Bo-Kaap Museum

The Bo-Kaap Museum is one of the earliest homes built in the Bo-Kaap, dating back to the mid-18th century, and it showcases local Islamic culture and heritage in the historic area that became home to many Muslims and freed slaves after the abolition of slavery. The house was declared a National Monument in 1965, restored in the 1970s, and established as a museum in 1978 as a satellite of the SA Cultural History Museum.

The museum is furnished as a house depicting the lifestyle of a nineteenth-century Cape Muslim family, and it is managed by Iziko Museums. Its facade has a curvilinear Baroque parapet typical of early Cape Dutch architecture, and a small courtyard behind it is reached by a narrow lane, paved in the Cape klip style.

The museum tells the story of the local community within a national social, political and cultural context, and it suits visitors who want to understand the history behind the colourful streets of the Bo-Kaap.