Greenmarket Square

Greenmarket Square
Greenmarket Square as seen from Burg Street and Longmarket Street
Greenmarket Square Street map of Greenmarket Square in Cape Town. Show map of Western Cape Greenmarket Square Greenmarket Square (South Africa) Show map of South Africa
Coordinates: 33°55′20″S 18°25′12″E / 33.92222°S 18.42000°E / -33.92222; 18.42000
Country	South Africa
Province	Western Cape
Municipality	City of Cape Town
Main Place	Cape Town
Time zone	UTC+2 (SAST)
Postal code (street)	8000
Area code	021

Greenmarket Square is a historical square in the centre of old Cape Town, South Africa. The square was built in 1696, when a burgher watch house was erected. Many historic buildings surround the square, including the Old Town House, which now houses the Michaelis Collection of art.

Over the years, the square has served as a slave market, a vegetable market, a parking lot and more recently, a flea market trading mainly African souvenirs, crafts, and curios. Near the centre of the square is a hand-operated pump used to bring clean water to the surface from an underground river that runs through the city. During the apartheid era, Greenmarket Square was often the focus of political protests, due in part to its proximity to parliament, as well as the ethnicity of its traders and shoppers.