Paarl | |
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    .jpg)   Clockwise from top: View of Paarl and the Drakenstein Mountains; Toringkerk; Paarl Mountains; St Petri Church; Paarl Town Hall; KWV;Afrikaans Language Monument. | |
 Coat of arms | |
  Paarl  Paarl  Paarl | |
| Coordinates:33°43′27″S18°57′21″E / 33.72417°S 18.95583°E /-33.72417; 18.95583 | |
| Country | South Africa |
| Province | Western Cape |
| District | Cape Winelands |
| Municipality | Drakenstein |
| Established | 1687 |
| Area | |
• Total | 64.61 km2 (24.95 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 120 m (390 ft) |
| Population (2024)[1] | |
• Total | 294,457 |
| • Density | 4,600/km2 (12,000/sq mi) |
| Racial makeup (2011) | |
| • Black African | 10.4% |
| • Coloured | 69.9% |
| • Indian/Asian | 0.6% |
| • White | 17.9% |
| • Other | 1.3% |
| First languages (2011) | |
| • Afrikaans | 86.8% |
| • English | 6.2% |
| • Xhosa | 4.6% |
| • Other | 2.4% |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (SAST) |
| Postal code (street) | 7646 |
| PO box | 7620 |
| Area code | 021 |
Paarl (/ˈpɑːrl/;Afrikaans:[ˈpæːrəl];[3] derived fromparel, meaning "pearl" in Dutch[4]) is a city with 294,457 inhabitants in theWestern Cape province ofSouth Africa. It is the largest city in theCape Winelands. Due to the growth of theMbekweni township, it is now ade factourban unit withWellington. It is situated about 60 kilometres (37 mi) northeast ofCape Town in theWestern Cape Province and is known for its scenic environment andviticulture and fruit-growing heritage.[citation needed]
Paarl is the seat of theDrakenstein Local Municipality; although not part of the Cape Town metropolitan area, it falls within its economic catchment. Paarl is unusual among South African place-names, in being pronounced differently in English than in Afrikaans; likewise unusual about the town's name is Afrikaners customary attachment to it, saying notin Paarl, but ratherin die Paarl, orin die Pêrel (literally, "in the Paarl").
Paarl gained additional international attention when, on 11 February 1990,Nelson Mandela walked, with live international television coverage, out of Victor Verster Correctional Centre (now known asDrakenstein Correctional Centre) in Paarl ending his 27 years of imprisonment, and beginning a course to South Africa'spost-apartheid era and, notably, to multi-racial elections.[5] Mandela spent three years in prison here living in a private house within the walls. Today, a bronze statue of Mandela stands outside the prison.
Paarl hosted three matches of theICC Cricket World Cup 2003. The headquarters ofCeres Fruit Juices is located in the city, although its namesake and source of much of the fruit,Ceres Valley, lies around one hour's drive to the northeast.
The district is particularly well known for its Pearl Mountain or "Paarl Rock". This hugegranite rock consists of three rounded outcrops. Paarl Rock consists of intrusiveigneous rock.
The area that is now known as Paarl was first and is still inhabited by theKhoikhoi. The Peninsular Khoikhoi people and the Cocoqua people live in this area divided by the Berg River Valley. The Cocoqua were cattle-herding people and among the richest of the Khoi tribes. They had between 16,000 and 18,000 members and originally called Paarl Mountain,"!hom ǃnāb/s" which means Tortoise Mountain.[6]
TheDutch East India Company, under the leadership ofJan van Riebeeck, established meat-trading relationships with the Khoikhoi people on theTable Bay coastline. In 1657, in search of new trading relationships inland, Abraham Gabemma saw a giant granite rock glistening in the sun after a rainstorm and named it "de Diamondt en de Peerlberg" (Diamond and Pearl Mountain), from which Paarl is derived.[4][7] Gabemma (often also spelt Gabbema) was the Fiscal (public treasurer) for the settlement on the shores of Table Bay. The "diamonds" disappeared from the name, and it became known simply as Pearl Rock or Pearl Mountain.
In 1687, GovernorSimon van der Stel gave the title to the first colonial farms in the area to "free burghers". The following year, the FrenchHuguenots arrived in theWestern Cape and began to settle on farms in the area.[6] The fertile soil and theMediterranean-like climate of this region provided perfect conditions for farming. The settlers plantedorchards,vegetablegardens and, above all,vineyards.[8] Thus began Paarl's long and continuing history as a major wine- and fruit-producing area of South Africa.
