Visit the oldest Mission Station in South Africa, with its beautiful setting at the foot of the Riviersonderend Mountains about 30 km from Caledon.

The early beginnings

The Moravian Church (originated in 1457 in Moravia, today part of Slovakia) had a particular zeal for mission work and in 1737 the young bachelor missionary Georg Schmidt was sent to the Cape. Many thought that mission work among the Khoi (Hottentots) was attempting the impossible, but in spite of this Schmidt settled on 23 April 1738 in Baviaans Kloof (Ravine of the Baboons) in the Riviersonderend Valley.

Schmidt became acquainted with an impoverished and dispersed Khoi people who were practically on the threshold of complete extinction. Apart from the few kraals which still remained, there were already thirteen farms in the vicinity of Baviaans Kloof. Within a short while Schmidt formed a small Christian congregation. He taught the Khoi to read and write, but when he began to baptise his converts there was great dissatisfaction among the Cape Dutch Reformed clergy. According to them, Schmidt was not an ordained minister and so was not permitted to administer the sacraments. Consequently he had to abandon his work, and in 1744, after seven years at Baviaans Kloof, he left the country.

The mission work resumed 

Only in 1792 did the Moravians obtain permission to resume Schmidt�s work at Baviaans Kloof. For this task three missionaries, H. Marsveld, C. K�hnel and D. Schwinn, were chosen. When they arrived they found the ruins of Schmidt�s dwelling, with a great pear tree  in the garden. There was also an old woman, Magdalena, whom Schmidt had baptised, whose acquaintance they made. She was able to show them a Bible (on display in museum), kept in a leather bag, which had been given to her years ago by Schmidt. The missionaries listened with amazement when she asked her daughter to read a portion of the New Testament to them. When the work in Baviaans Kloof was resumed, the missionaries and the members of their congregation had to cope with a number of problems. The Stellenbosch D.R.C. questioned the authority and the desirability of mission work in Baviaans Kloof, which lay within the boundaries of their ministerial district.

Although Governor Sluysken found their objections invalid, Ds. Borcherds succeeded in persuading the Cape authorities to forbid the ringing of a church bell in Baviaans Kloof.

The "Golden Age" 

The number of inhabitants increased so much that at one stage Genadendal was the largest settlement in the Colony after Cape Town. Noteworthy developments took place in the early nineteenth century, so that Governor Janssens, after his visit in 1806, decided to change the name of the mission station to Genadendal (Valley of Grace). To give the people an enriching and uninterrupted Christian education, it was important to maintain them permanently on the mission station. Job creation at a local level was necessary� and in this way the mission station developed into a self- sufficient community. Up to the end of the nineteenth century it enjoyed a "Golden Era". Home industries, including amongst others the forging of knives (the well known herneuters), flourished, and Genadendal became an important educational centre. The first Teachers� Training College in South Africa, now the Museum building, was erected in 1838.

The success of this flourishing community was blighted when it fell victim to the iniquities of unjust legislation, e.g. the Communal Reserve Act of 1909 for Mission Stations, which prevented the inhabitants from obtaining property rights. With its strong religious roots, its industry and training, Genadendal had the potential to develop into a centre of learning and perhaps even another Stellenbosch. But this was prevented by its "coloured" status. In 1926, the Teachers� Training College was closed down by the Department of Public Education who argued that the "coloured" people had no need of tertiary education, and were better employed on the farms in the area. These policies caused impoverishment, degradation and stagnation of the town, and a loss of community pride.

However, the new democratic elected town council is supporting all efforts to introduce new community projects in order to create jobs on a local level.

Genadendal today

Religious life: A number of Churches with divergent view points-Moravian Church, Volks Church, Old Apostolic Church, New Apostolic Church and a number of Pentecostal groups.