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Western Province - Stellenbosch |  |
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in the Western Cape province, approximately 30 kilometres east of Cape Town. Oldest town and ‘capital' of the Western Cape's beautiful Winelands region, Stellenbosch was founded beneath the woodland heights of the Papegaaiberg (‘Parrot Mountain') in the green and gentle valley of the Eerste River in 1679 and named in honour of Simon van der Stel, the innovative Cape (Dutch) colonial governor of the time. From the very first its residents were conscious of the beauty that lay all around them, and developed their town accordingly, planting a myriad oak trees, building charming homes of limewashed walls and thatched roofs. Later, more imposing edifices made their appearance. Much of the past has survived the centuries, the legacy best seen perhaps along Dorp Street and around Die Braak, the village green that once played host to military parades, fairs and festivals. Stellenbosch is the busy hub of a region famed for its scenic splendour, its magnificent Cape Dutch homesteads, its farmlands and, especially, its vineyards. It's also a leading centre of learning, home to a number of prestigious schools, academic institutions of one sort or another, and to one of South Africa's top universities. The latter is integrated into the town, its buildings lending both dignity and charm to the tree-lined thoroughfares.
Historic Buildings Plenty of sightseeing choice here; among the most notable are four which, together, comprise the Village Museum - the cottagy Schreuder House (the country's oldest surviving town residence, dating back to 1709); Grosvenor House (early 1800s); Blettermaqn House (late 18th century), and the house of O.M. Bergh (mid 19th century). Each offers an insight into the architecture, furnishings, ornamentation and decor of its period. On and around Die Braak are the thatch-roofed Anglican church, the old Burgerhuis (1797), the Rhenish Mission, and the Dutch East India Company's Kruithuis, or gunpowder depot, now a small military museum. At the junction of Dorp Street and the Old Strand Road is Libertas Parva, a graceful old mansion that houses some fine South African paintings and, in its cellar, the Stellenryck wine museum. Oude Libertas The complex embraces, among other things, a winery and ampitheatre that provides a stunning venue for open-air concerts and shows, most held on Sunday evenings between December and March. Visitors bring hampers, eating good food and sipping fine wine while they listen to the music. Oom Samie se Winkel This means, in literal translation, ‘Uncle Sammy's Shop', and is a prime destination for those who like to forage for the unusual in an appealingly quaint setting. The shop is a reconstruction of the town's first general store, and is filled to its eaves with jams, preserves, cheeses, curios and other bits and pieces. The nearby, atmospheric Die Akker pub, favoured haunt of students, beckons those with a thirst. The World of Wine Stellenbosch is the heart of the Winelands; its wine route, modelled on the France's pioneering Routes de Vin and Germany's Weinstrassen, is the region's oldest and most extensive, taking you to more than 20 estates and wineries - all of them within a 12-kilometre radius of town. See Wine Lands. Each venue has it own personality, its history, its distinctive labels; among leading members of the route are Hartenberg, Delheim, Avontuur, Delaire and Blaauwklippen. Jonkershoek Valley A lovely area of hill, vale, woodland, river and waterfall to the east of Stellenbosch. Here you'll find two historic and celebrated wine-farms (Oude Nektar and Lanzerac, now a fine hotel), fish hatcheries, the Assegaaibosch Nature Reserve (rare proteas) and its wildlfower garden, and patches of dense forest. Franschhoek The pretty little centre, in the exquisite Drakenstein valley a few kilometres to the east of Stellenbosch, was founded by Huguenot (Protestant) refugees in the late 1600s, industrious and devout people of good taste who left their lasting imprint on both town and countryside. Franschhoek now offers, among much else, some superb Continental-type restaurants and guest-houses (a few of them combined as auberges). An impressive memorial to the founders can be seen in the local museum complex. Wine estates of note in the wider area include Bellingham (long neglected, but now producing splendid vintages) and Boschendal, a Cape Flemish-style mansion that produces good wines and, for visitors, most welcoming buffet lunches (traditional Cape fare).
Somerset West to the south; Paarl and Wellington to the north. |
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STELLENBOSCH Western Cape
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