View source for Tulbagh

{{more citations needed|date=October 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{Use South African English|date=November 2012}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name               = Tulbagh
| image_skyline      = {{multiple image
| total_width            = 280
| border                 = infobox
| perrow                 = 1/2/2/2
| caption_align          = center
| image1                 = Tulbagh WC ZA.jpg
| image2                 = Drostdy 01.jpg
| image3                 = Oude Kerk, Church St, Tulbagh 1.jpg
| image4                 = Tulbagh Landscape - Cape Town, South Africa (3880762941).jpg
| image5                 = Pioneer House Museum, 22 Church St, Tulbagh 2.jpg}}
| image_caption      = '''Clockwise from Top''': View over Tulbagh, Oude Kerk, Church Street, the mountains of Tulbagh, The Drostdy.
| pushpin_map        = South Africa Western Cape#South Africa
| coordinates        = {{coord|33|17|6|S|19|8|16|E|region:ZA|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type   = Country
| subdivision_name   = [[South Africa]]
| subdivision_type1  = Province
| subdivision_name1  = [[Western Cape]]
| subdivision_type2  = District
| subdivision_name2  = [[Cape Winelands District Municipality|Cape Winelands]]
| subdivision_type3  = Municipality
| subdivision_name3  = [[Witzenberg Local Municipality|Witzenberg]]
| subdivision_type4  = Main Place
| established_title  = Established
| established_date   = 1795<ref name=established>{{cite thesis |last=Robson |first=Linda Gillian |title=The Royal Engineers and settlement planning in the Cape Colony 1806–1872: Approach, methodology and impact |date=2011 |type=PhD thesis |publisher=University of Pretoria |chapter=Annexure A |chapter-url=https://repository.up.ac.za/bitstream/handle/2263/26503/05back.pdf?sequence=6&isAllowed=y#page=31 |url=https://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/26503 |hdl=2263/26503 |pages=xlv–lii}}</ref>
| leader_title       = Councillor
| area_footnotes     = <ref name="census2011">{{cite web |url=http://census2011.adrianfrith.com/place/165004 |title = Main Place Tulbagh |work=Census 2011}}</ref>
| area_total_km2     = 3.81
| elevation_m        = 180
| population_footnotes = <ref name="census2011" />
| population_total   = 8969
| population_as_of   = 2011
| population_density_km2 = auto
<!-- demographics (section 1) -->| demographics_type1 = Racial makeup (2011)
| demographics1_footnotes = <ref name="census2011" />
| demographics1_title1 = [[Bantu peoples of South Africa|Black African]]
| demographics1_info1 = 22.7%
| demographics1_title2 = [[Coloureds|Coloured]]
| demographics1_info2 = 69.3%
| demographics1_title3 = [[Indian South African|Indian]]/[[Asian South African|Asian]]
| demographics1_info3 = 0.2%
| demographics1_title4 = [[White South African|White]]
| demographics1_info4 = 6.9%
| demographics1_title5 = Other
| demographics1_info5 = 0.8%
<!-- demographics (section 2) -->| demographics_type2 = [[First language]]s (2011)
| demographics2_footnotes = <ref name="census2011" />
| demographics2_title1 = [[Afrikaans]]
| demographics2_info1 = 74.4%
| demographics2_title2 = [[Xhosa language|Xhosa]]
| demographics2_info2 = 18.3%
| demographics2_title3 = [[South African English|English]]
| demographics2_info3 = 3.6%
| demographics2_title4 = [[Sotho language|Sotho]]
| demographics2_info4 = 2.0%
| demographics2_title5 = Other
| demographics2_info5 = 1.7%
<!-- blank fields (section 2) -->
<!-- Other information -->| timezone1          = [[South African Standard Time|SAST]]
| utc_offset1        = +2
| postal_code_type   = [[List of postal codes in South Africa|Postal code]] (street)
| postal_code        = 6820
| postal2_code_type  = [[Post-office box|PO box]]
| postal2_code       = 6820
| area_code_type     = [[Telephone numbers in South Africa|Area code]]
| area_code          = 023
| official_name      =
| named_for          = [[Ryk Tulbagh]]
}}
'''Tulbagh''' ({{IPA|af|tœlbaχ|lang}}), previously named Roodezand, later named after [[Dutch Cape Colony]] Governor [[Ryk Tulbagh]], is a town located in the "Land van Waveren" mountain basin (also known as the Tulbagh basin),<ref>{{cite book | editor-last = James | editor-first = Wilmot G. and Mary Simons  | title = Class, Caste and Color: A Social and Economic History of the South African Western Cape | publisher = Transaction Publishers | date = 9 January 2009 | page = 2 | isbn = 978-1412808651 }}</ref> in the [[Cape Winelands District Municipality|Winelands]] of the [[Western Cape]], [[South Africa]]. The basin is fringed on three sides by mountains, and is drained by the [[Klein Berg River]] and its tributaries. The nearest towns are Ons Rust and [[Gouda, Western Cape|Gouda]] beyond the Nuwekloof Pass, [[Wolseley, Western Cape|Wolseley]] some {{convert|15|km|mi}} to the south inside the basin, and [[Ceres, Western Cape|Ceres]] and [[Prince Alfred Hamlet]] beyond [[Michell's Pass]] in the Warm Bokkeveld.
