Louwsburg is a small town in northern

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 ...

, Louwsburg was a small village named after a farmer, Louw, who donated his farm Toggevonden for establishing of the town in 1925. Louwsburg Mountain Scapes

Cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

, Vegetable and

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

farming are the primary economic activities. The town was proclaimed Louwsburg in 1920 and named after Dawid Louw, a pioneer in the area. The town's Zulu name, Ngotshe, means "cave", though its location is hidden by old towns People. The town is set in a broader region designated as eNgotshe. The town's main tourist attraction is the adjacent

Itala Game Reserve Ithala Game Reserve is situated in 290 km2 of rugged, mountainous thornveld, about 400 km north of Durban, in northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is one of the youngest game parks in South Africa. The altitude varies from 400 m ...

Origin

Dawid Louw (1850-1927) was a member of Lucas Meijer's

boer Boers ( ; af, Boere ()) are the descendants of the Dutch-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape Colony, Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controll ...

commando, which in 1884, reacted to

Dinuzulu Dinuzulu kaCetshwayo (1868 – 18 October 1913, commonly misspelled Dinizulu) was the king of the Zulu nation from 20 May 1884 until his death in 1913. He succeeded his father Cetshwayo, who was the last king of the Zulus to be officially reco ...

's plea for help against his uncle

Zibhebhu Zibhebhu kaMaphitha Zulu (1841–1904) (also called Usibepu/Ziphewu) was a Zulu chief. After the defeat of the Zulu Kingdom by the British, he attempted to create his own independent kingdom. From 1883 to 1884, he fought the Zulu king Cetshwayo, ...

, who was usurping the throne. In return for their overthrow of Usibepu, they were granted land in northern Zululand, the future

Nieuwe Republiek The Nieuwe Republiek ("New Republic") was a small Boer republic which existed from 1884 to 1888 in present-day South Africa. It was recognised only by Germany and the South African Republic. Its independence was proclaimed on August 16, 1884, ...

. Upon the commando's return from the campaign, Louw was given a farm by the king, and decided to build his farm house on the eastern slope of Louw's Mountain. Here he had the benefit of easy access to water and labour, and named his farm Toggevonden. Louwsburg is also known to have many caves and is also home to an old settlers grave yard situated at GPS Coordinates -27.568623, 31.293766.

Demographics and development

Louwsburg is situated near

Vryheid Vryheid ( zu, IVryheid) is a coal mining and cattle ranching town in northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Vryheid is the Afrikaans word for "freedom". History After Boer farmers, who lived in the Vryheid area, had helped King Dinuzulu defeat his ...

. The majority of people living in this area are Zulus, but a fair number of

white South African White South Africans generally refers to South Africans of European descent. In linguistic, cultural, and historical terms, they are generally divided into the Afrikaans-speaking descendants of the Dutch East India Company's original settlers, ...

s and other groups also live here. Louwsburg continues to grow annually, though slowly. Residents blame the town council for being ineffective and unfair. The town has one major secondary school named Ngotshe Secondary School and two primary schools of which one is within the town limits. There are several schools outside the town limits. Living conditions in the area are reasonable. Most people are living in the middle-class conditions and live in harmony. There are however reports of escalating youth drinking and

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

, which is under observation. The town has been visited by several well-known politicians, including chief

Mangosuthu Buthelezi Prince Mangosuthu Gatsha Buthelezi (born 27 August 1928) is a South African politician and Zulu traditional leader who is currently a Member of Parliament and the traditional prime minister to the Zulu royal family. He was Chief Minister of the ...

and President

Jacob Zuma Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (; born 12 April 1942) is a South African politician who served as the fourth president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. He is also referred to by his initials JZ and clan name Msholozi, and was a former anti-aparth ...

. Emalia decided to improve the lives local residents by starting a nursing college called Nandisa training institute. The courses include HIV, first aid, ancillary, auxiliary, nutrition, and others.http://www.nandisanursing.co.za

Environment

An area northwest of Louwsburg is characterized by rugged, impenetrable ravines, and is known as "Duiwel se Wêreld" (

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...

: Devil's terrain). According to

Afrikaner Afrikaners () are a South African ethnic group descended from Free Burghers, predominantly Dutch settlers first arriving at the Cape of Good Hope in the 17th and 18th centuries.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: ...

legend, it was the work of the devil, who finding it inferior to God's creation, tore it asunder.

Gallery

Image:Avenuestraat, Louwsburg.jpg, Image:Ned Geref Kerkgebou, a, Louwsburg.jpg, Image:Ngotshe Mountain (31592996094).jpg,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Louwsburg, Kwazulu-Natal Populated places in the Abaqulusi Local Municipality Populated places established in 1920