Stellenbosch (; )A Universal Pronouncing Gazetteer.
Thomas Baldwin, 1852. Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo & Co.A Grammar of Afrikaans.
Bruce C. Donaldson. 1993. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. is a town in the

Western Cape The Western Cape ( ; , ) is a provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the List of South African provinces by area, fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , an ...

province of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, situated about east of

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

, along the banks of the

Eerste River The Eerste River, located in the Western Cape, South Africa, rises on Dwarsberg 60 km east of Cape Town at the head of Jonkershoek valley. The Eerste River catchment covers the eastern part of the Cape Flats lying to the west of the Hott ...

at the foot of the

Stellenbosch Mountain Stellenbosch Mountain (Afrikaans: Stellenbosberg or Die Groteberg) is a mountain forming a prominent landmark overlooking the town of Stellenbosch in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. The mountain forms part of the Coetsenburg Estate, t ...

. The town became known as the City of Oaks or ''Eikestad'' in

Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...

and

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

due to the large number of

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

trees that were planted by its founder,

Simon van der Stel Simon van der Stel (14 October 1639 – 24 June 1712) was the first Governor of the Dutch Cape Colony (1691), the settlement at the Cape of Good Hope. He was interested in botany, establishing vineyards Groot Constantia, Groot and Klein C ...

, to grace the streets and homesteads.''The Cyclopædia; or, Univeal Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and Literature.''
Abraham Rees, 1819. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme & Brown Stellenbosch is a popular tourist destination due to its history as the second oldest town in South Africa (dating back to 1679), its many historic buildings that are typical of

Cape Dutch architecture Cape Dutch architecture is an architectural style primarily found in the Western Cape of South Africa, though modern adaptations have been constructed in regions such as Western Australia and New Zealand, typically on wine estates. The style e ...

, its location in the centre of many famous wine farms, as well as its variety of cafes, restaurants, boutiques and art galleries. The town is home to

Stellenbosch University Stellenbosch University (SU) (, ) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant university in Sub-Sahara ...

, one of South Africa's oldest universities, whose campus and buildings occupies large swathes of the town centre. Stellenbosch also has a modern science park, Technopark, situated on the southern side of the town, which serves as a base for many large companies and startups, including

Capitec Bank Capitec Bank is a South African retail bank and financial services company. As of February 2024 the bank was the largest retail bank in South Africa, based on number of customers, with 120,000 customers opening new accounts per month. Overview ...

(South Africa's second largest retail bank). Stellenbosch has its own municipality (incorporating the neighbouring towns of Pniel and

Franschhoek Franschhoek (; Afrikaans for "French Corner", Dutch spelling before 1947 ''Fransche Hoek'', French: ''Le Coin Français'') is a small town in the Western Cape Province and one of the oldest towns in South Africa. It was formerly known as Oliph ...

), adjoining the

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban area, urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share Industry (economics), industries, commercial areas, Transport infrastructure, transport network ...

of the

City of Cape Town The City of Cape Town (; ) is a Metropolitan municipality (South Africa), metropolitan municipality that forms the metropolitan municipality (South Africa), local government of Cape Town and surrounding areas. As of 2022 it has a population of ...

History

Pre-history

In 1899

Louis Péringuey Louis Albert Péringuey MSc (; 9 October 1855, Bordeaux – 20 February 1924, Cape Town) was a South African entomologist who specialised in Coleoptera and prehistory. Biography Péringuey was a collector for museums in Senegal, Gambia and Mada ...

discovered

Paleolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic ( years ago) ( ), also called the Old Stone Age (), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone tools, and which represents almost the entire period of human prehist ...

stone tool Stone tools have been used throughout human history but are most closely associated with prehistoric cultures and in particular those of the Stone Age. Stone tools may be made of either ground stone or knapped stone, the latter fashioned by a ...

s of the

Acheulean Acheulean (; also Acheulian and Mode II), from the French after the type site of Saint-Acheul, is an archaeological industry of stone tool manufacture characterized by the distinctive oval and pear-shaped "hand axes" associated with ''Homo ...

