Groote Kerk

A congregation has worshipped on this site since 1678, making Groote Kerk the oldest existing church in South Africa, though what stands is mostly an 1841 rebuild that kept the older clock tower. Inside, the ceiling spans without pillars and the pews are dark Burmese teak, but the object everyone comes for is the pulpit, carved in 1789 by Anton Anreith with Herman Schutte: a wooden bowl supported by two enormous lions, with a figure of Faith above, in a style that is closer to sculpture than church furniture and considered Anreith's masterpiece. The organ is one of the largest in the southern hemisphere with several thousand pipes. Governors and early Cape figures are buried under the floor. It sits at the top of Adderley Street with the city's traffic outside the door, which makes the quiet inside more noticeable.

What you actually see

• The Anreith pulpit - a 1789 carving held up by two lions, his best-known work.
• The 1678 congregation - the oldest church site in the country, rebuilt in 1841.
• The pillarless ceiling - a wide span over teak pews.
• The organ - one of the largest in the southern hemisphere.

When to go

All year, weekday mornings. One hour. It closes to visitors during services.

Honest expectations

Opening hours are limited and irregular, and the church closes for services and events. The building is an 1841 replacement, not seventeenth-century fabric. It is on a busy street with traffic noise. Photography rules vary.

Nearby

The Slave Lodge is opposite; Company's Garden is up the road.