Tulbagh

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Tulbagh, previously named Roodezand, later named after

In September 1969 the 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."^[4]

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.^[4] Because of this work Tulbagh now contains possibly the largest number of Cape-Dutch, Edwardian and Victorian 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".^[5]

Geography

The bowl is surrounded by the

The Groot Winterhoek Mountains are part of the Cape Fold Belt. They rise to a maximum height of 2,077 metres (6,814 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]}

Flora and Fauna

Many animals, such as baboons, bat-eared foxes, lynxes, and smaller species of antelope, live in parts of the valley, and it is known that leopards still occur in the mountains ^{[citation needed]}. 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]}

The most conspicuous components of the flora are evergreen

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

Further information

• "Home". Tulbagh: Valley of abundance.
• "Home". Tulbagh Museum.

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