==History==
The basin has been inhabited for thousands of years by indigenous [[Bushmen]] and [[Khoi-San]] peoples. It was about 300 years ago when, after a land grant by the Dutch [[Colonialism|Colonial]] Government to a more or less equal number of [[Dutch people|Dutch]] and [[Huguenot]] settlers to settle the area, that the town of Tulbagh was founded. The region was named "Land van Waveren" in 1699 by [[Willem Adriaan van der Stel]] in honour of the Oetgens van Waveren family, from which his mother was descended. Before this date, but also subsequent to it, the region had also been known as Roodezand ("red sand"). The region corresponds to the present Tulbagh district, named after Governor [[Ryk Tulbagh]]. The town developed slowly and over time and in the period many notable examples of [[Cape Dutch architecture]], [[Victorian architecture|Victorian]] and [[Edwardian]] houses and other buildings such as the Oude Kerk (1743) and the Oude Drosdy (the original colonial Magistrate's complex) were built.
=== {{anchor|earthquake}} 1969 earthquake ===
{{main|1969 Tulbagh earthquake}}
In September 1969 the [[Boland, Western Cape|Boland]] area was hit by an earthquake that caused considerable damage to the town of Tulbagh. Many of the Church Street buildings were destroyed. The extent of the damage was aptly described by the Journal Bulletin of the Simon van der Stel Foundation in 1973: "A street that somehow captured the essential spirit of a unique culture looked as if it was in the throes of a nightmare: many fine gables had either tumbled or were totally destroyed, whole sections of many houses had collapsed, most of the soft brick walls had burst open in wide cracks, plaster had been torn by off in large sheets, rafters and roofs had caved in. Everything appeared to be in total and irreparable ruin."<ref name="ashes" />
After the disaster in Church Street, extensive projects of restoration began with the National Committee for the Restoration of Historic Buildings in Tulbagh and its Environment.<ref name="ashes">{{Cite web|title = From the ashes of South Africa's worst earthquake rise the old buildings of Tulbagh|url = http://www.theheritageportal.co.za/article/ashes-south-africas-worst-earthquake-rise-old-buildings-tulbagh|website = The Heritage Portal|access-date = 2015-10-24}}</ref> Because of this work Tulbagh now contains possibly the largest number of Cape-Dutch, Edwardian and Victorian [[Provincial heritage site (South Africa)|provincial heritage sites]] in one street in South Africa, and remains a major tourist attraction of the town to the present day. The work started by the committee has been continued to the present day by various residents of Tulbagh, but also significantly by the Tulbagh Valley Heritage Foundation, which aims to restore and maintain "all structures older than 60 years, the cultural landscape and undeveloped properties connected to the historical structures above".<ref>{{Cite web|title = Tulbagh Valley Heritage Foundation {{!}} Heritage Western Cape|url = http://www.hwc.org.za/node/140|website = hwc.org.za|access-date = 2015-10-24}}</ref>
[[File:Tulbagh, Church Street, Restored Houses 1.png|thumb|Church Street, Tulbagh, restored houses]]
[[File:Tulbagh, Church Street, Restored Houses 2.png|thumb|Church Street, Tulbagh, some more restored houses]]
==Geography==
The bowl is surrounded by the [[Obiqua Mountains]] to the west, [[Groot Winterhoek]] Mountain to the north and the [[Witzenberg Mountains]] to the east, with peaks that rise to over {{convert|1500|m|ft}}. The basin experiences a type of [[Mediterranean climate]]. The southern side is open to cooling south-east winds during the hot summer months. Accordingly, Tulbagh enjoys some of the most diverse and attractive conditions for [[viticulture]] in the Cape, and the differences in [[terroir]] available to wine makers allow for a wide diversity of distinctive [[wines]].
