Heidelberg is a town in the

Western Cape The Western Cape ( ; , ) is a provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the List of South African provinces by area, fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , an ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. It is located near South Africa's south coast, on the N2 highway, within the Hessequa region, 274 km east of

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

(about halfway between Cape Town and

Knysna Knysna (; ) is a town with 76,150 inhabitants (2019 mid-year estimates) in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is one of the destinations on the loosely defined Garden Route tourist route. It is situated 60 kilometres east of the c ...

). Heidelberg marks the start of the Garden Route. Heidelberg is part of the Hessequa Local Municipality. The historical Fourie House, dates back to the 1728, making it one of the oldest building in South Africa. This building has national monument status.

History

In 1716, Louis Fourie (1690s–1767) obtained grazing rights from Governor van der Stel and he settled alongside the Duivenhoks River. This is where he later constructed the Doornboom Homestead - registered in 1728 - and the Doornboom Farm was established. The area was initially part of the greater Riversdale district until the Riversdale Dutch Reformed church council in 1855 bought a portion of the farm Doornboom on which to lay out the town when a new Dutch Reformed congregation was created for the farmers between Swellendam and Riversdale. The town grew around the church and it was named in honour of the German town,

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

, because of the

Heidelberg catechism The Heidelberg Catechism (1563), one of the Three Forms of Unity, is a Reformed catechism taking the form of a series of questions and answers, for use in teaching Reformed Christian doctrine. It was published in 1563 in Heidelberg, Germany. Its ...

that was practiced in the church. In 1903 Heidelberg became part of the railway network and became an important transport link for the wool, wheat, fruit, and tobacco industries of the area. The river, the Duivenhoks (Dovecote), was named by an explorer, Isaq Schrijver, who observed a lot of doves where the river flows into the Indian Ocean, at a place called Puntjie. Image:Heidelberg Church.jpg, Dutch Reformed Church in Heidelberg Image:Heidelberg Valley.jpg, Outlying Valley in Heidelberg. Western Cape Image:Doornboom Opstal.jpg, Fourie House / Doornboom Opstal. The oldest House in Heidelberg. Built in 1728

References

External links

Heidelberg Info and Tourism WebsiteHessequa Tourism PagesHeidelberg Weather
{{Authority control Populated places in the Hessequa Local Municipality