It was hot, we had walked at La Motte, and the priority was a beer!
Then we visited the Huguenot Memorial and Museum. The flight of Protestants from France was precipitated when the Edict of Nantes was revoked by Louis XIV in 1685, ending a tolerance of Protestantism. The Museum has documents and information about the settlers and their early years in South Africa. Surprisingly only 178 families came to South Africa and after two generations had been compelled to assimilate into local society, losing even their French language. Nevertheless their legacy is strong – names, religion, and spirit.
The Museum was originally the home of Baron Willem Ferdinand van Reede van Oudtshoorn, built in Cape Town in 1791 and demolished in 1954 and rebuilt in Franschhoek as the Huguenot Museum.
As always there is a garden.
And then we wandered back to the car.
You may be interested in
The Huguenot Society of South Africa
Anne Guy
So the Huguenots went to SA as well…I didnt know that! Thanks for the post Candy!