Nestling in the shadow of the imposing Langeberg Mountains, Swellendam is one of South Africa’s most picturesque small towns. The country’s third-oldest town, after Cape Town and Stellenbosch, Swellendam was founded by the Dutch in 1742 and named after the governor and his wife.

The attractive thatched-roofed and whitewashed Drostdy was built by the Dutch East India Company in 1747 as the seat of the landdrost, or magistrate. It now serves as a museum of Dutch colonial life. Built shortly afterwards the Old Gaol is situated at the rear of the Drostdy. Originally it was a simple, single-storey building with lean-to cells but it was subsequently enlarged to include an enclosed courtyard created by linking the two cell blocks with high walls.

Swellendam is renowned for its many fine old buildings, including the imposing Dutch Reformed church, with a whitewashed façade and an elegant clock tower. The Oefeningshuis, built in 1838 as a school for freed slaves, now serves as a tourist information centre.