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * ...

at a site named Bosman's Crossing near the Adam Tas Bridge at the western entrance to Stellenbosch. This indicates that human habitation of the area dates as far back as 1 million years. By 10,000 to 20,000 years ago the population, assumed to have been ancestors of the San people, were established in the area.

Founding and early history

The town was founded in 1679 by the Governor of the

Cape Colony The Cape Colony (), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope. It existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with three ...

, who named it after himself – Stellenbosch means "(van der) Stel's Forest". It is situated on the banks of the Eerste River ("First River"), so named as it was the first new river he reached and followed when he went on an expedition over the Cape Flats to explore the territory towards what is now known as Stellenbosch. The town grew so quickly that it became an independent local authority in 1682 and the seat of a

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

with jurisdiction over in 1685. From the beginning, the population living in the town and its surroundings was highly mixed, consisting of European (Dutch, French, German) burghers, enslaved people, 15 individual free-blacks, 16 and indigenous Khoi and San people. A minority of these free-blacks were able to amass significant wealth, even owning farms and enslaved people and employing white servants. The indigenous Khoisan were never officially enslaved, but due to several factors, including colonial encroachment on their hunting and grazing lands, illness, and extermination by European hunting parties, they were gradually forced to submit to colonial rule despite widespread resistance. Many became labourers on farms, domestic workers, or wagon drivers. Life in early Stellenbosch society for the Khoi, San, and enslaved people was extremely cruel and characterised by violence, hard work, and strict discipline Farming was the dominant industry of the town, and due to the massive size of the early land grants, European farmers depended on enslaved and Indigenous labour. The isolated nature of these farms, where most enslaved and Indigenous people lived and worked, meant that unified resistance action was difficult. The

were skilled in hydraulic engineering and they devised a system of furrows to direct water from the Eerste River in the vicinity of Thibault Street through the town along van Riebeeck Street to Mill Street where a

mill Mill may refer to: Science and technology * Factory * Mill (grinding) * Milling (machining) * Millwork * Paper mill * Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel * Sugarcane mill * Textile mill * List of types of mill * Mill, the arithmetic ...

was erected.''Statistics of the Colonies of the British Empire in the West Indies, South America, North America, Asia, Austral-Asia, Africa and Europe: From the Official Records of the Colonial Office.''

Robert Montgomery Martin Robert Montgomery Martin (c. 1801 – 6 September 1868) was an Anglo-Irish author and civil servant. He served as Colonial Treasurer of Hong Kong from 1844 to 1845. He was a founding member of the Statistical Society of London (1834), the Colon ...

, 1839. London: W.H. Allen and Co. (p. 496)State of the Cape of Good Hope, in 1822.
William Wilberforce Bird. 1823. London: J. Murray. Early visitors commented on the oak trees and gardens.''The Life and Labours of George Washington Walker: of Hobart Town, Tasmania.''
James Backhouse and Charles Tylor, 1862. Tasmania: Thomas Brady (pp. 498–499) During 1690 some Huguenot refugees settled in Stellenbosch,

grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began approximately 8,0 ...

s were planted in the fertile valleys around Stellenbosch and soon it became the centre of the South African

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

industry. In 1710 a fire destroyed most of the town, including the first church, all the Company property and twelve houses. Only two or three houses were left standing. When the church was rebuilt in 1723 it was located on what was then the outskirts of the town, to prevent a similar incident from destroying it again. This church has been enlarged a number of times since 1723 and is currently known as the "Moederkerk" (Mother Church).

Since the 1800s

The first school had been opened in 1683, but education in the town began in earnest in 1859 with the opening of a seminary for the Dutch Reformed Church.

Rhenish Girls' High School Rhenish Girls' High School is a public English medium high school for girls situated in Stellenbosch in the province of Western Cape in South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, so ...

, established in 1860, is the oldest school for girls in South Africa. A gymnasium, known as ''het Stellenbossche Gymnasium'', was established in 1866. In 1874 some higher classes became Victoria College and then in 1918

University of Stellenbosch Stellenbosch University (SU) (, ) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant university in Sub-Sahara ...

