Franschhoek South African Wine Country

by Richard Krebs

Title

Franschhoek South African Wine Country

Artist

Richard Krebs

Medium

Photograph - Photograph

Description

Franschhoek's original inhabitants are the Khoisan peoples. They are now mostly extinct, but their descendants continue to live in the area as mixed race (Khoisan and French/Dutch) people. In 1685, King Louis XIV banned Protestantism in France. Hundreds of French Huguenots were forced to flee their country. In 1688, almost 300 French Huguenots arrived at the Cape of Good Hope by ship and they were given the Franschhoek Valley to settle.

The French Huguenot refugees populated the valley establishing farms and businesses, bringing with them their French culture and experience in agriculture. The name of the area soon changed to le Coin Français ("the French Corner"), and later to Franschhoek (Dutch for "French Corner"), with many of the settlers naming their new farms after the areas in France from which they came. La Motte, Champagne, La Cotte, Cabrière, La Provence, Bourgogne, La Terra de Luc and La Dauphine were among some of the first established farms — most of which still retain their original Cape Dutch farm houses today. These farms have grown into renowned wineries. Many of the surnames in the area are of French origin, e.g. Du Toit, Marais, Du Plessis, Malan, Malherbe, and Joubert. The French settlers tried fiercely to hold onto their language, but were forced over generations by the Dutch and British colonialists through schooling to integrate into local society.

Once a quiet country retreat, the originally French settled village and region began experiencing a boom in the 1990s, and property prices increased. The ideal summer weather, snowy peaks in winter and proximity to Cape Town have turned Franschhoek (le coin Français) into one of South Africa's most sought after residential addresses. The construction of the new English-medium private Bridge House School outside the village has also attracted many urban dwellers to the village.

Franschhoek is notable for having some of the top restaurants in the country within its borders. This fact, together with the strong wine culture, and pristine natural and architectural beauty has made Franschhoek into what many describe as the "food and wine capital" of South Africa. This village hosted one of the top 50 restaurants in the world 'The Tasting Room', according to the "S.Pellegrino world's 50 best restaurants"-ranking and a famous Belgian Pâtisserie for Belgian pralines.[citation needed] The town hosts a number of notable restaurants and wineries such as Le Quartier Français and Haute Cabrière.

Credit: Wikipedia

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December 17th, 2023

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