Muizenberg (/ˈmjuːzənbɜːrɡ/ MEW-zən-burg, Dutch for 'mice mountain') is a beach-side town in the Western Cape, South Africa. It is situated where the shore of the Cape Peninsula curves round to the east on the False Bay coast. It is considered to be the main surfing spot in Cape Town and is currently home to a surfing community, centered on the popular 'Surfer's Corner'.
History
Muizenberg was apparently named after Wynand Willem Muijs who commanded a small outpost on the shore of Zandvlei in 1743.
The Battle of Muizenberg was a small but significant military affair that began on 7 August 1795 and ended three months later with the (first) British occupation of the Cape. Thus began the period (briefly interrupted from 1803 to 1806) of British control of the Cape, and subsequently much of Southern Africa. The historical remnant of the Battle of Muizenberg is a site on the hillside overlooking False Bay that holds the remains of a defensive fort started by the Dutch in 1795 and expanded by the British from 1796 onwards. Cannons from that era are mounted at "Het Posthuys", the Muizenberg Park and on the station platform.
The railway from Cape Town, which for twenty years stopped at Wynberg, was extended to Muizenberg in 1882. Muizenberg started as a place for holiday homes for the rich after the discovery of gold in the Witwatersrand in 1886. Muizenberg Municipality was established in 1895. It merged with Kalk Bay in 1897. In 1910 the Muizenberg Carnegie Library opened next to the Natale Labia, and a year later a post office opened. In 1911 the first pavilion, a wooden one, was built. In the twentieth century, Muizenberg was the premier summer destination among Southern African Jews.[5] The post office was bombed in 1986, injuring the postman.
Present day
Muizenberg has a fine, long beach that in effect stretches all the way round the top of False Bay to the Strand, a distance of over 20 km. False Bay, known for its population of White Sharks, also has a shark watch service that operates from Muizenberg, signalling alerts when sharks come in proximity of bathers at the main beach and surfers at Surfer's Corner. Above Muizenberg there is a line of steep cliffs that is very popular as a venue for rock climbing. However, certain parts of the cliff are off-limits to climbers when birds nest on the ledges.
The Zandvlei estuary enters the ocean in Muizenberg. The estuary is one of the most important estuaries for fish spawning on the coastline and is home to the Imperial Yacht Club, Peninsula Canoe Club and Sandvlei Sea Scout Base.
Educational establishments
Muizenberg houses one of the False Bay College campuses in the Cinnabar Building, a high-rise apartment tower. The college, a Public Further Education and Training Institution (FET), was established in September 2002 when the South Peninsula College (established 1970) and the Westlake College (established 1954) were merged.[ Muizenberg is also home to the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS), a pan-African centre for education and research in mathematical sciences.
Beach front
Muizenberg is home to the well known "Surfers Corner", there is a range of restaurants and coffee shops in the area such as Knead Bakery, Bootlegger, Kauai and Starbucks. Surf shops are also very present in the area.
Agatha Christie, famous author and playwright, wrote that after nursing duty she would daily take the train to Muizenberg to go surfing.
Geography
Muizenberg is located approximately 27 km south-east of Cape Town’s CBD by road and is bounded by Kalk Bay to the south-west, the suburbs of Lavender Hill, Seawinds, Coniston Park, Sheraton Park, Retreat and Westlake to the north and Grassy Park to the north-west.
The older part of the town known as Muizenberg Village occupies the foot slopes of the Muizenberg Mountain, whilst the newer suburbs have spread eastwards along the flat expanse of land, known as the Cape Flats, bordering the lake of Zandvlei to the west.
The municipal boundaries of Muizenberg comprises Muizenberg Village and the following other suburbs:
Capricorn
Costa da Gama
Lakeside
Marina da Gama
St James
Stonehurst Mountain Estate
Vrygrond
Transport
Rail
Muizenberg is situated on the main commuter to connect line between Cape Town and Simon’s Town, known as the Southern Line which is operated by Metrorail. Metrorail currently operates commuter railway services in Muizenberg from the False Bay, Lakeside, Muizenberg, and St James railway stations to Cape Town, Kalk Bay, Fish Hoek and Simon’s Town.
Roads
The main thoroughfare through Muizenberg is the M4 (Main Road) which roughly runs in a north-south direction from Cape Town towards Kalk Bay, Fish Hoek and Simon’s Town. The R310 is another major route roughly running NE to SW from Stellenbosch and Mitchells Plain to Muizenberg and runs through Muizenberg as Atlantic Road and Baden Powell Drive.
Muizenberg is also intersected by other metropolitan routes within the City of Cape Town including the M5 (Prince George Drive) linking Muizenberg with Cape Town and Milnerton and the M75 (Boyes Drive) skirting above Muizenberg along the lower slopes of the Muizenberg Mountains towards Kalk Bay.
The M3 expressway (Simon van der Stel Freeway) runs northwards to Cape Town’s CBD from the intersection with the M42 (Steenberg Drive) in Westlake. The M42 then connects the M3 to Muizenberg from the intersection with the M4 near Lakeside.
