Matjiesfontein
| Matjiesfontein | |||
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| Coordinates | 33 ° 13 '53 " S , 20 ° 34' 56" E | ||
| Basic data | |||
| Country | South Africa | ||
| Western cape | |||
| District | Central Karoo | ||
| ISO 3166-2 | ZA toilet | ||
| local community | Laingsburg | ||
| surface | 1.2 km² | ||
| Residents | 422 (2011) | ||
| density | 345.9 Ew. / km² | ||
 Street in Matjiesfontein
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Matjiesfontein is a village in Victorian style on the edge of the semi-desert Karoo in the province of Western Cape in South Africa . In 2011 the place had 422 inhabitants.
history
Matjiesfontein was originally just a small train station on the Johannesburg – Kimberley – De Aar – Worcester – Cape Town mainline, built for farmers in the barren area, where the vegetation is so sparse that mostly only sheep can be raised. The train station was also used by steam locomotives , which caught water on the way through the Karoo.
In 1876 the Scot James Douglas Logan settled here. Logan had suffered from a lung disease since childhood, which was cured in the dry climate. For this reason he decided to develop Matjiesfontein into a health resort and holiday resort. Logan had the Lord Milner Hotel built. Prominent guests such as Cecil Rhodes , Edgar Wallace and Rudyard Kipling came to Matjiesfontein. Olive Schreiner lived in the village from 1890 to 1892.
In 1970 the settlement was declared a national monument. Many visitors still come to Matjiesfontein today.
Matjiesfontein is just south of the National Route 1 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ 2011 census , accessed November 18, 2013