. The first men's hostel to be established in Stellenbosch was Wilgenhof, in 1903. In 1905 the first women's hostel to be established in Stellenbosch was Harmoni

Harmonie and Wilgenhof were part of the Victoria College. In 1909 an old boy of the school, Paul Roos (rugby union), Paul Roos, captain of the first national rugby team to be called the

Springboks The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks (colloquially the Boks, Bokke or Amabhokobhoko) is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jersey ...

, was invited to become the sixth rector of the school. He remained rector until 1940. On his retirement, the school's name was changed to

Paul Roos Gymnasium Paul Roos Gymnasium is a leading public dual medium (Afrikaans & English) high school for boys in the town of Stellenbosch in the Western Cape province of South Africa, which opened on 1 March 1866 as Stellenbosch Gymnasium. Described as South A ...

. With the manumission of enslaved people in 1838, the population of Stellenbosch's town centre increased as formerly enslaved people moved there, away from the isolated farmsteads. This small exodus formed the basis of the District's coloured community, and by 1850, they had established a neighbourhood and community which became known as ‘Die Vlakte’. In the early days of the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

(1899–1902) Stellenbosch was one of the British military bases, and was used as a "remount" camp; and in consequence of officers who had not distinguished themselves at the front being sent back to it, the expression "''to be Stellenbosched''" came into use; so much so, that in similar cases officers were spoken of as "Stellenbosched" even if they were sent to some other place.

Apartheid

The

Group Areas Act Group Areas Act was the title of three acts of the Parliament of South Africa enacted under the apartheid government of South Africa. The acts assigned racial groups to different residential and business sections in urban areas in a syste ...

of 1950 led to ‘Die Vlakte’ in central Stellenbosch being proclaimed a White Group Area in 1964. In the following decade, roughly 3,700 (mainly coloured people) either left or were later forced out of Central Stellenbosch, relocating or being settled to the urban periphery areas of Idas Valley and Cloetesville. Black people were forcibly removed to Kayamandi. Several homes, religious and educational buildings, and community centres were bulldozed. One remaining building which stands in what used to be a central street of 'Die Vlakte' is the Goejjatul Islam Mosque. In post-Apartheid Stellenbosch and its surrounds, residential areas are still notably segregated: although the

was abolished in 1991, the economic and residential patterns it enforced have proven difficult to overcome. This continued residential segregation, soaring wealth inequality, the reputation of Stellenbosch as the ‘cradle of apartheid’, and several racial discrimination scandals related to the university all indicate how Stellenbosch continues to reckon with legacies of racism and discrimination in both its institutions and physical, social, and economic landscapes.

Population

At the time of the 2011 census, the population of the urban area of Stellenbosch was 77,476, living in 23,730 households, in an area of . Roughly 63.8% of the residents spoke

as their

home language A first language (L1), native language, native tongue, or mother tongue is the first language a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongue'' refers ...

, 19.6% spoke

isiXhosa Xhosa ( , ), formerly spelled ''Xosa'' and also known by its local name ''isiXhosa'', is a Bantu language, indigenous to Southern Africa and one of the official languages of South Africa and Zimbabwe. Xhosa is spoken as a first language ...

, and 6.8% spoke English. 28.1% of the population identify as

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

, 52.2% as

Coloured Coloureds () are multiracial people in South Africa, Namibia and, to a smaller extent, Zimbabwe and Zambia. Their ancestry descends from the interracial mixing that occurred between Europeans, Africans and Asians. Interracial mixing in South ...

, and 18.5% as

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

.Census 2011: https://www.statssa.gov.za/?page_id=993&id=stellenbosch-municipality The Stellenbosch Municipality extends beyond the town of Stellenbosch itself to include rural areas, villages, and the town of

. At the time of the 2011 census, the municipal population was 155,728, while by 2016 it was estimated to be 173,197. In 2017, the municipality estimated that the population in 2018 would increase to 176,523. The 1936 census recorded a total population of 8,782 residents with 3,558 of them recorded as Coloured and 4,995 recorded as White.

Climate and geography

Stellenbosch is east of

via National Route N1. Stellenbosch is in a hilly region of the

Cape Winelands The Boland (, meaning "highland") 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 of the central Cape ...