(Wikipedia)
False Bay (Afrikaans: Valsbaai) is a body of water in the Atlantic Ocean between the mountainous Cape Peninsula and the Hottentots Holland Mountains in the extreme south-west of South Africa. The mouth of the bay faces south and is demarcated by Cape Point to the west and Cape Hangklip to the east. The north side of the bay is the low-lying Cape Flats, and the east side is the foot of the Hottentots Holland Mountains to Cape Hangklip which is at nearly the same latitude as Cape Point. In plan the bay is approximately square, being roughly the same extent from north to south as east to west, with the southern side open to the ocean. The seabed generally slopes gradually down from north to south, and is mostly fairly flat unconsolidated sediments. Much of the bay is off the coast of the City of Cape Town, and it includes part of the Table Mountain National Park Marine Protected Area and the whole of the Helderberg Marine Protected Area. The name "False Bay" was applied at least three hundred years ago by sailors returning from the east who confused Cape Point and Cape Hangklip, which are somewhat similar in profile when approached from the southeast.
False Bay is at the extreme western end of the inshore Agulhas marine ecoregion which extends from Cape Point to the Mbashe river over the continental shelf, in the overlap zone between Cape Agulhas and Cape Point where the warm Agulhas Current and the cooler South Atlantic waters mix. The continental shelf is at its widest in this ecoregion, extending up to 240 km (150 mi) offshore on the Agulhas Bank, but is considerably narrower off False Bay. This ecoregion has the highest number of South African marine endemics, and is a breeding area for many species. The transition between the Agulhas ecoregion and the cooler Benguela ecoregion is at Cape Point, on the western boundary of False Bay.
False Bay also contains South Africa's largest naval base at Simon's Town (historically a base for the Royal Navy), and small fishing harbours at Kalk Bay and Gordon's Bay.
Description and location
The western side is bordered by the Cape Peninsula, and this stretch of coastline includes the smaller Buffels Bay, Smitswinkel Bay, Simon's Bay and Fish Hoek Bay. At Muizenberg the coastline becomes relatively low and sandy and curves east across the southern boundary of the Cape Flats to Gordon's Bay to form the northern boundary of False Bay. From Gordon's Bay the coastline swings roughly south, and zig-zags its way along the foot of the Hottentots Holland Mountains to Cape Hangklip which is at nearly the same latitude as Cape Point. The highest peak on this side is Kogelberg at 1,269 m (4,163 ft).[4]
In plan the bay is approximately square with rather wobbly edges, being roughly the same extent from north to south as east to west (30 km), with the entire southern side open to the ocean. The area of False Bay has been measured at about 1,090 km2 (420 sq mi), and the volume is approximately 45 km3 (11 cu mi) (average depth about 40 m). The land perimeter has been measured at 116 km, from a 1:50,000 scale map.
The eastern and western shores of the bay are very rocky and even mountainous; in places large cliffs plunge into the water. Notable peaks associated with the bay include Koeëlberg (1,289 m (4,229 ft)), which rises from the water itself forming the highest point of the Kogelberg, as well as Somerset Sneeukop (1590m / 5217 feet) and Wemmershoek Peak (1,788 m (5,866 ft)) which are clearly visible across the bay. Some of the highest peaks visible across False Bay include Du Toits Peak near Paarl (1,995 m (6,545 ft)), Klein Winterhoek Peak near Tulbagh (1,995 m (6,545 ft)), Mostertshoek Peak at the Western extreme of the Michell's Pass (2,008 m (6,588 ft)) and Groot Winterhoek Peak North of Tulbagh (2,077 m (6,814 ft)). The northern shore, is defined by a very long, curving, sandy beach. This sandy, northern perimeter of the bay is the southern edge of the area known as the Cape Flats. The bay is 30 km wide at its widest point.
Suburbs of Cape Town stretch right across the Cape Flats from Simon's Town halfway down the Cape Peninsula to the north-eastern corner at Gordon's Bay. There are also two small towns of the Overberg region on the east coast of the bay, Rooiels and Pringle Bay.
(Wikipedia)
Muizenberg ist ein an der False Bay gelegener Vorort von Kapstadt am westlichen Rand der Cape Flats.
Geografie
Lage
Muizenberg gehört zur City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality. Es hat einen langen Sandstrand. Der Zandvlei mündet mit einem teilweise als Yachthafen genutzten Ästuar in die False Bay. n Muizenberg gibt es die Quartiere Capricorn, Costa Da Gama, Lakeside, Marina Da Gama, Saint James und Vrygrond.
Durch die Southern Line der Metrorail Kapstadt ist der Bahnhof Muizenberg mit Kapstadt und in Richtung Süden mit Simon’s Town verbunden.
Bevölkerung
Muizenberg hatte 2011 (Volkszählung) 36.857 Einwohner in 12.245 Haushalten.
