Heart of Cape Town Museum, Cape Town

Name: Heart of Cape Town Museum
Address: Groote Schuur Dr, Cape Town, 7925, South Africa
Telephone: +27 21 404 1967

#46 among attractions in Cape Town

Museum, Specialty museum, History museum

Gallery (2)

Map

Map

Gallery

Facts and practical information

The Heart of Cape Town Museum is a museum complex in the Observatory suburb of Cape Town, South Africa. It is in the Groote Schuur Hospital on Main Road. The hospital was founded in 1938 and is famous for being the institution where the first human heart transplant took place, conducted by University of Cape Town-educated surgeon Christiaan Barnard on the patient Louis Washkansky. The museum opened on December 3, 2007 marking the 40th anniversary of the heart transplant by Christiaan Barnard. The Heart of Cape Town Museum honors everyone who played a major role in a surgical feat that created a new medical era. It also brings attention to ethical and moral implications that came up at the time. It also highlights the ways in which Barnard's accomplishment put South Africa and the University of Cape Town on an international stage. ()

Established: 2007 (17 years ago)Coordinates: 33°56'28"S, 18°27'47"E

Address

Groote Schuur DrObservatoryCape Town 7925 South Africa

Contact

+27 21 404 1967

Website

Social media

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Cape Town

Day trips

Heart of Cape Town Museum – popular in the area (distance from the attraction)

Nearby attractions include: Rhodes Memorial, Baxter Theatre, Cape Town Science Centre, Mostert's Mill.

0.8 miS
Historical place, Memorial
Rhodes Memorial, Table Mountain National Park
21 min walk • Rhodes Memorial on Devil's Peak in Cape Town, South Africa, is a memorial to English-born, South African politician Cecil John Rhodes. The memorial was designed by the renowned architect, Sir Herbert Baker.
1.2 miS
Theater, Concerts and shows, Concert hall
Baxter Theatre, Cape Town
31 min walk • The Baxter Theatre Centre is a performing arts complex in Rondebosch, a suburb of Cape Town, South Africa. The Baxter, as it is often known, is part of the University of Cape Town; it is also the second largest performing arts complex in Cape Town, after the Artscape Theatre Centre.
~1070 ftN
Museum, Specialty museum, Science museum
Cape Town Science Centre, Cape Town
6 min walk • The Cape Town Science Centre is a not-for-profit science centre in Cape Town, South Africa. It forms part of a wide range of non-classroom initiatives to improve the quality of science understanding and science literacy in South Africa.
0.8 miS
Museum, Windmill
Mostert's Mill, Cape Town
21 min walk • Mostert's Mill is a historic windmill in Mowbray, Cape Town, South Africa. It was built in 1796 and was the oldest surviving complete windmill in South Africa. It was gutted in a wildfire on 18 April 2021. The fire had started on Table Mountain and spread, severely damaging a number of buildings.
1.5 miSE
Park
Rondebosch Common, Cape Town
40 min walk • Rondebosch Common is an open common of about 40 hectares in Rondebosch, Cape Town in South Africa. A common is defined as "A piece of open land for public use, esp. in a village or town." It contains one of the few surviving pockets of the critically endangered “Cape Flats Sand...
1.1 miS
Universities and schools
University of Cape Town, Cape Town
29 min walk • The University of Cape Town is a public research university located in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. UCT was founded in 1829 as the South African College making it the oldest higher education institute in South Africa.
0.7 miNE
Area
Observatory, Cape Town
19 min walk • Observatory is a suburb in Cape Town, South Africa that is bordered by Mowbray to the south, and Salt River to the northwest. Colloquially known as Obs, the area is best known as a student neighbourhood, home to students, faculty and other staff associated with the University of Cape Town nearby.
0.9 miNE
Observatories and planetariums
Royal Observatory, Cape Town
25 min walk • The Royal Observatory, Cape of Good Hope, is the oldest continuously existing scientific institution in South Africa. Founded by the British Board of Longitude in 1820, it now forms the headquarters building of the South African Astronomical Observatory.
0.9 miNE
Observatories and planetariums
South African Astronomical Observatory, Cape Town
25 min walk • South African Astronomical Observatory is the national centre for optical and infrared astronomy in South Africa. It was established in 1972. The observatory is run by the National Research Foundation of South Africa. The facility's function is to conduct research in astronomy and astrophysics.
0.9 miNE
Library
SAAO Library, Cape Town
23 min walk • The SAAO Library is the national library of the South African Astronomical Observatory for astronomy and space science located in Observatory, Cape Town, South Africa. Its primary function is to conduct fundamental research in astronomy and astrophysics.
1.2 miS
Library
University of Cape Town Libraries, Cape Town
30 min walk • University of Cape Town Libraries is the library system of the University of Cape Town in Cape Town, South Africa. The library system holds roughly 1.2 million print volumes and over 100,500 print and online journal subscriptions.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

When is Heart of Cape Town Museum open?

Heart of Cape Town Museum is open:

Monday 9 am - 5 pm
Tuesday 9 am - 5 pm
Wednesday 9 am - 5 pm
Thursday 9 am - 5 pm
Friday 9 am - 5 pm
Saturday 9 am - 5 pm
Sunday 9 am - 5 pm

Which popular attractions are close to Heart of Cape Town Museum?

Nearby attractions include Cape Town Science Centre, Cape Town (6 min walk), Observatory, Cape Town (19 min walk), Mostert's Mill, Cape Town (21 min walk), Rhodes Memorial, Table Mountain National Park (21 min walk).

How to get to Heart of Cape Town Museum by public transport?

The nearest stations to Heart of Cape Town Museum:

Bus

St Peters Square Residence • Lines: Ct1 (4 min walk)
Catsville Residence • Lines: Ct4 (8 min walk)

Train

Observatory (14 min walk)
Mowbray (19 min walk)