Aliwal North

Aliwal North
	Aliwal North
	Aliwal North
Coordinates	30 ° 42 ′ S , 26 ° 42 ′ E Coordinates: 30 ° 42 ′ S , 26 ° 42 ′ E
Basic data
Country	South Africa
province	Eastern Cape
District	Joe Gqabi
ISO 3166-2	ZA-EC
local community	Walter Sisulu
height	1328 m
Residents	35,153 (2011)
founding	1849
	Sandstone building of the Alte Post on the main street

Aliwal North ( Afrikaans : Aliwal-Noord ) is a city in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa . It lies on the border with the province of Free State . The Orange River forms the border between the two provinces here. In 2011 the city had 35,153 inhabitants.

The city was founded on May 12, 1849 and is named after the Battle of Aliwal , in which Harry Smith defeated the Sikhs in the First Sikh War .

Economy and population situation

Aliwal North lives mainly from agriculture , cattle breeding and tourism . Wool , corn and wheat are grown in and around the city .
In the vicinity of the city, sandstone is extracted in quarries. Mainly it is a light gray and fine-grained sandstone of the Beaufort group (Tarkastad subgroup) . It is a popular building material for the region and beyond. In the city, the stone shaped the architecture of old town houses and the Roman Catholic cathedral.

Tourism experienced a decline in the years after apartheid was lifted . Many hotels are empty. Visits to the popular mineral hot springs at Aliwal North are stagnating at a low level. The introduction of minimum wages in South Africa also led to the massive layoff of agricultural workers in Aliwal North and their migration to urban areas.

Aliwal North's communal organization is a consequence of apartheid. The most populous part, the black-inhabited township Dukathole of Aliwal North, became an independent town. Many times the population of Aliwal North lived and lives here. The Hilton district should also be mentioned.

Aliwal North is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Aliwal .

traffic

General Hertzog Bridge (National Road N 6)

Aliwal North is on the railway line ( Burgersdorp -) Dreunberg - Aliwal North - Zastron - Sannaspos (- Bloemfontein ). The branch line to Barkly East , which was closed in 2001, also branched from here . There is currently no train service between Dreunberg and Sannaspos either, so trains do not currently run to Aliwal North either. There is a small airport for domestic flights. The city is on the N6 national road , which also connects East London with Bloemfontein. It is crossed by the R58.

Gallery Township Dukathole

Shop in Dukathole
House building in Dukathole as part of a project initiated by the Sisters of the Holy Cross ; Groups of ten participants each build a house in self-help.
Street scene in Dukathole
A larger corrugated iron hut in Dukathole. A fitness machine can be seen in the foreground.
Older row houses in Dukathole
Cemetery on the outskirts of Dukathole