. Robben Island is in Table Bay, formerly a prison, a national memorial since 1997 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999.
History
Cape Town was founded on April 6, 1652 by J. van Riebeeck on behalf of the Dutch East India Company as a supply station on the sea route to India and achieved great importance in overseas trade; 1806–1910 it was the capital of the British Cape Colony.
Durban
Durban [ də ː bən], port city in the province of KwaZulu / Natal, Republic of South Africa, on a bay of the Indian Ocean (most recently collected 2011) 595 100 residents in the metropolitan area, as Metropolitan Municipality eThekwini km 2 291 2and 3440000 Residents (of which around 20% are Asians, especially Indians).
Seat of a Catholic archbishop and an Anglican bishop; University, Technical University (founded in 1907 as an institute, since 2002 university), museums, aquarium (with dolphinarium), snake park, botanical garden; versatile industry (food, textiles, shipyards, oil refineries), logistics companies. The port that was created on the bay is the most important in the country and one of the largest ports on the continent. With an extensive beach and hotels on the Indian Ocean, Durban is also a stronghold of international tourism with – thanks to the subtropical climate – the year-round season; international Airport.
The bay near Durban was discovered by Vasco da Gama at Christmas 1497 and named Port Natal. In 1824 British merchants laid out the first settlement, which has been expanded since 1835 and named after the then governor of the Cape Sir Benjamin D’Urban (* 1778, † 1849). In 1854 Durban became an urban municipality (Borough), in 1935 a city (City), and in 2000 the administrative seat of the newly formed eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality.