In 1875 a congregation was formed out of a desire to be educated in their mother tongue. This was the result of a Reverend GWA van der Lingen idea who tried to motivate and convince people of his principles. The congregation would raise funds and begin construction of a church that would later be known as the "Toring Kerk" (Tower Church). Construction finished in 1905. The church contains materials imported from London and Egypt.[9]
The arrival of the European settlers brought on a conflict with theKhoikhoi people, as land and water resources began to be contested and theKhoi traditions of communal land use came in conflict with the settler's concept of private property. The Khoi peoples were defeated in local war and were further decimated by European diseases. The population scattered inland toward theOrange River or became labourers on settler farms.[6]
In the2001 census Paarl's population was recorded as being 82,713 people in 20,138 households, in a land area of 32.2 square kilometres (12.4 sq mi). A total of 67.8% of the inhabitants described themselves as "Coloured", 21.2% as "White", 10.5% as "Black African", and 0.5% as "Indian orAsian". Regarding language, 85.6% spokeAfrikaans as theirfirst language, 8.5% spokeXhosa, and 5.2% spokeEnglish.[10]
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Like many towns in the Cape Winelands, Paarl is home to manyCape Dutch houses, gardens and streets lined with old oak trees.[citation needed]
Paarl was the place where the foundations of theAfrikaans language were laid by theGenootskap van Regte Afrikaners. The "Afrikaanse Taalmonument" (monument to the Afrikaans language) on the slopes of Paarl Mountain, the Language Museum (Taalmuseum) and the Afrikaans Language Route through Dal Josaphat are memorials to this achievement.
The former headquarters of thewine industry in South Africa is also situated here. This was the "Co-operative Wine Growers' Association" (better known by its Afrikaans initials KWV).KWV became a South African institution that has acquired an international reputation based on its unique achievements and its imprint of quality on the local wine industry. Over the past decade, however, KWV has been privatized and no longer has an administrative role in the South African wine industry. (KWV's main wine production and maturation facilities are on its Paarl premises, while itsbrandy production takes place inWorcester and grape juice concentrate production inUpington in theNorthern Cape.)
Sights include Cape Dutch buildings (17-19th Century), scenic drives, hiking trails, excellent restaurants and the Paarl wine route, with its manywine tasting opportunities.[11]
The oldSpice Route Paarl, which was initiated in 1997 byCharles Back, the owner of this estate as well as ofFairview, provides an opportunity for visitors to appreciate and taste local delicacies from theWestern Cape. In addition to that, a range of art galleries and the traditional way of organic dark chocolate production can be explored. The heritage of the Spice Route farm goes back to the historical mariners who used to trade Eastern spices to Europe along the "Spice Route" forspice trade in the 15th century.[12]
The Paarl Rock itself is these days a common destination for rock climbers.[citation needed] However, in the pioneering period ofrock climbing in South Africa, the mountain was ignored or shunned because its steep faces were so smooth and unfissured that climbers could find no place to attach "runners" or anchor points forbelays. The first climbing routes up the rock were pioneered in 1969 by J. W. Marchant and G. Athiros, the former from theUniversity of Cape Town Mountain and Ski Club. Soon afterwards Marchant and John Knight established a few routes on which the rope was run out for 100 m (330 ft) or more with no protection whatsoever.[13] This was in the days before bolting was possible, and these achievements are still held in high regard today.[citation needed] Nowadays protection is afforded by bolts in the granite, and there are on Paarl Rock a few dozen routes that attract the best climbers of the current generation.[citation needed] (All of these climbs remain dangerous for the inexperienced.)[citation needed]
Amongst the neighbourhoods are De Zoete Inval (a middle-class suburb in the south); Courtrai (a wealthy suburb in the southern part of town); Central Paarl (generally known as Upper-Paarl and also containing a lot of wealthy suburbs); Lemoenkloof (a wealthy suburb between the central and northern parts of town); Northern Paarl (middle-class suburb, including the area of Groenvlei); Denneburg (a middle class suburb) as well as Klein Parys (both in the south-east of the town); Vrykyk (in the south), Charleston Hill (east of the Railway line) and areas in the eastern part of the town such as New Orleans, New York, Amstelhof, Lantana and Klein Nederburg.
There are also large gated communities developed towards the South of the town on the way to Franschhoek, such as Boschenmeer (golf estate),Val de Vie Estate (polo estate) and Pearl Valley (golf estate).
The town boasts some of the best known governmental academic high schools in the country includingPaarl Gimnasium High School,La Rochelle Girls' High School,Paarl Boys' High School,Paarl Girls’ High School, Boland Agricultural High, Paulus Joubert High, Noorder Paarl High School, New Orleans Secondary and Klein Nederburg Secondary. Paarl Girls' High was placed 17th in the National Senior Certificate's "Excellence in academic performance" awards in 2012. New Orleans Secondary is the school where the Miss South Africa (2018), Tamaryn Green, completed her secondary education. Independent schools such as Simond Private School (est. 1852) and Bridge House also feature in this region. Bridge House, listed as one of the most expensive independent schools in South Africa, offers boarding facilities. These schools offer theIEB examinations as distinct from theNational Senior Certificate offered by government schools.[14] In August Paarl Gimnasium High School won the Motsepe Kay League Tournament and become one of the two Schools to represent South Africa in Singapore where they took first position and won Gold.[15][16][17] The other School from Petsana,Reitz in the Free State came third and won a bronze medal.
