Graaff-Reinet: Houses, Collections and History

Discover Graaff-Reinet through its historic buildings and wide-ranging museum topics. Old Residency showcases Cape Dutch architecture, while Old Library brings together exhibitions on history, fossils, rock art and energy. The Military History Museum and the Crag Lizard Trail are also nearby. This lets you choose different focuses for your trip: culture in Graaff-Reinet or a hike in the surrounding area.

Historic houses and their stories

Old Residency is a well-preserved example of a Cape Dutch house with an H-shaped floor plan dating from the early 19th century. Its architecture offers a tangible starting point if you would like to explore historic building styles. Reinet House tells a different story about the town: the building was constructed in 1812 at government expense, during Reverend Kicherer’s tenure, as the parsonage of the Dutch Reformed Church. The two houses thus represent different aspects of the historic heritage: Old Residency illustrates a style of architecture, while Reinet House reflects its former religious function and a precise year of construction.

Exhibitions and collections at Old Library

Old Library covers a range of topics, from natural and cultural history to contemporary issues. It houses the Lex Bremner Fossil Collection and the Townley Johnson Rock Art and Stone Age Collection. These are joined by the Mangaliso Robert Sobukwe Permanent Exhibition, the exhibition Slavery and the Long Road to Restitution and an exhibition on the history of the Fiduciary Institute of Southern Africa (FISA). Old Library also features Karoo Transvisions in Energy: From Mythology to Renewables and the Frederick Emmanuel Hufkie Exhibition. If you are interested in different perspectives on history, society, rock art, fossils and energy, you will find several topics under one roof.

The library’s development is also part of the town’s history: over the years, it became Graaff-Reinet’s cultural centre. In 2005, the building was expanded to include exhibition spaces intended to portray the history of Graaff-Reinet’s previously disadvantaged community. This timeline helps put the expansion in context as part of the building’s history; it describes the spaces’ purpose at the time.

Military history and an outing nearby

The Military History Museum offers an overview of Graaff-Reinet’s military history from the 19th century to 30 June 2007. The exhibition topics mentioned also include the Graaff-Reinet Commando in the First World War. This gives the museum a different focus from the collections at Old Library: here, the emphasis is on military history, while there you will encounter fossils, rock art and exhibitions on social topics, among other things.

Most attractions in Graaff-Reinet can be reached on foot. This is useful guidance when planning your stay around the town’s attractions. When choosing your holiday apartment, you can consider whether your focus is on these cultural destinations or whether you would also like to set aside time for a hike nearby.

The Crag Lizard Trail runs nearby the destination, passing the Valley viewpoints. The trail is about 1.5 km long, and the hike takes around 45 minutes. These details give you a manageable time frame for an additional activity. You can use them to decide whether to include a short hike in your travel plans alongside the houses and museum topics.

Discover more destinations

Discover more destinations: Bathurst, Grahamstown, Willowmore, Humansdorp, Weston, Paterson, Port Alfred, Addo.

To the higher-level travel overview: Western District.