Discover the earliest forms of patterns and symbols
Vredenburg
“Vrede” is Afrikaans for peace, and if it’s peace that you're after, then its Vredenburg you need to visit.
It wasn’t all peace and quiet to start off with though. In the 18th century, a freshwater spring between the farms Heuningklip and Witteklip caused strife between the respective farm owners.
The site became known as Twisfontein (“quarrel spring”), later renamed Prosesfontein (“lawsuit spring”). The Dutch Reformed Church came to the rescue in 1875 when it built the town’s first church near the disputed spring and promptly renamed the town Vredenburg (“peaceful town”). Problem solved.
These days, Vredenburg is the transportation and commercial hub of the Cape West Coast.
The only argument you’re likely to have in modern-day Vredenburg, since the Twisfontein Monument is today the sole reminder of that water tiff, is in agreeing on which activities you and your travel mates plan to indulge in golf, horse riding, bird watching or paintball?
The town is located 12km inland from Saldanha Bay on the Cape Columbine Peninsula, 138km north of Cape Town.
For more information, please visit; www.capewestcoastpeninsula.co.za
Highlight
- West Coast Fossil Park