Middelburg (Eastern Cape)

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Middelburg
Middelburg (South Africa)
Middelburg
Middelburg
Coordinates 31 ° 30 ′  S , 25 ° 0 ′  E Coordinates: 31 ° 30 ′  S , 25 ° 0 ′  E
Basic data
Country South Africa

province

Eastern Cape
District Chris Hani
ISO 3166-2 ZA-EC
local community Inxuba Yethemba
Residents 18,681 (2011)
founding 1837
Middelburg train station
Middelburg train station

Middelburg is a small town in the municipality of Inxuba Yethemba , Chris Hani District , Eastern Cape Province in the Republic of South Africa .

Geographical location and traffic

The city originated in the valley of the Kleinbrakrivier and is located on the northeastern foothills of the Sneeuberg Mountains.

The national roads N9 and N10 and a railway line run through Middelburg . Both create connections to Bloemfontein in the north . The N9 offers a connection to Oudtshoorn and the N10 to Port Elizabeth on the Indian Ocean to the south .

The regional road R56 leads from Middelburg in an easterly direction via Molteno , Dordrecht , Maclear , Matatiele to Kokstad , where it ends. Your westward continuation forms the regional road R398, which reaches the national road N1 to Cape Town in Richmond .

The center of the city is accessed by a system of streets laid out at right angles.

The city has a small regional airport, which is located southeast of the city not far from the intersecting national roads N9 and N10. The airport has the ICAO code FAMC.

Population, employment situation

In 2011 the city had 18,681 inhabitants. Sheep breeding and horse farming are practiced in the region around Middelburg . The tourism industry is based on the landscape and climatic conditions. The favorable air flow conditions have created a meeting point for friends of paragliding and hang-gliding .

history

On February 6, 1837, the Cape Colony government announced the formation of the Colesberg District . This was divided into six areas: Middelveld, Winterveld, Upper Sea Cow River, Lower Sea Cow River, Nieu-Hantam and Agter-Suurberg. Because the distance between the towns of Graaff-Reinet and Colesberg was very large, it was decided to found a new town in the middle of the area, which has now become farmland.

By resolution of the Dutch Reformed Church in Colesberg, an independent parish could be formed on May 19, 1852. With effect from June 19 of the same year, the Cape Colony government formed a municipal magistrate. Middelburg emerged from the Kleinfontein, Grootfontein and Driefontein farms. When the Driefontein farm was sold in the same year, the new owners called it Middelburg (German: Mittelburg).

Attractions

  • The Middelburg Cultural History Museum is housed in a Victorian style building that was constructed in 1898 and served as a school until 1914. It preserves collections about the city and its region. This includes biographical documents about some regionally significant people. The archaeological finds kept here include tools from Stone Age cultures.
  • The Grootfontein Museum has a collection on agriculture in the region and the Second Boer War .

Surroundings

The area around the city consists of a mountainous area with the character of the Great Karoo . The national road N9 crosses the eastern foothills of the Sneeuberge south of Middelburg with the Lootsberg Pass .

Climate, geology

The city of Middelburg is located in the Great Karoo and on the northwestern edge of the Great Fish River Basin ( Fish River Basin ). In the winter months the nearby mountains usually have a blanket of snow.

At the Lootsberg Pass there are some well-known fossil sites for the transition from Permian to Triassic .

People associated with the city

literature

  • Mike Raath, Dorothy Pitman, Jenny Bennie: Museums of the Eastern Cape . AMA Eastern Cape, Port Elizabeth 1996, ISBN 0-620-19916-4

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ 2011 census , accessed December 30, 2013