Fresnaye (pronounced as "Fres-Nay" in a more affluent accent) is one 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 ...

's most affluent suburbs, situated between Signal Hill and

Sea Point Sea Point (Afrikaans: ''Seepunt'') is an affluent and densely populated suburb of Cape Town, situated in the Western Cape, between Signal Hill and the Atlantic Ocean, a few kilometres to the west of Cape Town's Central Business District (CBD). M ...

, a few kilometres to the west of Cape Town's

Central Business District A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...

(CBD).

History

Fresnaye was originally an estate of , acquired in the early 1800s, and belonging to Ryk Le Sueur, a barrister, and French aristocrat from Bayeux in Normandy and descendant of the French Huguenots. The original name was Winterslust, and the farmhouse was at that time, the only building on the mountain slopes, other than Heeren Huis near Bantry Bay, built in 1776. Fresnaye was set in vineyards and orchards, and referred to as "A Garden of Eden" at the time. The suburbs street names reflect its French heritage to this day. The ratepayers, residents and local businesses in the area are represented by the Sea Point, Fresnaye & Bantry Bay Ratepayers and Residents Association (SFB), a volunteer-led organization financed by donations and memberships. The SFB's mandate includes defending the heritage of the area, construction applications, providing added security and cleansing above what is provided by the City and State, and communications with residents and ratepayers, as well as on behalf of these parties with stakeholders such as the City of Cape Town.

Geography

Fresnaye is set on the slopes of Lion's Head on the East and between Sea Point and

Bantry Bay Bantry Bay () is a bay located in County Cork, Ireland. The bay runs approximately from northeast to southwest into the Atlantic Ocean. It is approximately 3-to-4 km (1.8-to-2.5 miles) wide at the head and wide at the entrance. Geograp ...

to the suburb's North West and South West respectively.

Notable people

F. W. de Klerk Frederik Willem de Klerk ( , ; 18 March 1936 – 11 November 2021) was a South African politician who served as the seventh and final state president of South Africa from 1989 to 1994 and as Deputy President of South Africa, deputy president a ...

(1936–2021), state president of South Africa from 1989 to 1994 * Abe Bloomberg (1904–1990), Mayor of Cape Town from 1945 to 1947 * David Bloomberg (1932–2020), son of Abe and also Mayor of Cape Town from 1973 to 1975

References

{{Cape Town, communities Suburbs of Cape Town