Wupperthal

Wupperthal
	Wupperthal
	Wupperthal
Coordinates	32 ° 17 ′ S , 19 ° 13 ′ E Coordinates: 32 ° 17 ′ S , 19 ° 13 ′ E
Basic data
Country	South Africa
province	Western cape
District	West coast
ISO 3166-2	ZA toilet
local community	Cederberg
Residents	4000
founding	1830
Website	www.wupperthal.co.za (English)
	Church in Wupperthal

Wupperthal (also Wuppertal ) is a small town with about 4,000 inhabitants in the municipality of Cederberg , West Coast District , Western Cape Province in South Africa . It is located in a valley of the Cedar Mountains in the Western Cape Province, just under 200 kilometers northeast of Cape Town .

description

The first missionaries arrived in Cape Town on October 7, 1829. The settlement was founded as a farm in January 1830 on behalf of the Rhenish Missionary Society of Theobald von Wurmb and Johann Gottlieb Leipoldt from the Valley of the Wupper located Barmen . In his diary Leipoldt wrote about the naming: "We have changed the name Riedmond in Wupperthal in memory of our dear German Wuppertal."

The mission property founded by the Rhenish Mission was later handed over to the Moravians , as they already had experience in missionary work with the indigenous people, the Khoisan, in the Cape. Craft skills and education in general were at the center of their efforts.

The historic mission station is still the regional center of an otherwise sparsely populated area. There is a post office, school, clinic, parish, shops and a shoe and glove factory where the traditional Veldskoene (field shoes) are made. The co-founder Johann Gottlieb Leipoldt was a shoemaker and began to establish this craft here. The rooibos tea grown in the region is of particular economic importance . Some economic activities are associated with the Moravian Church in South Africa .

In the vicinity of Wupperthal there are rock carvings of the San . In 2000 a hiking trail was laid out, which in two days leads past old San drawings, a large waterfall and rock formations from Wupperthal via Eselbank to Langkloof.

Wupperthal is connected to the district capital Clanwilliam by a road over the Pakhuis Pass .

On December 30, 2018, a rapidly spreading fire broke out in the city. More than 200 people lost their homes. Of a total of 113 residential buildings, 53 and most of the historically significant buildings fell victim to the city fire. In addition, the school, clinic, city administration and businesses suffered considerable damage or burned down completely. Some buildings have been preserved as their roofs were covered with refractory materials. The extinguishing work turned out to be difficult because the extinguishing systems were damaged by the fire itself. Fighting the fire in the geographically remote city was not possible on our own. Fire brigade units from Clanwilliam, Piketberg , Vredenburg , Malmesbury , Cederberg , Matzikama and Bergrivier came to the rescue. The entire communication infrastructure of the place was also destroyed. In March 2019, the provincial authorities made funds available for the homeless residents so that a modular housing unit could be set up for each family via a service provider. Many fire-damaged building remains were torn down to ensure public safety. According to the head of the office of monuments of Western Cape (Heritage Western Cape), the damages amount on Demkmalkomplex the historic mission station at about 20 million Rand . Heritage Western Cape visited the city in January 2019 and carried out on-site advice on the measures necessary to restore the cultural heritage. The police are investigating the causes of the fire and are considering arson . The cause seems to have been a small fire that was lit by residents on a wild beehive in order to drive the bees away with the smoke and to be able to remove the honey. As it got out of hand, the flames spread to the place. Reconstruction began after a few weeks with aid deliveries from home and abroad.

Others

This is the oldest place with the name Wuppertal. The city of Wuppertal in Germany was officially named on January 25, 1930.

literature

Mark Charles Bilbe: A social history of the Wupperthal Mission in South Africa, 1830 to 1965 . ( Ph.D. Thesis) University of Cambridge , 2004
Mark Charles Bilbe: Wupperthal: the formation of a community in South Africa 1830-1965 . (Archive and Museum Foundation of the United Evangelical Mission , InterCultura Vol. 9) Köppe Verlag, Cologne 2009, ISBN 978-3-89645-448-5 .
Mark Charles Bilbe, Elisabeth Steinweg-Fleckner (translator): Wupperthal - the development of a community 1830-1965 . (Archive and Museum Foundation of the United Evangelical Mission , InterCultura Vol. 10) Köppe Verlag, Cologne 2011, ISBN 978-3-89645-449-2 .

Individual evidence

^ ^A ^b Peter Edmund Raper : Dictionary of Southern African Place Names . Lowry Publishers, Johannesburg 1987 (2nd ed.), P. 352
↑ United Evangelical Mission : Rheinisch in die Welt . Posted January 8, 2019 on www.vemission.org (German)

^ Wupperthal: Wuppertal is a most attractive oasis in a very rugged wilderness . on www.wupperthal.co.za (English)

↑ Renate Cochrane: History of the destroyed jewel of SA's heritage, Wupperthal . Report to Independent Media from January 4, 2019 on www.iol.co.za (English)

^ Joubert Loots: Robertson Leather Shoes. Shippers Velskoene . on www.joubertlootsphotography.com (English), photo documentation of the shoe production

^ Martin Plaut: South Africa: Cape's historic village of Wuppertal begins rebuilding after devastating fire . Report of March 5, 2019 on www.martinplaut.com (English)

↑ ^a ^b Andreas pocket: Great fire in Wupperthal, South Africa . Communication dated December 31, 2018 at www.koenigsfeld.evara.de (German)

↑ Anonymous: Wupperthal fire: Police investigating arson case after fire ravaged historic town . Message from Mail & Guardian of January 2, 2029 on www.mg.co.za (English)

↑ Andile Sicetsha: Wuppertal in ashes: Historic Western Cape smalltown goes down in flames . News from The South African dated December 31, 2018 on www.thesouthafrican.com (English)

^ Nicola Daniels: Over 50 temporary residential units handed to Wupperthal residents after fire . Report to Independent Media from July 23, 2019 on www.iol.co.za (English)

^ Anton Ferreira: Wupperthal residents struggle to pick up the pieces after 'tragic' blaze . News from TimesLive from January 2, 2019 on www.timeslive.co.za (English)

↑ ^a ^b Marvin Charles: Wupperthal buildings can be restored says Heritage Western Capel . Report to Independent Media from January 22, 2019 on www.iol.co.za (English)

^ Martin Plaut: South Africa: Cape's historic village of Wuppertal begins rebuilding after devastating fire . Report of March 5, 2019 on www.martinplaut.com (English)

↑ JISC: bibliographic evidence .