Western Cape, South Africa · ZA

Franschhoek

South Africa's food and wine capital, founded by French Huguenot refugees

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History & Heritage

From Oliphants Hoek to the Food and Wine Capital

Before European settlement the valley was known as Oliphants Hoek for the elephant herds that once moved through it. In 1685 France's Edict of Nantes was revoked, driving Huguenot refugees from the country; in 1688 roughly 300 French Huguenots arrived at the Cape and were granted farms in this valley, which the Dutch East India Company renamed Franschhoek, Dutch for 'French Corner'.

The settlers named their new farms after the French regions they had fled — La Motte, La Provence, Bourgogne and others — many surviving today as working wine estates. A 28km branch railway linking Franschhoek to Paarl was built in 1904 to replace ox-wagons for moving produce.

In 1948 the Huguenot Monument was inaugurated at the head of the valley, and in 2000 the town was incorporated into Stellenbosch Municipality. The old railway found new life in 2012 as the Franschhoek Wine Tram, and the valley has since built its modern reputation as South Africa's food and wine capital.

Key Historical Places

Places of Significance

Huguenot Monument

A monument completed in 1945 and inaugurated in 1948, honouring the cultural legacy the French Huguenots brought to the Cape.

Monument Huguenot Heritage

↑ Look for the Latin motto Post Tenebras Lux on the stonework.

Huguenot Memorial Museum

Adjoining the monument, tells the story of the Huguenot exodus through period tools and artefacts.

Museum Huguenot Heritage

↑ Visit the monument and museum together — they share the same grounds.

Franschhoek Motor Museum

A museum of over 220 vehicles spanning more than a century of motoring history at L'Ormarins Estate.

Museum Cars

↑ Open Mon-Fri and weekends with slightly different hours.

Historic Huguenot farm homesteads

Several original 1688 Huguenot land grants survive as working wine farms with Cape Dutch homesteads.

Cape Dutch Architecture Wine Farms

↑ Ask any wine estate for its founding date, often displayed on the gable.

Timeline

1685
Louis XIV bans Protestantism in France, triggering the Huguenot exodus
1688
Around 300 French Huguenots settle in the valley, then called Oliphants Hoek
1904
28km Franschhoek-Paarl branch railway built for agricultural transport
1948
Huguenot Monument formally inaugurated, 17 April
2000
Franschhoek incorporated into Stellenbosch Municipality
2012
Old railway line reinstated as the Franschhoek Wine Tram

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