Geschichte
Muizenberg entwickelte sich um 1743 aus einem Viehposten, militärischen Außenposten und Winterhafen der Niederländischen Ostindien-Kompanie (VOC).[2] Het Posthuys (das Posthaus) ist eines der ältesten Häuser Südafrikas. Es wurde um 1742 von der Niederländischen Ostindien-Kompanie als Mautstelle erbaut. Das Haus diente unter anderem auch als Polizeistation, Hotel und Privathaus und wurde in den 1980er Jahren restauriert. Heute befindet sich darin ebenfalls ein Museum.
Einer der ersten Postbeamten war 1744 Sergeant Wynand Willem Muijs, der spätere Kommandant der hiesigen Garnison wurde. Von ihm leitet sich der Name Muysenbergh oder Muys Zijn Bergh ab, aus dem später Muizenberg wurde.
Die Schlacht von Muizenberg war eine kleine, aber bedeutende militärische Offensive, die im Juni 1795 begann und mit der ersten britischen Okkupation am Kap der guten Hoffnung drei Monate später endete. Es begann die Zeit der britischen Herrschaft. Zwischen 1804 und 1806 unterstand das Kap der Batavischen Republik. Danach wurde die Kapkolonie wieder britisch.
Das Rhodes’ Cottage ist ein kleines Haus, welches Cecil Rhodes, der Premierminister der Kapkolonie, als Urlaubshaus kaufte. Hier starb er am 26. März 1902. Heute befindet sich darin das Rhodes-Museum.
Bildung
Des Weiteren ist Muizenberg der Sitz des African Institute for Mathematical Sciences.
Tourismus
Da in der False Bay eine Anzahl Weißer Haie leben, gibt es in Muizenberg eine Beobachtungsstation, die die Schwimmer und Surfer bei Gefahr alarmiert. An der Mündung des Zandvlei sind der Imperial Yacht Club und der Peninsula Canoe Club beheimatet.
(Wikipedia)
Die False Bay (afrikaans: Valsbaai; deutsch etwa: „Falsche Bucht“) ist eine Bucht am Kap der Guten Hoffnung im südwestlichen Teil Südafrikas.
Beschreibung und Lage
Die östlichen und westlichen Küsten der False Bay sind sehr felsig; an einigen Stellen münden große Klippen im tiefen Wasser. Die nördliche Küste verläuft an einem langen, kurvigen Sandstrand. An diesem Strand liegt das Areal, das als Cape Flats bekannt ist. Die Bucht umfasst an ihrem weitesten Punkt eine Spanne von 30 Kilometern und befindet sich südöstlich von Kapstadt. Die Orte Simon’s Town, Fish Hoek, Muizenberg, Mitchells Plain, Strand und Khayelitsha liegen direkt an der Bucht. Auf Höhe der Ortschaft Strand reichen die Hottentots-Holland Mountains, die südlichsten Ausläufer des Kap-Faltengürtels, bis an die Küste der Bucht.
Das Kap der Guten Hoffnung liegt westlich der False Bay am südlichsten Punkt der Kap-Halbinsel.
Geschichte
Bartolomeu Dias beschrieb die Bucht erstmals 1488 als „Golf zwischen den Bergen“. Der Name „False Bay“ stammt von Seefahrern, die in die Bucht steuerten, weil sie die Bucht fälschlicherweise für die Tafelbucht hielten.
Die Bounty traf am 24. Mai 1788 in der False Bay bei Kapstadt ein, wo sie generalüberholt werden musste.
Klima
Es herrscht ein mediterranes mildes Klima mit warmen, trockenen Sommern und kalten, nassen Wintern. Im Winter können Stürme vom Nordwesten über das Land wehen, im Sommer wird das Klima von warmen Winden aus Südosten bestimmt. Das Wasser in der Bucht ist rund 6 °C wärmer als das Wasser in der westlich gelegenen Tafelbucht.
Tourismus
Die False Bay eignet sich zum Angeln, da hier oftmals Fischschwärme vorbeiziehen. In der Bucht können sich jedoch sogenannte „Monsterwellen“ bilden, die mit großer Wucht auf die felsigen Klippen der Bucht treffen. Viele Fischer fielen diesen Wellen zum Opfer, die ohne jegliche Vorwarnung entstehen. Auch das Segeln ist eine der vielen Freizeitaktivitäten in der Bucht. Rund um die Bucht sind zahlreiche Segel- und Yachtclubs ansässig.
In der Bucht gibt es eine kleine Insel, die als Brutstätte für Kaprobben (Südafrikanischer Seebär) dient. Die Aktivität der Robben zieht die Aufmerksamkeit des Weißen Hais nach sich, der dort oft gesichtet wird. So ereignete sich am 10. Januar 2010 ein Angriff auf einen Mann aus Simbabwe, der im Dorf Fish Hoek 100 Meter vor der Küste schwamm und tödlich attackiert wurde.
(Wikipedia)
