Hermannsburg is a small hamlet located in the Province of

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. It is home to the

Hermannsburg School The Hermannsburg School is an art movement, or art style, which began at the Hermannsburg Mission in the 1930s. The best known artist of the style is Albert Namatjira. The movement is characterised by watercolours of western-style landscapes th ...

(german: Deutsche Schule Hermannsburg).

History

Hermannsburg was established in 1854 as the first station of the Hermannsburg Missionary Society based in

Hermannsburg Hermannsburg is a village and a former municipality in the Celle district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Since 1 January 2015 it is part of the municipality Südheide. It has been a state-recognised resort town since 1971. It is situated on the river ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. The Hermannsburg Missionary Society was founded on the initiative of

Louis Harms Georg Ludwig Detlef Theodor Harms (baptised as Ludwig, but called Louis during his life) (1808–1865) was a German Lutheran pastor who was nicknamed the "Reviver of the Heath" (''Erwecker der Heide''). One of the most significant Christian reviv ...

, who served the Saints Peter and Paul Lutheran Congregation in Hermannsburg, Germany. Under his leadership, the missionaries originally planned to reach

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

, but were forced to turn back when the Sultan of Zanzibar denied them permission to enter his dominions. They turned back and stopped over in Port Natal (Durban), where local Lutherans in New Germany under the leadership of Wilhelm Posselt encourage them to consider a mission to the Zulu people. The Hermannsburg missionaries accepted and started a mission in South Africa. They bought the farm Perseverance on the edge of Zululand near Greytown as

Mpande Mpande kaSenzangakhona (1798–18 October 1872) was monarch of the Zulu Kingdom from 1840 to 1872. He was a half-brother of Sigujana, Shaka and Dingane, who preceded him as Zulu kings. He came to power after he had overthrown Dingane in 1840. ...

the king of the

Zulus Zulu people (; zu, amaZulu) are a Nguni ethnic group native to Southern Africa. The Zulu people are the largest ethnic group and nation in South Africa, with an estimated 10–12 million people, living mainly in the province of KwaZulu-Natal ...

would not allow them to settle in his land. In 1854, after arrival at the new mission station, the missionaries constructed a large house (the Mission House), which was converted to a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

in 1981. Some unique aspects of the mission approach of the Hermannsburg Missionary Society included its practice of community of property, its extensive use of lay artisans, and its practice of "colonisation," i.e. having the mission stations form the nucleus of new settlements with the intent of establishing an African Christian civilization. As the mission blossomed,

appointed

August Hardeland August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars, and the fifth of seven months to have a length of 31 days. Its zodiac sign is Leo and was originally named ''Sextilis'' in Latin because it was the 6th month in ...

as the first mission superintendent.

arrived in Natal in December, 1859. While his leadership was certainly vigorous and contributed to the organisation and consolidation of the Hermannsburg mission, it was also marked by severe conflict on numerous levels which had a profound impact on the development of the mission and the Lutheran churches that developed out of it. In 1856 the missionaries started a boarding school, which is still in operation as a private boarding school today. Various missionaries of the Hermannsburg Mission, supported by laymen- and women, immigrated to South Africa and established mission stations across the region. In South Africa, five churches have grown out of this initial group of missionaries, namely th
ELCSAELCSA-NTLCSA
an
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with further growth in Lutheran churches in Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland. Other Lutheran missions also worked in South Africa, as well as in the rest of Africa. The

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa is a Lutheran church in South Africa. The church has 580,000 baptized members in seven dioceses in South Africa, Botswana, and Eswatini, and is (by a wide margin) the largest Lutheran church in th ...

counts 580,000 baptized members across South Africa,

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...

, and

Swaziland Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...

. Across the continent, there is an estimated number of 19 million members of Lutheran churches (2011).

References

External links

Hermannsburg SchoolEvangelisch-Lutherisches Missionswerk in Niedersachsen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hermannsburg (Kwazulu-Natal) Populated places in the Umvoti Local Municipality Populated places established in 1854 German settlements in South Africa 1854 establishments in Africa

History

See also

References

External links