Fraserburg
Top: skyline of Fraserburg at dusk. Left: the Dutch Reformed Church on the main street. Middle right: town's post office. Bottom right: a Corbelled House built by Trekboers before the town was established.
Fraserburg Location in the Northern Cape
Fraserburg  Fraserburg shown within South Africa
Coordinates: 31°54′52″S 21°30′43″E / 31.91444°S 21.51194°E / -31.91444; 21.51194Coordinates: 31°54′52″S 21°30′43″E / 31.91444°S 21.51194°E / -31.91444; 21.51194
Country	South Africa
Province	Northern Cape
District	Namakwa
Municipality	Karoo Hoogland
Area[1]
• Total	2.10 km2 (0.81 sq mi)
Population (2001)[1]
• Total	2,404
• Density	Bad rounding here1,100/km2 (Bad rounding here3,000/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2001)[1]
• Black African	2.2%
• Coloured	85.0%
• Indian/Asian	0.1%
• White	12.6%
First languages (2001)[1]
• Afrikaans	98.5%
• Other	1.5%
Time zone	SAST (UTC+2)
Postal code	6960

Fraserburg is a town in the Karoo region of South Africa's Northern Cape province. It is situated at an altitude of 1,260m on a high Karoo plateau, north of the Nuweveld Mountains. It is currently included in the southern Namakwa DM. The town has some of the coldest winters in South Africa.

The nearest towns are Williston, Sutherland, Loxton and Leeu-Gamka, all of which are more than 100 km distant.

A particularly good example of a Corbelled house can be found in the town, there are others in the district. Fraserburg is also well known for the large number of unique and well preserved fossil finds that litter the surrounding area.

History [edit]

It was established in 1851 on the farm Rietfontein, and named after the Scottish immigrant Reverend Colin Fraser.^[2] Prior to the town establishment the earliest known inhabitants of the area were the San people and their artifacts can still be found in the area. The first Europeans to arrive in the region were Trekboers who arrived in 1759. The first settler to be recorded in these parts was Willem Steenkamp, after whom the Steenkampsberg is named.^[3] There are many Victorian era houses in the town dating to the era of the Wool boom in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

A view of the Fraserburg skyline at dusk. The windmills that the Karoo is famous for are clearly visible in the foreground and background.

Notes [edit]

External links [edit]

• Tourism website

	Calvinia	Williston	Carnarvon
			Loxton
		Fraserburg
	Sutherland	Leeu Gamka	Beaufort West

v t e Municipalities and communities of Pixley ka Seme District Municipality, Northern Cape District seat: De Aar Local municipalities Emthanjeni Kareeberg Renosterberg Siyancuma Siyathemba Thembelihle Ubuntu Umsobomvu Cities and towns Britstown Campbell Carnarvon Colesberg Copperton De Aar Douglas Griekwastad Hanover Hopetown Loxton Marydale Niekerkshoop Noupoort Orania Petrusville Philipstown Prieska Richmond Ritchie Schmidtsdrift Strydenburg Vanwyksvlei Vanderkloof Victoria West Vosburg Westerberg

v t e Province of the Northern Cape Capital and largest city: Kimberley Population: 1,096,731 (2011) Land area: 372,889 km2 Topics History Government Politics Economy Climate Ecology Government Premier Legislature High Court Municipalities Regions Diamond Fields Great Karoo Kalahari Desert Namaqualand Orange River Valley Cities and major towns Barkly West Calvinia Carnarvon Colesberg Daniëlskuil De Aar Delportshoop Douglas Galeshewe Hartswater Hopetown Jan Kempdorp Kakamas Kathu Keimoes Kimberley Kuruman Nababeep Okiep Port Nolloth Postmasburg Prieska Ritchie Springbok Steinkopf Upington Victoria West Warrenton

v t e Municipalities and communities of Namakwa District Municipality, Northern Cape District seat: Springbok Local municipalities Hantam Kamiesberg Karoo Hoogland Khâi-Ma Nama Khoi Richtersveld Cities and towns Aggeneys Alexander Bay Brandvlei Buffelsrivier Bulletrap Calvinia Carolusberg Concordia Eksteenfontein Fraserburg Garies Hondeklip Bay Kamassies Kamieskroon Karkams Kheis Khubus Kleinzee Klipfontein Koingnaas Komaggas Lekkersing Leliefontein Loeriesfontein McDougall's Bay Nababeep Nieuwoudtville Nourivier Okiep Onseepkans Paulshoek Pella Pofadder Port Nolloth Rooifontein Norap Sanddrif Soebatsfontein Spoegrivier Springbok Steinkopf Sutherland Tweerivier Vioolsdrif Williston