, and is sheltered in a valley at an average elevation of , flanked on the west by Papegaaiberg (), which is actually a hill. To the south is

; to the east and southeast are the Jonkershoek, Drakenstein, and Simonsberg mountains. Die Tweeling Pieke () has an elevation of ; the highest point is Victoria Peak . Jonkershoek Nature Reserve lies about east of Stellenbosch, and the Helderberg Nature Reserve is about south via

provincial route A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either numbered or maintained by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a state or ...

R44. Just south of the Helderberg Nature Reserve is

Strand Strand or The Strand may refer to: Topography *The flat area of land bordering a body of water, a: ** Beach ** Shoreline * Strand swamp, a type of swamp habitat in Florida Places Africa * Strand, Western Cape, a seaside town in South Africa * ...

, a

seaside resort A seaside resort is a city, resort town, town, village, or hotel that serves as a Resort, vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of an official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requi ...

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

. The soils of Stellenbosch range from dark

alluvium Alluvium (, ) is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluvium is also sometimes called alluvial deposit. Alluvium is ...

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...

. This, combined with the well-drained, hilly terrain and

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

, prove excellent for

viticulture Viticulture (, "vine-growing"), viniculture (, "wine-growing"), or winegrowing is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine ...

. Summers are dry and warm to hot, with some February and March days rising to over . Winters are cool, rainy and sometimes quite windy, with daytime temperatures averaging . Snow is usually seen a couple of times in winter on the surrounding mountains. Spring and autumn are colder seasons, when daytime temperatures hover in the 20s.

Economy

Stellenbosch is home to several corporate headquarters of large and small companies including major South African bank,

, fast-food chain, Hungry Lion, major dairy products group

Lactalis Groupe Lactalis S.A. (doing business as Lactalis) is a French multinational dairy products corporation, owned by the Besnier family and based in Laval, Mayenne, France. The company's former name was Besnier S.A. Lactalis is the largest dairy pr ...

South Africa, major private hospital group,

Mediclinic International Mediclinic Group, founded in 1983, is an international private hospital group with operations in South Africa, Namibia, Switzerland, and the United Arab Emirates. The company is headquartered in Stellenbosch, in the Western Cape province of South ...

and investment holding company,

Remgro Remgro Limited is a South African investment holding company, based in Stellenbosch. The company has interests in banking, financial services, packaging, glass products, medical services, mining, petroleum, beverage, food and personal care p ...

Sport

Stellenbosch is a warm-weather training venue for cyclists, track and field squads, and triathletes. The Stellenbosch Sports Academy opened its doors in 2012 and hosts several rugby teams on a permanent basis, such as the Springbok Sevens and Western Province. It is also the home base of professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club Stellenbosch FC who compete in the

DStv Premiership The South African Premiership, also known as the Betway Premiership for sponsorship reasons, and commonly referred to as the PSL after its governing body, is a professional soccer league in South Africa and the highest level of the South Afric ...

Viticulture and winemaking

The Stellenbosch,

Paarl Paarl (; ; derived from ''parel'', meaning "pearl" in Dutch) is a city with 294,457 inhabitants in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is the largest city in the Boland, Western Cape, Cape Winelands. Due to the growth of the Mbekweni ...

and

valleys form the

, the larger of the two main wine growing regions in South Africa. The

South African wine South African wine has a history dating back to 1659 with the first bottle being produced in Cape Town by its founder and governor Jan van Riebeeck. Access to international markets led to new investment in the South African wine market. Product ...

industry produces about 1,000,000,000 litres of wine annually. Stellenbosch is the primary location for viticulture and viticulture research. Professor Perold was the first Professor of Viticulture at Stellenbosch University. The Stellenbosch Wine Route established in 1971 by Frans Malan from Simonsig, Spatz Sperling from Delheim, Neil Joubert from Spier and David van Velden from Overgaauw, known as Stellenbosch American Express® Wine Routes since 2002, is a world-renowned and popular

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity on ...

destination. This route provides visitors the opportunity to experience a wide range of cultivars and includes farms such as Warwick and JC Le Roux. The region has a

with hot dry summers and cool wet winters. Stellenbosch lies at the foot of the Cape Fold mountain range, which provides soil favourable to

. Grapes grown in this area are mainly used for wine production, as opposed to

table grapes Table grapes are grapes intended for consumption as fresh fruit, as opposed to grapes grown for wine production, juice production, jelly and jam making, or for drying into raisins. ''Vitis vinifera'' table grapes can be in the form of either s ...

