Kraaifontein is a town in the

Western Cape province The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

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 ...

. Organisationally and administratively it is included in the

City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality The City of Cape Town ( af, Stad Kaapstad; xh, IsiXeko saseKapa) is the metropolitan municipality which governs the city of Cape Town, South Africa and its suburbs and exurbs. As of the 2011 census, it had a population of 3,740,026. The remot ...

as a Northern Suburb. The name originated from large number of crows (''Kraai'' in Afrikaans) that nest in the region.

Beginnings

In 1869 sub-division of farm land started in the area. A railway station was formed in 1876 called "Kraaifontein Junction", followed by formal town development in 1877. The first school was established on 20 January 1908. The Dutch Reformed Church was founded in 1948. In the same year Kraaifontein got its own local authority. In 1954 the "Volkskerk van Afrika (Translated- The nation's church of Africa)" was founded with BJE Appollis being the first preacher. On 16 September 1957, it became a municipality under the first mayor, JP Rossouw.

Today

It is located in the

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

's northern suburbs and flanks the N1 towards

Paarl Paarl (; Afrikaans: ; derived from ''Parel'', meaning "pearl" in Dutch) is a town with 112,045 inhabitants in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is the third-oldest city and European settlement in the Republic of South Africa (after ...

and

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

to the east. It comprises several residential areas, namely Windsor Park, Scottsville, Peerless Park, Eikendal, Scottsdene, Bloekombos, Wallacedene, Belmont Park, Bonny Brook, and Uitzicht. Libraries are funded and owned by the

City of Cape Town The City of Cape Town ( af, Stad Kaapstad; xh, IsiXeko saseKapa) is the metropolitan municipality which governs the city of Cape Town, South Africa and its suburbs and exurbs. As of the 2011 census, it had a population of 3,740,026. The remo ...

Metropolitan municipality. These libraries are Kraaifontein Public Library, Scottsdene Public Library, and Eikendal Public Library. High Schools in the area are Monument Park,

Eben Dönges Theophilus Ebenhaezer Dönges (8 March 1898 – 10 January 1968) was a South African politician who was elected the state president of South Africa, but died before he could take office, aged 69. Early life Eben Donges was born on 8 March 18 ...

, Bloekombos, Masibambane Secondary School, Simonsberg Primary School Scottsdene High School, Scottsville High School and Bernadino Heights High School.

Geography

Kraaifontein, encompassing the areas of Bernardino Heights, Scottsdene, Scottsville, Wallacedene, Eikendal and Bloekombos, was once a separate municipality before the restructuring of all South African municipalities during the late 90s. These areas, however, are listed as separate suburbs by the City of Cape Town for planning and statistical purposes. Forming part of the

Metropolitan Municipality, it is located in its Subcouncil 2 Area, Bergdal. Kraaifontein is located on the north-eastern outskirts of the Cape Metropole (Cape Town metropolitan area) and at the gateway to the

Cape Winelands The Boland (Afrikaans for "top country" or "land above") is a region of the Western Cape province of South Africa, situated to the northeast of Cape Town in the middle and upper courses of the Berg and Breede Rivers, around the Boland Mountains ...

. It is also situated more or less halfway between Cape Town and Paarl, approximately 31 km north-east of

and 29 km south-west of

along the N1 highway. The town is bordered by

Durbanville Durbanville is a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa, part of the greater Cape Town metropolitan area. Durbanville is a semi-rural residential suburb on the north-eastern outskirts of the metropolis and is surrounded by farms prod ...

in the north-west and Brackenfell in the west.

Suburban Areas

* Belmont Park *Bernadino Heights *Bloekombos *Bonnie Brae *Bonnie Brook *Buh-Rein Estate *Eikendal *Joostenberg Vlakte *Klein Begin *Kraaifontein Agricultural Holdings *Kraaifontein East *Kraaifontein Industrial *Langeberg Glen *Langeberg Heights *Langeberg Ridge *Peerless Park East *Peerless Park North *Peerless Park West *Scottsdene *Scottsville *Summerville * Wallacedene *Windsor Park *Windsor Park Estate *Viking Village *Zoo Park

Transport

Roads

Kraaifontein’s main road is the

R101 R101 was one of a pair of British rigid airships completed in 1929 as part of a British government programme to develop civil airships capable of service on long-distance routes within the British Empire. It was designed and built by an Air Mi ...

