Cape Town - Stellenbosch Travel Guides | Cape Town | Sub Regions | Cape Town - Stellenbosch

Stellenbosch, the centre of the Winelands, is the oldest and most attractive town in the region, and one of South Africa’s finest. The town itself is a pleasing mix of architectural styles – Cape Dutch, Georgian, Regency and Victorian houses line broad streets dappled with shade from centuries-old oak trees, and roadside furrows still carry stream water to the gardens. It is the most pleasant of the Wineland towns, has several good museums, a good nightlife thanks to the university, and is also a good base for visiting the wine estates. The town offers two approaches to sightseeing: walking around the town centre viewing public buildings or going on a wine tour, visiting one of five co-operative wineries and 23 private cellars. Spend a couple of days in Stellenbosch and you’ll get to do both.

Gallery and museum. Mon-Fri 0900-1245, 1400-1700, Sat 1000-1300, 1400-1700.

Dorp Street, which runs east-west in the southern part of town, is one of the finest in Stellenbosch. A walk from Libertas Parva to the Theological College takes you through the oldest parts of town and past some of the best preserved old buildings. The Rembrandt van Rijn Art Gallery is housed in the beautifully restored Libertas Parva, a classic H-shaped manor house built in 1783. It houses a small collection of 20th-century South African art, including paintings by Irma Stern.

The most famous shop in Stellenbosch is as much a tourist attraction as an ongoing business. Oom Samie se Winkel (Uncle Sammy’s Shop), 84 Dorp Street, has been trading since 1791. The first owner traded in meat, but the shop became famous between 1904 and 1944 when the store was owned and run by Samuel Johannes Volsteedt. He stocked virtually everything you could need, and was known throughout the town. Today the shop still sells a wide range of goods and it has retained its pre-war character with items hanging from all corners and old cabinets full of bits and pieces.

On the corner of Dorp Street and Strand, is the Stellenryck Wine Museum which houses an assorted collection of old wine making tools and some furniture. Look out for the giant wine press outside.

Of particular note on Dorp Street are the town houses just past the junction with Helderberg Street. Numbers 153, Hauptfleisch House, 155, Bakker House, 157, Loubser House, and 159, Saxenhof, are regarded as the best-preserved street façades in old Stellenbosch.

Branching off from Dorp is Drostdy Street, dominated by a building with a tall tower known as Utopia. Also in this street is the town church, the Moederkerk, actually the fourth incarnation of the town church. The current steeple church was designed by Carl Otto Hagen, and built in 1862. Inside it is worth admiring the pulpit, built by craftsmen who came from the Netherlands with their own timber. It has nine coloured stained glass windows.

Off Neethling St Mon-Fri 0900-1630, Sat 0900-1100.

The Botanical Gardens are part of the University of Stellenbosch. There is a fine collection of ferns, orchids and bonsai trees. One of the more unusual plants to look out for is the Welwitschis from the Namib Desert.

Ryneveld St, T 021-8872902, http://www.museums.org.za/stellmus Mon-Sat 0930-1700, Sun 1400-1700. R10.

The Village Museum is the most interesting sight in Stellenbosch. The complex currently spreads over two blocks in the oldest part of town. There are four houses, each representing a different period of the town’s history. The oldest of these is Schreuderhuis (1709), one of the earliest houses to be built in Stellenbosch. The simple furniture and collection of household objects are all of the same period. Blettermanhuis (1789) is a perfect example of what has come to be regarded as a typical H-shaped Cape Dutch home. The furnishings are those of a wealthy household between 1750-80. The third building in the museum to have been restored is Grosvenor House (1803), in Drostdy Street. This is an excellent example of the two-storeyed town house that once dominated the streets of Cape Town. The fourth and final house is the fussy OM Bergh House (1870), which once had a thatched roof.

The Braak, at the western end of Church Street, is where much of the town’s activity takes place. This is the original village green, and one-time military parade ground. On the western edge by Market Street is the VOC-Kruithuis, or Powder House, built in 1777 as a weapons store. Today it is a military museum, open only in the mornings . The bell tower was added at a much later date. Two churches overlook the Braak. The first is Rhenish Church, built in 1832 as a training school for coloureds and slaves, and which has a very fine pulpit. The other is St Mary’s-on-the-Braak, an Anglican church completed in 1852.

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