. The region possesses a wide range of soils in the area, from light, sandy soils to decomposed granite. Stellenbosch

Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebano ...

is beginning to get a good reputation as a fine wine.

Stellenbosch University

is one of South Africa's leading

universities A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

. This institution has a history dating back to 1863 and has 10

faculties Faculty or faculties may refer to: Academia * Faculty (academic staff), professors, researchers, and teachers of a given university or college (North American usage) * Faculty (division), a large department of a university by field of study (us ...

, including

Engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

Commerce Commerce is the organized Complex system, system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions that directly or indirectly contribute to the smooth, unhindered large-scale exchange (distribution through Financial transaction, transactiona ...

Science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

and

Arts The arts or creative arts are a vast range of human practices involving creativity, creative expression, storytelling, and cultural participation. The arts encompass diverse and plural modes of thought, deeds, and existence in an extensive ...

. The Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering is the only university department in the southern hemisphere which has successfully built a communications satellite Sunsat which was launched in 2000 and orbited the Earth for three years. The University currently has about 29,000 students. White students in 2014, namely 18,636, constitute 63.4% of all students enrolled. Although the official language of the university is

, most post-graduate courses are presented in English. The university is in the process of introducing more English centered undergraduate courses following mass protest by the student body. The university council with the concurrence of the senate approved a new language policy on 22 June 2016 for implementation from 1 January 2017. Since the campuses are situated in the Western Cape, the university has committed to introducing multilingualism by using the province's three official languages, namely

, English and

List of suburbs

*Annandale *Arbeidslus *Brandwacht * Cloetesville *Coetzenburg *

Dalsig Stellenbosch (; )A Universal Pronouncing Gazetteer.
Thomas Baldwin ...

*Dennesig *De Zalze *De Novo *Devon Valley *Die Boord, previously ''Rhodes Fruit Farms'' *Die Rant *Ida's Valley * Jamestown *Jonkershoek *Karindal * Kayamandi *Klapmuts *Koelenhof *Krigeville * Kylemore *Welbedaght *La Colline *Lanquedoc *Meerlust * Mostertsdrift *Onderpapegaaiberg, also known as ''Voëltjiesdorp'' *Paradyskloof *Plankenberg *Pniel *Raithby *

Rozendal Rozendal is a residential suburb of Stellenbosch since roughly the early 1970s. It forms the eastern border of the town together with Karindal. Stellenbosch is the second-oldest town in South Africa after Cape Town Cape Town is the legislatu ...

*Simondium *Simonsrust *Simonswyk *Techno Park *Tennantville *Town central * Uniepark *Universiteitsoord *Vlottenburg *Weides *Welbedaght *Welgevonden

List of schools

''Primary Schools'' *A.F. Louw Primary School *Bruckner De Villiers Primary School *Cloetesville Primary School *Devonvallei Primary School *Eikestad Primary School *Idasvallei Primary School *Ikaya Primary School *JJ Rhode Primary School *Kayamandi Primary School *Koelenhof Primary School *Lynedoch Primary School *Rhenish Primary School *Stellenbosch Primary School * St Idas A.C. Primary School * Weber Gedenk Primary School ''Secondary Schools'' *

Bloemhof High School Hoër Meisieskool Bloemhof is a public Afrikaans medium high school for girls, located in Stellenbosch in the Western Cape province of South Africa. History It was established in 1875 as an English girls' school. In 1903 three houses were ac ...

*Cloetesville High School *Kayamandi High School *Luckhoff Secondary School * Makupula Secondary School *

*Pieter Langeveldt Primary School *

*Rietenbosch Primary School *

Stellenbosch High School Hoërskool Stellenbosch is a public Afrikaans medium co-educational in the town of Stellenbosch, Western Cape, South Africa. It was founded in 1978 as a business-oriented technical school (''Hoërhandelskool Stellenbosch''), located in the ce ...

