SAN-Art @ Trevoyan
Bushmen painting by Julietta Carimbwe - "Trees and Animals"

Welcome to the Cape Region of South Africa and to Cape Town!

Did you know that the first inhabitants of this most beautiful "end" of the world, some 2500 years ago, were the Bushmen, commonly known as the SAN? Then, in the first millenium AD, various black Bantu tribes moved South from central Africa, ancestors of todays Nguni peoples - Xhosas, Zulus, Swazis and Ndebeles. The first Europeans to discover the Cape were the Portuguese - Bartholomaeu Dias in 1486, and Vasco da Gama in 1497. The first white settlers only arrived in 1652. Jan van Riebeeck, with the Dutch East India Company, established a half-way station to provide water and food for passing ships travelling to Asia. The new Dutch settlers bartered with the native KhoiSAN, or Bushmen. Later, a wave of Asian immigration formed the foundation of todays "Cape Coloured" and "Cape Malay", predominantly Muslim, population. In 1795, the Cape was invaded by the British as a result of the war against France and their Dutch supporters. In 1814, Britain won the war, and the Cape region continued to develop under British rule.

Around 1892, an oak seedling was planted next to the premises of todays Trevoyan Guest House. The name Trevoyan probably originated from its first owners, officials of the British port authority. This Victorian gem, taken over by owners Urs Zwahlen and Christoph Flück, has seen many restorations and add-on's in its lifetime, but many wonderful features have been preserved. The olde world charm, paired with recently added stylish features and African interior elements, make this house a wonderful blend of cultural diversity. We hope you will embrace the history of Cape Town, as well as the new colourful face of South Africa, embodied in Trevoyan Guest House.