Swellendam, Western Cape South Africa

Swellendam is the fifth oldest town in South Africa, a town with 17,537 inhabitants situated in the Western Cape province. The town has over 50 provincial heritage sites, most of them buildings of Cape Dutch architecture. Swellendam is situated on the N2, approximately 220 km from both Cape Town and George.
By 1795, maladministration and inadequacies of the Dutch East India Company caused the long-suffering burghers of Swellendam to revolt, and on 17 June 1795 they declared themselves a Republic. Hermanus Steyn was appointed as President of the Republic of Swellendam. The burghers of Swellendam started to call themselves "national burghers" - after the style of the French Revolution. However, the Republic was short-lived, and was ended on 4 November 1795 when the Cape was occupied by the Kingdom of Great Britain. With the arrival of British settlers in the early 19th century the Overberg boomed, and Swellendam was soon the heart of the mercantile empire of Barry and Nephews, created by Joseph Barry, which dominated trade in the area up until 1870. The Breede River is the only navigable river in South Africa and ships sailed 35 km up river to Malgas to unload and load merchandise.
By the middle of the 19th century, the eastern districts had been colonised by the British settlers and Swellendam was a thriving metropolis. The town served as a useful refreshment station on the long, slow journey up the coast. Today Swellendam is a flourishing agricultural area, and has many attractive and historic buildings which serve as a reminder of its past. The first known sketch of Swellendam was of the Drostdy, by Johannes Schumacher in 1776, when he accompanied the son of Governor Swellengrebel to the town. Today the Drostdy forms part of a museum complex that consist of several heritage sites, namely the Drostdy, the old Gaol, and Mayville.
#Swellendam #VisitSwellendam #SwellendamExperience
For more information:
0:00 Moira Odendaal
1:22 Railton Foundation railtonfoundation.co.za/
2:51 Swellendam Moederkerk swellendammoederkerk.co.za/
4:08 Drostdy Museum Swellendam www.drostdymuseum.co.za/
4:40 Republic Swellendam Restaurant www.republicofswellendam.co.za/
5:00 Swellendam Tourism www.visitswellendam.co.za/
A massive thanks to:
Hennie Steyn for making things happen and sharing his vast knowledge about the town.
Moira Odendaal for dressing up and bring the town to life.

[@magdaburger3454]

Julle is so sad oor die geskiedenis dat julle niks wys van die mooi natuur of staproetes of natuurpark... wat makeer julle, maak nog n video en wys al die mooi van Swellendam

[@AfricanTravelCrew]

Sad beslis nie. Mense en geskiedenis ons is mal daaroor. Goeie idee om die natuur en staproetes te verfilm. Nooi jy ons terug en sal jy die span akkommodeer? Dit sal fantasties wees.

[@stephendebeer8527]

Wow, just beautiful 😍

[@allanbastard1905]

What wonderful gentle people 🙏🏻. And there are so many like that that are so easily overlooked but should be held in high esteem in this modern age but are so easily derided….

[@AfricanTravelCrew]

100% ❤️

[@pakowame4737]

I really like that song, I remember I couldn't believe it's sang by an African person with the name, Refentse. I have since been listening to "Boere musik" even though I'm lost in translation!

[@AfricanTravelCrew]

It's a beautiful song. ❤️

[@KomOnsLees]

Ek is heeltemal verlief op julle videos en channel! Kan julle meskien Robertson doen?

[@AfricanTravelCrew]

Baie dankie. Ons wil graag Robertson doen. sal jy bereid wees om ons te help om 5 interessante mense te vind wat die storie van die dorp,die hartjie van Robertson kan vertel?

[@KomOnsLees]

@@AfricanTravelCrew julle weet nie hoe graag ek wil nie. Dit sou a groot onmiddellike ja gewees het, maar ongelukkig bly ek nie op die oomblik in RSA nie