Touwsrivier
| Touwsrivier | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Coordinates | 33 ° 19 ′ S , 20 ° 2 ′ E | ||
| Basic data | |||
| Country | South Africa | ||
| Western cape | |||
| District | Cape Winelands | ||
| ISO 3166-2 | ZA toilet | ||
| local community | Breede Valley | ||
| Residents | 8126 (2011) | ||
| founding | November 7, 1877 | ||
 Church in Touwsrivier
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Touwsrivier ( Afrikaans ) or Touws River (English) is a small town at the foot of the Hex River Mountains in the municipality of Breede Valley , Cape Winelands District , Western Cape Province in South Africa . In 2011 the city had 8,126 inhabitants. The city is located in the Hex River Valley at an altitude of 901 meters on the N1 motorway that connects Cape Town and Johannesburg . Matjiesfontein is 55 kilometers away.
history
Montagu Road Settlement and Railway Station was established on Farm De Draai on November 7, 1877 , when the railway line between Worcester and Matjiesfontein was opened to traffic. It was the first major locomotive depot on the journey from Cape Town to the north and east. The station was placed at the transition between the railway line and the Touws River. It was named after the colonial secretary Sir John Montagu . Since this naming was a bit misleading - the city of Montagu is many kilometers away on the road to Swellendam - the train station and with it the current city was renamed Touwsrivier on January 1, 1883. It received city rights in 1962.
In the early years of passenger transport by rail, passengers were often forced to stay at this point when the river was flooded, sometimes for several days. For this stay a hotel was built by the Cape Government Railway . The Frere Hotel held a monopoly until 1921.
Attractions
- Aquila Private Game Reserve
- in the surrounding mountains rock carvings of the San
Individual evidence
- ↑ 2011 census , accessed November 23, 2013
- ↑ SA History ( Memento of the original from January 26, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
