Leeuwenhof, Official residence on Table Mountain slopes in Cape Town, South Africa.
Leeuwenhof is an estate on Hof Street in the Gardens area of Cape Town, serving as the official residence of the Premier of the Western Cape. The property covers about 2 hectares around a mansion built between 1764 and 1788 for Johan Bräsler, a Copenhagen-born owner. A renovated Slave Quarters on the grounds houses an exhibition about slavery in Cape Town.
On 22 October 1693 Governor Simon van der Stel granted the 12 ha farm to the businessman Guillaume Heems; it passed to the Company's Garden botanist Henrik Bernard Oldenland, then to Fiscal Joan Blesius, who probably built the first house. Johan Bräsler of Copenhagen built the present mansion between 1764 and 1788. Captain Johannes Zorn expanded it to 79 ha by 1836, and the Cape Province Administration bought it on 21 December 1936 as the Administrator's residence.
The estate's name combines "leeuw" (lion) and "hof" (court or farmstead). Its Slave Quarters, restored and now holding an exhibition on slavery in Cape Town, are the part of the property where this history is presented to visitors. The grounds also hold trees planted in the 18th century by owner Johan Bräsler.
Leeuwenhof stands on Hof Street in the Gardens suburb, on land granted in 1693 near Table Mountain. It is the working residence of the Western Cape Premier, so the house and its Slave Quarters exhibition are not open as a public museum; view the grounds and the 1764–1788 mansion from the street.
The Slave Quarters on the estate were renovated and now hold an exhibition about slavery in Cape Town. The property was declared a national heritage site on 15 December 1966.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 94,393 contributors worldwide.