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Church Square (Cape Town)

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Church Square in Cape Town, South Africa, lies in front of the Groote Kerk at the intersection of Parliament and Spin Streets. It currently features a park.

Statue of Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr (Onze Jan) and remembrance columns on Church Square, Cape Town

In the middle of the square lies a statue of Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr (Onze Jan). The name Spin Street comes from a silk–spinning factory between Plein Street and Parliament Street, that was operating for a short time.[1] A plaque on a traffic island on Spin Street commemorates the slave market once using the square. A building south of the square housed the old slave quarters and later was home to the High Court. Today, it houses a cultural and historical museum. In 1961, the square was declared a heritage site.[2]

Bibliography

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  • Oberholster, J.J. Die historiese monumente van Suid-Afrika. Cape Town: Kultuurstigting Rembrandt van Rijn vir die Raad vir Nasionale Gedenkwaardighede, 1972. ISBN 0-620-00191-7

References

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  1. ^ Hart, Peter. (2011). A bowlful of names. Cape Town: The historical Society of Cape Town. p. 21. ISBN 9780620521420. OCLC 781264612.
  2. ^ Oberholster, J. J. (1972). The historical monuments of South Africa. Cape Town: Rembrandt Van Rijn Foundation for Culture at the request of the National Monuments Council. p. 6. ISBN 0620001925. OCLC 553395.