Things to see and do Franschhoek

If we are interested in history where we set our steps, then we will have to discover this museum. The Huguenots make all the history of the town of Franschhoek, since their arrival in the 17th century. In the Huguenot museum, you will see the Bible that Pierre Joubert would have brought out of France in a loaf of bread. He himself left La Motte-d'Aigues in Vaucluse at the age of 24. Then he arrived in South Africa after a detour through Geneva and Rotterdam. In 1700, he owned 16,000 vines and 300 sheep. The historical panels were donated by the management of the Archives de France.

A copy of the Edict of Nantes and a complete list of the Huguenots of South Africa, with their French region of origin, can be found. During Jacques Chirac's visit to South Africa, a plaque was placed to mark the 400th anniversary of the Edict of Nantes, "symbol of tolerance and freedom".

If by chance you have the soul of a researcher, you can even submit your genealogical questions to the museum's management, who will do research. The main building was constructed in 1967 according to the plans of "Saasveld", the mansion built in Cape Town in 1791 by the French architect Louis-Michel Thibault.

At the rear of the building is the headquarters of the learned society The Huguenot Society, which anyone can join in order to receive the annual historical bulletin. In September 2002, the museum hosted a day-long event for distinguished members of the International Huguenot Conference.

In the town of Franschoek, a monument in memory of the Huguenots, Protestants of French origin who immigrated to South Africa in the 17th century, was inaugurated in 1948. The work of sculptor Coert Steynberg depicts a female figure, carrying the Bible in her right hand and a broken chain in her left hand, which then represents freedom. A boat sails towards the tip of Africa and we see, gathered around the Book, the wheel of industry, the lyre of the arts, the grain and grapes of agriculture. As for the three arches, they symbolize the Trinity.