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Stellenbosch is the second oldest European settlement in South Africa (after Cape Town) and is located in the Western Cape Province.
It is situated about 50 kilometers from Cape Town and has a population of around 90,000 (as of the year 2000), not counting students. (This estimate is based on formally housed residents. As such it is almost certainly understated, as the Stellenbosch region also includes a number of informal settlements.) Stellenbosch is rapidly merging with other surrounding urban settlements.
The town is also home to the University of Stellenbosch, which was founded as the Stellenbosch Gymnasium in 1866.
Wine
The Stellenbosch, Paarl and Franschoek valleys form the Cape Winelands, the largest of the two main wine growning regions in South Africa. The South African wine industry produces about 10 million hectolitres of wine annually. Stellenbosch is the primary location for viticulture and viticulture research.
The Stellenbosch wine route, established in 1971 is world renowned and a common tourist destination.
The area has a mediterranean-type climate, with hot summers, cool winters and clear, sunny skies. It is at the start of the Cape Fold mountains, which have created soil favourable to vines. Grapes are grown primarily for wine, not as table grapes.
History
The town was founded in 1679 by the Cape Governor Simon van der Stel, who named it after himself. Stellenbosch means "(van der) Stel's bush". It is situated on the banks of the Eerste Rivier ("First River"), so named as it is the first river one reaches when travelling from Cape Town.
The town grew so fast that it became an independent local authority in 1682 and the seat of a magistrate with jurisdiction over 25.000 square kilometres in 1685.
Soon after the first settlers arrived, grapes were planted in the fertile valleys around Stellenbosch and soon it became the centre of the South African wine industry.
Until recently the wealthy wine growing nature of the area meant that it had a large Gini coefficient, although this is changing.
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