Paarl has aMediterranean climate (Köppen:Csa).
| Climate data for Paarl | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 29.7 (85.5) | 30.0 (86.0) | 28.6 (83.5) | 24.8 (76.6) | 20.7 (69.3) | 18.6 (65.5) | 17.7 (63.9) | 18.4 (65.1) | 20.5 (68.9) | 23.6 (74.5) | 26.7 (80.1) | 28.4 (83.1) | 24.0 (75.2) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 22.7 (72.9) | 23.0 (73.4) | 21.6 (70.9) | 18.3 (64.9) | 14.9 (58.8) | 12.8 (55.0) | 12.0 (53.6) | 12.7 (54.9) | 14.5 (58.1) | 17.2 (63.0) | 19.9 (67.8) | 21.5 (70.7) | 17.6 (63.7) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 15.8 (60.4) | 16.1 (61.0) | 14.6 (58.3) | 11.8 (53.2) | 9.1 (48.4) | 7.0 (44.6) | 6.3 (43.3) | 7.0 (44.6) | 8.6 (47.5) | 10.9 (51.6) | 13.2 (55.8) | 14.7 (58.5) | 11.3 (52.3) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 16 (0.6) | 21 (0.8) | 26 (1.0) | 73 (2.9) | 117 (4.6) | 132 (5.2) | 116 (4.6) | 109 (4.3) | 61 (2.4) | 49 (1.9) | 29 (1.1) | 21 (0.8) | 770 (30.2) |
| Source: Climate-Data.org[18] | |||||||||||||
TheN1 national highway is the mainfreeway intersecting Paarl, running south of the city from the city ofCape Town in the south-west toWorcester and further onwards toBloemfontein,Johannesburg andPretoria in the north-east intersecting four on and off-ramp interchanges within Paarl including the R45 Main Road (Exit 55), Cecilia Street (Exit 57), R301 Jan van Riebeeck Drive (Exit 59) and Sonstraal Road (Exit 62) interchanges.
As a regional hub, Paarl is located at the centre of threeregional routes including theR45 (Main Road) which runs fromFranschhoek andVilliersdorp in the south-west toMalmesbury andVredenburg in the Cape West Coast which is to the north-west. TheR101 (Main Road; Market Street; Langenhoven Avenue) runs fromKlapmuts andKraaifontein in the south-west, passing through Paarl and climbing over theDu Toitskloof Mountains asDu Toitskloof Pass to join the N1 to Worcester. The R101 was the original N1 and served the same function before the construction of the highway. TheR301 (Jan van Riebeeck Drive) runs fromFranschhoek (via the R45) in the south-west toMbekweni andWellington in the north and over theBainskloof Pass toCeres in the north-west (via theR43).
Municipality (1) — On 18 July 1905, the municipal council accepted a coat of arms presented byAdriaan Moorrees [af].[20] It was the arms of Hendrik van Reede van Drakenstein : a silver shield charged with two dancetty black bars and crowned with a golden coronet. The supporters were two golden gryphons. The motto wasPour le salut du peuple ("For the wellbeing of the people"). Sometimes, thearms were depicted as silver dancetty bars on a blue shield.
Municipality (2) — The arms were re-designed in 1950 byColin Graham Botha, and granted by theCollege of Arms on 22 January 1951. They were published in the Cape Province'sOfficial Gazette in 1955, re-granted by the provincial administrator in 1967, and certified by theBureau of Heraldry in 1969.[21]
In the new version, each of the dancetty bars on the shield displayed two pearls; the supporters were red with blue wings dotted with golden fleurs de lis; and the crest was a red demi-gryphon with blue wings holding abunch of grapes.
Divisional Council — The divisional council was the local authority which administered the rural areas outside the town. It registered a coat of arms at the Bureau of Heraldry on 20 October 1978. Once again, the Van Reede shield formed the basis of the design. Down the middle of the shield was a red pale displaying a bunch of grapes between two pearls. The crest was a fleur de lis. The motto wasAnimus et fata ("Courage and fortune").[21]
Mbekweni — The local authority for the predominantly Black township of Mbekweni, which borders with Wellington, registered arms at the Bureau on 5 May 1989. The shield is divided per chevron into red and green, with a golden chevron rompu across the centre and a silver cross pommy below it. Above the arms was a green mural crown decorated with a band of red edged in gold. The motto wasuXolo neMpulelelo.[21]
Paarl travel guide from WikivoyageMunicipalities and communities ofCape Winelands District Municipality,Western Cape | ||
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District seat:Stellenbosch | ||
| Witzenberg | .svg) | |
| Drakenstein | ||
| Stellenbosch | ||
| Breede Valley | ||
| Langeberg | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
