Muizenberg

Muizenberg (/ˈmjuːzənbɜːrɡ/ MEW-zən-burg, Dutch for 'mice mountain') is a beachside suburb and former town, situated in the Cape Flats region of Cape Town, South Africa.

Located where the shore of the Cape Peninsula curves round to the east on the False Bay coast, Muizenberg is considered to be the main surfing spot in Cape Town, and is home to a surfing community centered on the popular "Surfer's Corner".

Muizenberg was apparently named after Wynand Willem Muijs who commanded a small outpost on the shore of Zandvlei in 1743.

The Battle of Muizenberg was a small but significant military affair that began on 7 August 1795 and ended three months later with the (first) British occupation of the Cape. Thus began the period (briefly interrupted from 1803 to 1806) of British control of the Cape, and subsequently much of Southern Africa.

The historical remnant of the Battle of Muizenberg is a site on the hillside overlooking False Bay that holds the remains of a defensive fort started by the Dutch in 1795 and expanded by the British from 1796 onwards. Cannons from that era are mounted at "Het Posthuys", the Muizenberg Park and on the station platform.

The railway from Cape Town, which for twenty years stopped at Wynberg, was extended to Muizenberg in 1882. Muizenberg started as a place for holiday homes for the rich after the discovery of gold in the Witwatersrand in 1886. Muizenberg Municipality was established in 1895. It merged with Kalk Bay in 1897.

In 1910, the Muizenberg Carnegie Library opened next to the Natale Labia, and a year later a post office opened. In 1911 the first pavilion, a wooden one, was built. In the twentieth century, Muizenberg was the premier summer destination among Southern African Jews. The post office was bombed in 1986, injuring the postman.

In January 2026, it was reported that Muizenberg Beach was undergoing upgrades, as part of a City of Cape Town long-term coastal upgrade project.