*Stellenzicht Senior Secondary School

Transport

Rail

Stellenbosch lies on the Muldersvlei rail branch of the ''

Northern Line The Northern line is a London Underground line that runs between North London and South London. It is printed in black on the Tube map. It carries more passengers per year than any other Underground linearound 340million in 2019making it the bu ...

'' operated by

Metrorail Western Cape Metrorail Western Cape is a network of commuter and suburban rail services in the City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality (metropolitan area of Cape Town) and in the surrounding towns of Malmesbury, Western Cape, Malmesbury, Paarl, Stellenbo ...

commuter rail system which connects Stellenbosch with

to the west via Eersterivier,

Kuilsrivier Kuils River (Afrikaans: Kuilsrivier) is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa, 25 km (15 miles) east of Cape Town and 20 km (12 miles) west of Stellenbosch at the gateway of the Cape Winelands. It is also the name of the main tributary of t ...

and Bellville. Stellenbosch has two railway stations including its main railway station, Stellenbosch Railway Station to the east of the CBD along the R310 Adam Tas Road and Du Toit Railway Station to the north of the CBD in Plankenbrug.

Roads

Stellenbosch is not directly linked to any major

freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...

or highway, however it is connected to the N1 (to

and

) via the R44 and R304, the N2 (to Cape Town and

George George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Gior ...

) via the R44 and R310 and the

R300 The R300 GPU, introduced in August 2002 and developed by ATI Technologies, is its third generation of GPU used in ''Radeon'' graphics cards. This GPU features 3D acceleration based upon Direct3D 9.0 and OpenGL 2.0, a major improvement in featur ...

(to Bellville and

Mitchells Plain Mitchells Plain is a large census designated sub-place located within the City of Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa and situated about from the Cape Town city centre. It is one of South Africa's largest residential areas and contains multi ...

) via the M12. The R44 (Adam Tas Street; Strand Road) connects Stellenbosch with Klapmuts and

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

to the north and

Somerset West Somerset West () is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa. Organisationally and administratively it is included in the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality (South Africa), metropolitan municipality Eastern Suburbs zone (formerly called ...

to the south. The R304 (Bird Street; Koelenhof Road) connects Stellenbosch with Klipheuwel and

Atlantis Atlantis () is a fictional island mentioned in Plato's works '' Timaeus'' and ''Critias'' as part of an allegory on the hubris of nations. In the story, Atlantis is described as a naval empire that ruled all Western parts of the known world ...

to the north-west. The R310 (Adams Tas Street; Helshoogte Road) connects Stellenbosch with

to the east and

Muizenberg Muizenberg ( , Dutch for 'mice mountain') is a beach-side town in the Western Cape, South Africa. It is situated where the shore of the Cape Peninsula curves round to the east on the False Bay coast. It is considered to be the main surfing spo ...

to the south-west. Stellenbosch is also served by two metropolitan routes linking it to nearby towns in the

. The M12 (Polkadraai Road) which begins at the intersection with the R310 just outside Stellenbosch connects the town with

and the

Cape Town International Airport Cape Town International Airport is the primary international airport serving the city of Cape Town, and is the List of South African airports by passenger movements, second-busiest airport in South Africa and List of busiest airports in Afric ...

to the west. The M23 (Bottelary Road) which begins at the intersection with the R304 just outside Stellenbosch connects the town with Kuilsrivier,

Brackenfell Brackenfell is a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa, situated on the N1 about 30 km (17 mi) north-east of Cape Town and 35 km (22 mi) south-west of Paarl. Regarded as the “gateway” to the Cape Winelands, the town marks t ...

and Bellville to the north-west. Bird Street is the main street through Stellenbosch Central stretching for about 2 kilometres in a north–south direction.

Houses of worship

* Moederkerk *

Stellenbosch Synagogue The Stellenbosch Synagogue, formally the Stellenbosch Hebrew Congregation, is an Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 44 Ryneveld Street, in Stellenbosch, in the Western Cape region of South Africa. The congregation was establi ...

Notable people

Ferdie Bergh Willem Ferdinand van Rheede van Oudtschoorn Bergh (2 November 1906 – 28 May 1973), better known as "Ferdie" Bergh, was a South African rugby union player.Cotton, p74Scrum.com player profile, retrieved 20 February 2010 Biography He was origin ...

