Kranskop is a small town that is situated on the edge of the

Thukela River The Tugela River ( zu, Thukela; af, Tugelarivier) is the largest river in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. With a total length of , it is one of the most important rivers of the country. The river originates in Mont-aux-Sources of the ...

valley in

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 loca ...

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 coun ...

. It was founded in 1894 as Hopetown but the following confusion with another town of the same name in the Great Karoo,

Northern Cape 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 ...

, the name was changed. Kranskop was chosen and is named after two cliff faces that rise 1,175 metres above the Thukela Valley near the town. The name is an

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 gr ...

word meaning "cliff head." The Kranskop rock formation has major significance in local Zulu legend and folklore, for whom it is called "Ntunjambili". The Zulu have ancient stories about a forbidden cave and a hill opening that provides protection from

cannibal Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is well documented, bo ...

s, but then it closes on those who have entered.Zulu Kingdom Tourism
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Education

Deutsche Schule Hermannsburg Hermannsburg School, originally Deutsche Schule Hermannsburg, is a private school in Hermannsburg, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. History The Deutsche Schule Hermannsburg was established by German missionaries in 1856, making it the oldest boa ...

, a private school, is from Kranskop.Fact Sheet
."

. Retrieved on November 6, 2015.

References

Populated places in the Umvoti Local Municipality {{KwaZuluNatal-geo-stub