3 December 2024 by 
Groote Kerk

The Groote Kerk on Adderley Street is the oldest church in South Africa, although it is a newer version of the church that was first built by the Dutch. The original church was built in 1678 and was for a long time the most prominent building in the colony. According to the historian Nigel Worden, it was “the only permitted church in the city until the construction of the Lutheran Church in 1780.” Several slave owners and well-known settlers were buried in this Low German Reformed church, as well as the famous indigenous woman Krotoa. She was buried here until 2016, after which she was (symbolically) reburied in Castle of Good Hope. The church was frequented by several slaveholders who were brought there by their enslaved servants who had to wait outside for their masters. At one point, the VOC issued a placard or edict stating that enslaved people were not allowed to gather at the entrance during the church service.

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