Stellenbosch
has become known as 'the town of oaks'. These trees being abundant. Some
of the oaks have been proclaimed national monuments. When Governor Simon
van der Stel first visited the area in November 1679 he was much taken by
its beauty. The name Stellenbosch ('Van der Stel's bush') was given to the
site of the governor's camp, and by the following year the first settlers
had arrived from Cape Town. There was ample water from the river and the
streets were lined with furrows, which brought the water to every house.
Oak trees were planted and houses built of locally available material,
with thick walls, doors and windows made of local woods such as
yellow-wood and stinkwood, and roofing of black thatch. The houses were
finished with white-lime wash. The handmade furniture of these early
settlers has become much sought after by collectors.
Stellenbosch
was established not simply as a centre of agriculture. With the
authorities in Cape Town distracted by the problems of the development of
the Cape Peninsula, it became a romantic frontier town. The mountain
ranges overlooking Stellenbosch from the north marked the limits of the
little-known world of southern Africa, and beyond lay a great expanse of
unexplored land. To control the hunters, explorers and pioneers intent on
penetrating the interior, a magistracy was established in 1685, and for
the next century the incumbent of this post wielded authority over an
interior without geographical limit. Though in Stellenbosch there was law,
order and the tax collector, north of the town was nothing but wilderness.
Each year on his birthday Simon van der Stel visited Stellenbosch and presided over a fair with shooting competitions, feasting and games. There he would meet the hunters, adventurers, traders and others attracted to this gateway to the unknown. Today's Stellenbosch is perhaps even more beautiful than when the governor first founded it. He never saw the oak trees in their maturity, or the main thoroughfare, Dorp Street, lined with houses, cottages and shops or the town square, the Braak, with its arsenal, parades, quaint houses, inns and churches.
The
recently created Village Museum comprises a number of original houses
which have been restored. These have been furnished in the styles
characteristic of several historical periods. The Schreuderhuis forms part
of this group, and is the oldest resorted townhouse in South Africa. No.
18 Ryneveld Street serves as the entrance to this collection of restored
buildings. In Dorp Street is one of the longest rows of old buildings
surviving in any major town in southern Africa. Most of the buildings date
from the 19th century. Among these is No. 116, Voorgelegen, which contains
some of its original Batavian tiles in the parlour. Alos in Dorp Street,
the old Lutheran Church, built in 1851 by Carl Otto Hager, is used by the
university as an art gallery. Nearby is the old home of the Reverand Meent
Borcherds, La Gratitiude., on the gable of which the original owner
modelled the 'all-seeing eye of God' to look down on townsfolk. Lower down
the street there is the immaculately restored homestead of Libertas Parva,
now the Rembrandt van Rijn Art Gallery. A military museum is housed in the
Kruithuis ('powder house') on the west side of the town square. This was
built in 1777. A perfect example of an H-shaped Cape Dutch dwelling is the
Burgher House, a national monument. Built in 1797, it has been restored
and is now an office building, furnished with 18th century antiques.
