Calvinia is a regional town in the

Northern Cape The Northern Cape is the largest and most sparsely populated province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley. It includes the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, part of the Kgalagadi T ...

province of South Africa named after the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

religious reformer Jean Calvin. The town falls under the

Hantam Local Municipality Hantam is an administrative area in the Namakwa District of Northern Cape in South Africa. Hatam is a Khoi name that means "mountains where the bulbs grow". The municipality is named after the Hantam Mountains found in the area. Main places Th ...

which forms part of the Namakwa District Municipality. The Calvinia district is part of the Great

Karoo The Karoo ( ; from the Afrikaans borrowing of the South Khoekhoe !Orakobab or Khoemana word ''ǃ’Aukarob'' "Hardveld") is a semi-desert natural region of South Africa. No exact definition of what constitutes the Karoo is available, so its ext ...

region of South Africa. The town is just south of the Hantam mountains on the banks of the Oorlogskloof (meaning "War Ravine") River. Calvinia enjoys 80% starlight and is renowned for its kaleidoscope of spring wildflowers coinciding with the Namaqualand wildflower spectacle. An asteroid (

1245 Calvinia 1245 Calvinia ( ''prov. designation'': ) is a stony Koronian asteroid from the outer regions of the asteroid belt, approximately in diameter. It was discovered on 26 May 1932, by South African astronomer Cyril Jackson at the Union Observatory ...

) is named after the town.

History

The earliest known people living in the area were

Khoisan Khoisan , or (), according to the contemporary Khoekhoegowab orthography, is a catch-all term for those indigenous peoples of Southern Africa who do not speak one of the Bantu languages, combining the (formerly "Khoikhoi") and the or ( in t ...

people. The first Europeans in the area were farmers who took their livestock to the area in the 1750s. On 19 January 1847, at a meeting on the farm Tygerhoek, a new Dutch Reformed Church congregation was founded for the Hantam region. In 1848 the congregation bought 1,200 hectares of the farm Hoogekraal (Ramskop) from Abraham van Wyk. The name Hantam is derived from the

word !Han=ami, which refers to a plant with edible roots (

Pelargonium ''Pelargonium'' () is a genus of flowering plants that includes about 280 species of perennials, succulents, and shrubs, commonly called geraniums, pelargoniums, or storksbills. '' Geranium'' is also the botanical name and common name of a separ ...

bifolium, in Afrikaans "uintjies"). !Han=ami means "where the red bulbs grow". The first reverend, N.J. Hofmeyr, proposed that the church be named after

John Calvin John Calvin (; frm, Jehan Cauvin; french: link=no, Jean Calvin ; 10 July 150927 May 1564) was a French theologian, pastor and reformer in Geneva during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system ...

. On 30 October 1851 the town was officially named Calvinia. It became a municipality in 1904.

Geography and Climate

Calvinia is located at (-31.47500, 19.77278). The town is 301 kilometers (470 kilometers by tar road) north of Cape Town and lies at an altitude of 970 meters. The average summer temperature is 22°C, with peaks above 40°C. The average winter temperature is 10°C but can fall to -8°C. On the surrounding mountains, snow falls regularly. This was where Abraham Esau garnered the support of the "Coloured" community to fight for the British against the Boers during the Boer War.

Culture

Afrikaans is the main language spoken in Calvinia. The principal religion of the population is Christianity.

Attractions

The Calvinia Museum is housed in the former art deco styled Jewish

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

built in 1920. The museum portrays the lives of the early European settlers. It displays a cedarwood horsemill and mounted Cape fat-tailed, Merino and Dorper sheep. Unusual specimens such as a 4-legged ostrich and genetically anomalous sheep can also be viewed. The Akkerendam Nature Reserve is located three kilometers north of Calvinia. The reserve offers unique flowers and two hiking trails cross the Hantam mountains. The indigenous and rare sterboom (literally translated "star tree")(Cliffortia arboreais) can be seen here. Th
Hantam Meat Festival
an agricultural show and great barbecue ( Afrikaans "braai"), takes place every year in late August. Th
Boekhuis
(translated "Book House") was built in 1860 by Jacobus Nel van der Merwe in

Cape Dutch Cape Dutch, also commonly known as Cape Afrikaners, were a historic socioeconomic class of Afrikaners who lived in the Western Cape during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The terms have been evoked to describe an affluent, apolitical se ...

style with a concave-convex gable. This historical T-shaped house in Water Street is made available for the exclusive use of writers.

Education

The town has four public schools: * Hantam Secondary School * Calvinia High School * Hantam Primary School * Calvinia Primary School All four public schools also have boarding houses for both boys and girls.

Famous residents

Rona Rupert Rona Rupert née Davel (7 February 1934 – 25 August 1995) was a South African author. In 1976, she received the C.P. Hoogenhout Award. Biography Born in Calvinia, South Africa. Her father was a lecturer of Afrikaans and Dutch, before the fami ...

is the author of 33 Afrikaans books for children and young people.

External links

Calvinia in the Karoo, South Africa

References

{{Authority control Populated places in the Hantam Local Municipality Karoo Populated places established in 1813 1851 establishments in the Cape Colony