The Groot Winterhoek Mountains are part of the [[Cape Fold Belt]]. They rise to a maximum height of {{convert|2077|m|ft}} just north of the town of Tulbagh as Groot Winterhoek peak. The Groot Winterhoek Wilderness Area, operated by CapeNature, comprises a conservation area of 30,608 ha.{{citation needed|date=October 2019}}
===Flora and Fauna===
Many animals, such as [[baboon]]s, [[bat-eared fox]]es, [[lynx]]es, and smaller species of [[antelope]], live in parts of the valley, and it is known that [[leopard]]s still occur in the mountains {{citation needed|date=August 2014}}. Baboons are a common sight on the pass. The Witzenberg Valley is home to a wide variety of birds, including the [[Cape sugarbird]] and [[Verreaux's eagle]].{{citation needed|date=October 2019}}
The most conspicuous components of the flora are evergreen [[sclerophyllous]] plants, many with [[ericoid]] leaves and [[gracile]] habit, as opposed to timber forest. Several plant families are conspicuous in [[fynbos]]; the [[Proteaceae]] are prominent, with genera such as ''[[Protea]]'', ''[[Leucospermum]]'' (the "pincushions"), and ''[[Leucadendron]]'' (the silver tree and "cone bushes"). Proteas are represented by many species and are prominent in the landscape, generally with large striking flowers, many of which are pollinated by birds, and others by small mammals.{{citation needed|date=October 2019}}
==Tulbagh today==
===Events===
Tulbagh hosts various events every year. In June, the village Christmas in Winter; in September the Tulbagh Spring Arts Festival showcases a variety of [[visual art|visual]] and [[performing art]]s; and the annual Tulbagh Horse & Wildflower Show. Tulbagh has also previously hosted the [[Absa Cape Epic]] mountain bike stage race.{{citation needed|date=October 2019}}
=== Wine production ===
[[File:Montpellier-2.jpg|thumb|right|The historic vineyard Montpellier near Tulbagh]]
[[File:wynvate.jpg|thumb|right|Red [[wine]] maturing in [[oak]] [[barrels]]]]
Wine has been produced for many years in the basin on a commercial scale, but only recently have large advances been made. There are now numerous wine estates in and around the town. The importance of this industry for the vicinity is substantial, so much so that many of the producers are now part of the Tulbagh Wine Route and this is attracting increasing numbers of tourists to Tulbagh who are eager to sample the wines produced by the members.  Many new vineyards have been planted and more private cellars are either being planned or built to cope with the expected production volumes of quality wines.
Tulbagh also has two nearby schools: one named Waveren Hoërskool (Waveren Highschool) and another named Tulbagh Hoër (Tulbagh High).
==See also==
* [[List of heritage sites in Tulbagh]]
* [[Louis Michel Thibault]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
== Further information ==
* {{cite web|url=https://www.tulbaghtourism.co.za|website= Tulbagh: Valley of abundance|title=Home}}
* {{cite web|url=http://www.tulbaghmuseum.co.za/|website=Tulbagh Museum|title=Home}}
{{Commons category|Tulbagh}}
{{Cape Winelands District Municipality}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Populated places in the Witzenberg Local Municipality]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1795]]
[[Category:1790s establishments in the Dutch Empire]]