Vredenburg

Vredenburg
Vredenburg
Coordinates	32 ° 54 ′ 26 "  S , 17 ° 59 ′ 30"  E Coordinates: 32 ° 54 ′ 26 "  S , 17 ° 59 ′ 30"  E
Basic data
Country	South Africa
province	Western cape
District	West coast
local community	Saldanha Bay
height	130 m
surface	13.8 km²
Residents	38,382 (2011)
density	2,791.4  Ew. / km²
founding	1875
View of part of Vredenburg from the west

Vredenburg aerial view (2016)

Vredenburg is a town in the South African province of Western Cape (Western Cape). It is the administrative center of the municipality of Saldanha Bay in the district West Coast .

geography

In 2011 Vredenburg had 38,382 inhabitants. Around 69% of them said Afrikaans was their mother tongue. The township settlements Louwville and Ongegund belong to the urban area . The city is located on the West Coast Peninsula between Saldanha Bay in the south and St Helena Bay in the north and is around twelve kilometers from the Atlantic Ocean . It is about 130 kilometers to Cape Town in the south.

history

In 1875 the place was founded as the seat of a parish of the Dutch Reformed Church . Her first name was Twisfontein (German for "Zwistquelle") because two farmers quarreled over the source. Later the place was called Prosesfontein ("source of the process") and finally, after a reconciliation, Vredenburg (about "Friedensburg").

Economy and Transport

The main sources of income are fish processing and tourism. Attractions include the nearby Fossil Park .

Vredenburg is at the end of the R45 trunk road , which runs towards the city from the southwest. It forks into three branches of the R399, which lead to Saldanha , Paternoster and Velddrif . The Hopefield Railway branches off in Kalbaskraal from the main line coming from Cape Town and leads via Vredenburg to Saldanha. It is only used in freight transport.

sons and daughters of the town

• Christiaan Bakkes (* 1965), writer and conservationist

Web links

Commons : Vredenburg  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} 2011 census , accessed April 26, 2017
2. ↑ ^{a b c} Tourist information at sa-venues.com (English), accessed on April 26, 2017