Richmond is a town in the central

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 e ...

region of the

Northern Cape Province 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 ...

, South Africa. It is situated on the main N1 route.

Origin, architecture and history

The town was established in 1843 in South Africa's inland plateau. It was founded to meet the religious needs of a growing farming community, but unlike most Karoo towns the church was not built as the physical focal point of the village; rather, the centrepiece is the village square. Unusually for this arid region, it was built astride a river which has been cited as the reason for the irregular street grid.History of Richmond
/ref> The town has a substantial number of well-preserved houses and public buildings of Victorian and

Edwardian The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...

Karoo style, with additions of verandahs dating from the 1920s. The Dutch Reformed Church building, the spiritual if not the physical centre around which the town evolved, dates from 1847, with a tower completed in 1909. It celebrated a centenary in 2009. The naming of the town originated in the desire of the townsfolk to honour the new Governor of the Cape, Sir Peregrine Maitland, who took office in 1844. Maitland declined, however, suggesting instead that it be named after his father-in-law, the Duke of Richmond. It was officially named Richmond in October 1845. It was a resort town for European aristocratic patients of lung diseases such as whooping cough and tuberculosis in the 1800s due to its clean air and mineral rich waters.

Notable residents

* Richmond was the birthplace of medical pioneer Dr

Albert Hoffa Albert Hoffa (31 March 1859 – 31 December 1907) was a German surgeon, orthopedist and physiotherapist born in Richmond, Cape of Good Hope. He studied medicine at the Universities of Marburg and Freiburg, earning his doctorate with a thesis o ...

, hailed as the founder of modern orthopaedics, author of a famous textbook and some of whose techniques are still in use. Born in Richmond on 31 March 1859, the son of a local doctor, he studied medicine in Germany. In 1886 Hoffa was appointed as lecturer at the University of Würzburg, later becoming Professor and moving to Berlin. He died in 1907. * Heart transplant pioneer Professor

Chris Barnard Christiaan Neethling Barnard (8 November 1922 – 2 September 2001) was a South African cardiac surgeon who performed the world's first human-to-human heart transplant operation. On 3 December 1967, Barnard transplanted the heart of accident-v ...

would spend time at his Richmond farm, Ratelfontein. * Josephine Dale Lace, flamboyant Johannesburg socialite, mistress of King Edward VII, was born Josephine Cornelia Brink in Richmond.

Book Town

Richmond achieves renown in the first decade of the twenty-first century as a

Book Town A book town is a town or village with many used book or antiquarian bookstores. These stores, as well as literary festivals, attract bibliophile tourists. Some book towns are members of the International Organisation of Book Towns. List of bo ...

, hosting an annual book festival known a
Bookbedonnerd

Visual Arts

Richmond is also being placed on the visual arts map, by a project called "modern arts projects south- africa".http://www.map-southafrica.org www.map-southafrica.org

References

External links