Stellenbosch

In 1659 the first wine was produced at the Cape. Van Riebeek wrote in his diary on 02 February: “Today, praise be to god, wine was made for the first time from Cape grapes.”

The town of Stellenbosch was established by Simon van der Stel in 1678 and in 1680 he planted some 100 000 vines in the Constantia Valley. The Dutch however, had almost no wine tradition, and it wasn’t till 1688, when some 150 French Huguenots emigrated to the Cape Colony and settled mainly in the Franschoek Valley, that winemaking in South Africa really took root. The French brought with them a rich tradition of winemaking, and today still their skills have left an indelible impression on the SA wine industry.

The dreaded phylloxera disaster destroyed millions of vines in the Cape in 1886, after which the wine industry was in a steady decline and suffered much hardship, until the efforts of Charles Kohler in 1918 led to the establishment of the Ko-operatieve Wijnbouwers Vereniging van Zuid-Afrika Beperkt (KWV). An umbrella for its farmer members, the KWV brought stability to the industry, placing it on the road to growth and prosperity.

The foundation was laid for today’s thriving wine industry.

Until 1686, church services in the area was held in the Castle in Cape Town or on shipboard in Table Bay. IN this year the Reverend Johannes Overneij persuaded the Governor, Simon van der Stel, regarding the importance of a church, and the foundations were laid for the first church of the Cape Colony.

Constructed out of stone and clay and finished with a rough plaster and lime coated finish, it could well be said that this was by far one of the most imposing buildings in the colony at the time! Inside finished were most probably done using yellowwood beams and boards, as well as a simple gable and thatched roof. A certain E.V. de Stade made some of the earliest recorded drawings of Stellenbosch, and from these it can be seen that the little church had a small belfry as well.

In May of 1687 the church was completed and consecrated, only to be destroyed by a fire in December 1710. The fire was assisted in it’s fiery path of destruction by a fierce south-easterly gale that swept it through the frontier village.

Only in 1802 an Inn was opened on the site of the church by the Wium family after it was deconsecrated and divided into erven (stands), and for all that time the site stood empty. Today this is the site for d’Ouwe Werf Country Inn, which has the honour of being South Africa’s oldest and most historic hotel. The remains of the first little church can be seen beneath the floorboards!

Old Stellenbosch definitely did not have much luck with fires, and in 1803 yet another terrible fire reduced much of the town to ashes. A total of 42 buildings and houses were destroyed, amongst which was d’Ouwe Werf. This time however, nature wasn’t to blame, but rather two slaves who were subsequently tried and publicly hanged for arson.

In it’s place was then erected a Cape Dutch Inn, complete with front gable and typically steeped thatched roof, but in the 1890’s a third fire destroyed this structure! In the main lounge one can still see charred window and door frames from this last fire. Even though the last building destroyed was moulded on vaguely Georgian lines, the heart of d’Ouwe Werf remains pure Old Cape.

Safe to say then, that Stellenbosch might be called a “Hot” town, with such a fiery history!

With only a bit more than 150 days until kick-off, excitement for the 2010 Soccer World Cup is building across the country, and Stellenbosch is no exception.

Although the town has yet to be chosen as a host town by one of the qualifying teams, Stellenbosch University Sport Performance Institute (SUSPI) CEO Gugu Ntuli explains there are still numerous reasons to be proud of the town’s campaign, and to be optimistic about the gains to be made during June and July next year.

Speaking at a morning lecture forming part of the 2009 ’BoschFest, Ntuli said the University’s local awareness campaign is the envy of other South African universities. Furthermore, SUSPI is looking into the possibility of hosting a country’s fan base as an alternative to a team hosting partnership, should no team choose to train at Stellenbosch.

Either way, Ntuli says roughly 450 000 fans are expected to visit the country during the four week tournament, and that 70% of these fans are expected to pass through the Cape Town region for leisure activity. In other words, the region could benefit tremendously from the tourist traffic alone.

Perhaps the most exciting university-driven initiative, however, is the focus on the legacy to be left after official 2010 activities. The development at Lentelus, for instance, includes a number of new soccer pitches to be built. Artificial turf, grass, beach soccer and Futsal courts (for five-a-side soccer) are all part of these plans, creating a diverse facility that will aim to encourage sports development in the area.

As for hosting a team, Ntuli said that many of the countries SUSPI originally targeted play all or most of their matches at stadiums far from the Stellenbosch area, making it impractical for them to consider training here.

When it comes to attracting other teams, Ntuli is positive, but hesitant. “Stellenbosch is a great destination,” she adds, “But at the moment the weather and altitude is against us.” She was referring to the region’s wet winter weather, as well as the current debate around the effect of changing altitudes on players’ performances.

Whatever happens, it’s clear the region is bound to benefit from SUSPI’s current and future initiatives in and around Stellenbosch.

Ref: http://blogs.sun.ac.za/news/2010/01/04/stellenbosch-ready-for-2010-and-beyond/

Internet Marketing Training

Dronk, Dronk, Dronk

Mark

De kerel die peppersprayed en dan geworpen is omdat hij niet kon zien

Internet Marketing Training

Een korte video die aan uw rente kan zijn Gevangen in Stellenbosch, Zuid-Afrika, mogelijk bewijsmateriaal aan vreemde visitation of geheime overheidsactiviteiten of een wolk. U beslist! : o de Commentaren stemmen in met ^^

Carina

Internet Marketing Training

The Giants of Marketing