The French Corner
Listen to this lesson
Long before vineyards, this valley was known as Olifantshoek, or Elephant's Corner, because elephants moved through it. That changed in 1688, when French Huguenots arrived. They were Protestants who had fled religious persecution in France, and the Cape government gave them farms here.
They brought winemaking knowledge, and they gave their farms French names. The valley became known as Franschhoek, Afrikaans for French Corner.
Olifantshoek
The valley's first name, after the elephants that roamed here.
1688
The year the Huguenots arrived in the valley.
French farm names
La Motte, L'Ormarins and La Provence are all still here.
🇿🇦 Cape spotlight
The Huguenot Monument, unveiled in 1948, stands at the top of the village. Its three arches stand for the Holy Trinity, and the water around it for the sea the Huguenots crossed.
Modern Franschhoek is small and walkable, ringed by mountains on three sides, and known across South Africa as a food and wine capital.
🧠 Quick check: tap to reveal
🤔 What did Franschhoek's name mean before the French arrived?
Olifantshoek, or Elephant's Corner.
🤔 Who were the Huguenots?
French Protestants who fled religious persecution.
Lesson 2: Franschhoek fun facts