Hartenbos is a town in the Western Cape

Western Cape

The Western Cape is a province in the south west of South Africa. The capital is Cape Town. Prior to 1994, the region that now forms the Western Cape was part of the much larger Cape Province...

 province of South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

. It is located some 45 kilometres outside George, South Africa. It belongs, together with 20 other settlements, to the municipality of Mossel Bay

Mossel Bay

Mossel Bay is a harbour town of about 130,000 people on the Southern Cape of South Africa. It is an important tourism and farming region of the Western Cape Province...

. Originally a farm, South African Railways and Harbours turned the town into a holiday resort for their lower-rung employees in 1933.

Population

The 2001 census showed a population of 71,494 for the whole municipality. The official estimate of 2005 regards 99 676 as a proper figure for an increased population. Although no official figures have been made available, it is estimated that around 15% of these figures relate to the current population of Hartenbos.

History

In 1936 the Afrikaanse Taal en Kultuurvereniging (ATKV, and "Afrikaans Language and Cultural Society" in English) purchased the farm for 7000 pounds, divided it into 670 lots which sold for about 50 pounds each. The resort was expanded over the years, and several lots were hired out permanently on condition that no permanent brick structures were built on them; not until 1994 were people allowed to purchase these lots.

The ATKV also has an amphitheater in the resort and holds 'Afrikaans

Afrikaans

Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...

 cultural festivals, such as their 2005 Afrikiti concerts there. On Christmas

Christmas

Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...

 morning, the Kersdiens is attended by thousands in this arena. Several other services, such as the Kerssangdiens (Christmas Carol Ceremony) and Middernagdiens (New Year Church Service) are held in the festive season. During this peak holiday season Hartenbos accommodates up to 15 000 visitors at a time.

The resort includes five kilometers of beaches, a river with paddle boats, a "Waterwurm" (supertube), "Pretpark" (fun park), "Verhitte Swembad" (heated swimming pool), "Vlooimarkte" (flea markets), conference facilities and shopping centres. The resort is the largest self-catering establishment on the Western Cape's Garden Route

Garden Route

The Garden Route is a popular stretch of the south-eastern coast of South Africa. It stretches from Heidelberg in the Western Cape to the Storms River which is crossed along the N2 coastal highway over the Paul Sauer Bridge in the extreme western reach of the neighbouring Eastern Cape...

 coast.

The town of Hartenbos has its own primary and private schools, a private hospital, sport clubs and several churches. In May 2006 Langeberg Mall, one of the largest shopping malls on the Garden Route opened its doors to the public.

Cultural significance

Hartenbos is embedded into the Afrikaans cultural thinking. Koos Kombuis

Koos Kombuis

Koos Kombuis is a South African musician, singer, songwriter and writer who became famous as part of a group of anti-establishment maverick Afrikaans musicians, who, under the collective name of Voëlvry , toured campuses...

, a rebel against apartheid and member of the Voëlvry movement which kickstarted Afrikaans rock and roll

Rock and roll

Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...

, writes of the 'pure zen' of this town: "As a child, Hartenbos symbolised to me everything that is positive, beautiful and noble about humanity. The fact that my parents could not afford anything better than a very small asbestos home right next to the railway line did not bother me...with the years Hartenbos has not changed much... Even though the seafront restaurant is now licensed [to sell liquor] the ooms and tannies (not just their children) still drink pink milkshakes after Sunday lunch. On the dirt roads of Hartenbos, the play of growing up is performed every season... But Hartenbos is not white anymore. Afrikaans, yes, but indeed multi-racial... How did the ATKV manage that? They did nothing. It just happened. Virtually overnight... It's high time the whole of South Africa learns the pure zen of Hartenbos."

Modern

There are radical changes and developments re-shaping the face of the municipality. Some of these new developments around the holiday area of the town have met with severe resistance from many locals, citing that the character of the town will be destroyed by these developments. Especially controversial are proposals to turn certain caravan parks into conference venues to ensure a constant market of tourists. To many people, however, these parks are the soul of the town. At the current stage, all talk of such development has ceased. It seems as though the town will remain as it is for some time to come.

External links

• See Accommodation at Hartenbos Page at hartenbos.org