– rugby player * Bernette Beyers – track cyclist * Kees Bruynzeel – Dutch businessman, timber merchant and yachtsman * Dirk Coetsee – Chancellor (Hoofdheemraad) of the District of Stellenbosch and Drakenstein in South Africa for most of the 1690s and early 1700s *

Danie Craven Daniël Hartman Craven (11 October 1910 – 4 January 1993) was a South African rugby union player (1931–1938), national coach, national and international rugby administrator, academic, and author. Popularly known as Danie, Doc, or Mr R ...

– rugby administrator *

Giniel de Villiers Giniel de Villiers (born 25 March 1972 in Barrydale, Western Cape, Barrydale, South Africa) is a South African racing and rally driver, best known for winning the 2009 Dakar Rally. Biography De Villiers began his career in circuit racing, wi ...

– Rally driver * David Earl – composer and pianist * Arnu Fourie – Paralympic athlete *

Justin Harding Justin Adam Harding (born 9 February 1986) is a South African professional golfer. Amateur career Harding attended Paul Roos Gymnasium in Stellenbosch, South Africa, and played college golf at Lamar University in Texas and represented his countr ...

- Golfer * Hans Heinrich Hattingh - Dutch Cape Colony free burgher, proprietor of the Spier Estate *

Omar Henry Omar Henry (born 23 January 1952) is a South African former cricketer who represented South Africa and Scotland at the international level. He played in three Tests and three One Day Internationals for South Africa. He is notable for being the ...

– cricketer * Daniel Hugo – radio producer, lecturer and poet *

Charl Langeveldt Charl Kenneth Langeveldt (born 17 December 1974) is a South African cricket coach and former cricketer who is currently a bowling coach with the Zimbabwe national cricket team. As a cricket player, he played all formats of the game. A right-arm ...

– cricketer * Lee Langeveldt – football player *

D. F. Malan Daniël François Malan (; 22 May 1874 – 7 February 1959) was a South Africa, South African politician who served as the fourth prime minister of South Africa from 1948 to 1954. The National Party (South Africa), National Party impleme ...

– Prime Minister of South Africa from 1948 to 1954 *

Jannie Marais Johannes Henoch Marais (8 September 1851 – 30 May 1915) was a South African mining magnate, politician and philanthropist who co-founded the multibillion-dollar media conglomerate Naspers and the University of Stellenbosch. He was affectionate ...

(Johannes Henoch Marais) – mining magnate, politician and philanthropist who co-founded the multi-billion dollar media conglomerate Naspers and the University of Stellenbosch *

JP Pietersen Jon-Paul Roger "JP" Pietersen (born 12 July 1986 in Stellenbosch, South Africa) is a South African former rugby union player for the in the Currie Cup. He generally played fullback or wing, but occasionally he played at outside centre. He pla ...

– rugby player * Paul Roos (rugby union), Paul Roos – South African rugby union captain *

Anton Rupert Anthony Edward Rupert OMSG (4 October 1916 – 18 January 2006) was a South African businessman and conservationist. He was born on 4 October, 1916 and raised in the small town of Graaff-Reinet in the Eastern Cape Province of the Union of Sou ...

– entrepreneur, businessman, conservationist *

Johann Rupert Johann Peter Rupert (born 1 June 1950) is a South African billionaire Businessperson, businessman, who is the eldest son of business tycoon Anton Rupert and his wife Huberte. He is the Chair (officer), chairman of the Swiss-based luxury goods c ...

– businessman *

Dana Snyman Dana Snyman is a South African journalist, writer and playwright. Snyman was born in Stellenbosch and matriculated from Nylstroom High School. He later followed a journalism course at the Tshwane University of Technology before joining the Afr ...

– journalist, writer and playwright *

Conrad Stoltz Conrad Willem Stoltz (born 23 October 1973) is a triathlete from South Africa. He is a four time XTERRA Triathlon World Champion and a three time ITU Cross Triathlon World Champion. Career Stoltz was born in Lydenburg, South Africa and calls ...

– 2-time Olympian, 3 time Xterra world champion *

Roger Telemachus Roger Telemachus (born 27 March 1973) is a former South African international cricketer. He played 37 One Day Internationals and three Twenty20 Internationals for his country. International career In the famous 438-game played at the Wanderer ...