regional route and its main street is ''Voortrekker'' ''Road'', a segment of the R101. The R101 links Kraaifontein to Brackenfell and Bellville in the south-west as ''Old Paarl Road'' and to

Klapmuts Klapmuts is the name of both a hill, and a town which formed at its foot. They are located in Cape Winelands District Municipality in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Klapmuts town Klapmuts is a little town just off the R45 road betwe ...

and

in the north-east as ''Old Paarl Road'' (The R101 was the main road between

and

before the construction of the N1 freeway). The N1 highway is the main freeway cutting through Kraaifontein and runs from Cape Town in the south-east to Paarl in the north-west. Access to Kraaifontein from the N1 can be obtained through the ''Brighton/Van Riebeeck Road'' interchange (Exit 32) and the ''Maroela Road/Lucullus Street'' interchange (Exit 34). Kraaifontein has access to several metropolitan routes in the Cape Metropole including the M15 (Brighton Road; Van Riebeeck Road; Botfontein Road) to

and the M23, the M23 (Bottelary Road) which runs just outside Kraaifontein to

Stellenbosch Stellenbosch (; )A Universal Pronounc ...

, M25 (Frans Conradie Drive) to Brackenfell and Bellville, M73 (Marlborough Street; Darwin Road) to Brackenfell and Durbanville and the M167 (Maroela Road; Lucullus Street) linking Joostenbergvlakte to Bloekombos.

Coat of arms

The Kraaifontein municipal council assumed a coat of arms, registered it with the Cape Provincial Administration in June 1964,Cape of Good Hope ''Official Gazette'' 3245 (26 June 1964). had it granted by the provincial administrator in March 1967,Cape of Good Hope ''Official Gazette'' 3391 (3 March 1967). and registered it at the

Bureau of Heraldry Bureau ( ) may refer to: Agencies and organizations *Government agency *Public administration * News bureau, an office for gathering or distributing news, generally for a given geographical location * Bureau (European Parliament), the administrat ...

in September 1969.http://www.national.archsrch.gov.za The arms, designed by Schalk Pienaar, were: ''Argent, a chevron Gules between in chief two heraldic fountains and in base a bunch of grapes leaved proper'' (in layman's terms: a silver shield displaying, from top to bottom, two discs divided into wavy white and blue stripes, a red chevron, and a bunch of grapes). The crest was a parson-crow, and the motto ''Non auro sed virtute''. Together the crow (''kraai'') and the fountains (''fonteine'') were a pun on the name of the town.

Notable residents

Adrian Jacobs Adrian Abraham 'Adi' Jacobs (born 14 August 1980) is a South African former rugby union footballer who played for the provincially and The Sharks in Super Rugby. Playing career At high school, Jacobs was often riled and made fun of because ...

, rugby union player *

Cheslin Kolbe Cheslin Kolbe (born 28 October 1993) is a South African professional rugby union player who currently plays for the South Africa national team and for in the Top 14 in France. His regular position is Wing (rugby union), wing, but he also plays ...

, rugby union player,

2019 Rugby World Cup The 2019 Rugby World Cup was the ninth edition of the Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It was hosted in Japan from 20 September to 2 November in 12 venues all across the country. The opening match ...

winner *

Dann-Jacques Mouton Dann-Jaques Mouton is a South African film, television, and theatre actor. Early life Mouton was born in 1986 in Kraaifontein, Western Cape, South Africa. He matriculated at Eben Dönges High School. He obtained a Diploma in Theatre and Perfor ...

, actor *

Carmen Solomons Carmen Lee Solomons is a South African fashion model. She is best known as one of the faces of Fenty Beauty and Kylie Cosmetics. Early life Solomons was born in the town of Kraaifontein just outside Cape Town. Before modelling, Solomons worke ...

, model *

Wayde Van Niekerk Wayde van Niekerk (South African English: , ; born 15 July 1992) is a South African track and field sprinter who competes in the 200 and 400 metres. In the 400 metres, he is the current world and Olympic record holder, having set the reco ...

, track and field sprinter, current world and Olympic record holder, and Olympic champion

References

{{City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality Populated places in the City of Cape Town