– cricketer * Sampie Terreblanche – Professor in Economics, co-founder of Democratic Party * Richard Turner – philosopher * Frederik van Zyl Slabbert – anti-apartheid Member of Parliament and leader of opposition, lecturer in sociology *

Hendrik Verwoerd Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd (; 8 September 1901 – 6 September 1966), also known as H. F. Verwoerd, was a Dutch-born South African politician, scholar in applied psychology, philosophy, and sociology, and newspaper editor who was Prime Mini ...

–"father of apartheid"- Prime Minister of South Africa from 1958 to 1966

Coats of arms

The municipality currently uses a badge consisting of a fleur de lis and a cross issuing from a stylised

bunch of grapes In viticulture, the grape cluster (also bunch of grapes) is a fertilized inflorescence of the grapevine, the primary part of this plant used for food (grape leaves are also used in some culinary traditions). The size of the grape bunch greatly va ...

. In the past, the various local authorities used coats of arms. * Drostdy – The drostdy (1685–1827) was the local authority for the whole Stellenbosch district, including the city. In 1804, when the

was ruled by the

Batavian Republic The Batavian Republic (; ) was the Succession of states, successor state to the Dutch Republic, Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. It was proclaimed on 19 January 1795 after the Batavian Revolution and ended on 5 June 1806, with the acce ...

, the government assigned an armorial seal to the drostdy. It depicted the shield of arms of

superimposed on an anchor representing Hope, on a golden background. In 1814, the British occupation authorities ordered the drostdyen to use the royal coat of arms instead.''Cape Town Gazette'' No 418 (15 January 1814). Van der Stel's arms were quartered: 1 two red towers on a golden background; 2 a

peacock Peafowl is a common name for two bird species of the genus '' Pavo'' and one species of the closely related genus '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae (the pheasants and their allies). Male peafowl are referred t ...

on a red background; 3 three silver discs or balls stacked 1 over 2 on a red background; 4 a red tower on a golden background. In the centre was a smaller blue shield displaying six silver crescents (or, possibly, ribs) 2, 2, and 2. * Municipality (1) – The Stellenbosch municipality was formed in 1840, to administer the city, but not the rest of the district. Although it was not the legal successor to the drostdy, it adopted the old drostdy seal of arms. A few changes were made to the arms over the years: quarters 2 and 3 were changed from red to blue; the peacock was turned to a profile position; the three silver discs or balls were changed to golden rings; the central shield was changed from blue to black. Whether any of these changes was intentional, or whether they were the result of artistic errors, is unclear. * Municipality (2) – The municipal council had a new coat of armsnew coat of arms
/ref> designed by Michael Dawes in 1951. After some improvements, the

College of Arms The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional Officer of Arms, officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the ...

granted them on 26 June 1952. They were registered at the Bureau of Heraldry on 31 August 1979.National Archives of South Africa: Data of the Bureau of Heraldry
/ref> The new design was a golden shield displaying the three towers from the Van der Stel arms, and a red fess displaying the peacock between golden rings. The crest was an anchor entwined with oak leaves and acorns. The motto ''Fortis et superbus'' ("Strong and proud") was chosen. * Divisional council (1) – The divisional council, established in 1855, administered the rural areas outside the city. At some point, it adopted the plain Van der Stel arms, i.e. a golden shield displaying three red towers. * Divisional council (2) – The divisional council had its arms re-designed by Cornelis Pama in 1970, and registered them at the Bureau of Heraldry on 30 October 1970. The shield was divided down the centre into gold and red, and the three towers were counterchanged. A red tower was added as a crest. * ''Kaya Mandi'' – The local authority for the Black township of Kaya Mandi registered arms at the Bureau on 27 November 1987.

References

External links

* *
Stellenbosch MunicipalityStellenbosch Tourism BureauEikestad Nuus
{{Authority control Wine regions of South Africa Populated places established in 1679 Populated places founded by Afrikaners Populated places in the Stellenbosch Local Municipality 1679 establishments in the Dutch Empire Populated places established by the Dutch East India Company