EP05 Franschhoek: French Huguenote refuge & home to billionaire’s motor museum

EP05 Franschhoek: French Huguenote refuge & home to billionaire’s motor museum

The Palace of Versailles was the principal residence of French kings from the time of Louis the 14th to Louis the 16th. It provided Europe with a model of the ideal royal residence for over a century. But not everything was as glamorous as the palace portrayed. On October 18, 1685, the edict of Nantes of 1598, where King Henry IV granted substantial rights to French Protestants, also known as Hugenotes, was revoked by Louis the 14th. French Hugenotes were compelled to renounce their faith and join the ranks of Roman Catholics or faced persecution. As part of the persecution, churches were burned down, pastors expelled, and Louis the 14th soldiers looted their homes of French hugenotes. Many hugenotes were locked up in horrific prisons for life, all until they renounced their faith. In 1685, there were about 800,000 Hugenotes in France, with fewer than 200,000 managing to escape. Some of these fled to the Cape Colony in today’s South Africa. Simil the then governor of the Cape Colony set aside land for Hugenote settlement. The Dutch East India Company encouraged Hugenotes to immigrate to the Cape because they shared the same faith and most Hugenotes were highly trained craftsmen or experienced farmers. The French Hugenotes who made it to the Cape settled in an area that became known by its current name of France Hook in 1688. Come along to see what France looks like today and to learn more about another fascinating story tied to this historic South African town. Our first destination in France hook was to motor museum. The museum is located 43 kilometers from our guest house in Boscliff and a scenic drive took around 50 minutes. We visited France Motor Museum just before prices increase from 80 to 90 rand which is still less than $5 US per adult while current prices for children under 13 is 50 rand. The museum’s website shows that visits must be booked online in advance but when we arrived the friendly security guard said that visitors are always welcome during opening hours and that online bookings are not required. There’s plenty of free parking on the premises, many of which are under trees, so your car won’t bake in the sun while you’re at the museum. The museum is home to numerous Cape Dutch buildings, and it is in four of these where the car collection is displayed. As we made our way to the cars, we were impressed by the well-kept green lawns, beautiful flower gardens and green trees against a blue sky with mountains in the background. So, we’re now at a motor museum in France where you can see a lot of classical cars. They even have penny farings up there. And this is just one of various showrooms. And you can enter here for for just 80 rand. All the cars you see here are from the 1920s, although the museum has even older ones dating back to the 1800s. The showrooms are also home to numerous bicycles from bygon years as well as antique petrol pumps. Franchuk Motor Museum is owned by the late Dr. Anton Roupert’s son, Johan Roupert. And one of the museum guides told us that most of the museum’s cars had to be driven down to the Western Cape from Keng Province in the north on a road stretching more than 1,400 kilome. [Music] This yellow two-seater sports car called the Cortilla looks like something Shan Connory would have driven back in the 1960s. It was the first car produced in South Africa with production taking place from 1957 to 1958. 26 units were manufactured which only four were restored. The Proteier had a maximum speed of 136 km per hour, which is quite a feat for the first car made in South Africa. Considering just how rare this model is, the museum would be worth visiting even if it was the only car on display. This black car over here is the famous Ford T model. Production began in 1908 and continued until 1927. In those years, more than 15 million Ford Todd cars were manufactured. It was the longest production run of any automobile model in history until the Forkswagen Beetle surpassed it in 1972. Before the Model T, cars were a luxury item. At the beginning of 1908, there were fewer than 200,000 on the road. 1923 was a record year for Ford when more than 2 million were sold without them even advertising. Henry Ford is famously quoted for saying that you can have a Ford in any color as long as it’s black. Although that’s not quite true. The car only offered black from 1914 to 1925, but before and afterwards it was available in various other colors. After our visit at the motor museum, we drove past Visuk and Movart to France town center. Our day in France culminated with a visit to the Hugenote monument. This landmark was constructed between 1942 and 1945 to commemorate the unfailing faith of the French Hugenotes. At the top you can see the cross of Christ and son of righteousness with the women at the bottom representing God’s church as described in revelation. The museum buildings were closed during our visit but we did see some haridas in the garden. As a hugenote monument and museum are synonymous with the French hugenotes faith that brought them to the cape. So is the call of the harida for South Africa. Although I’ve been living overseas half of my life, I always feel that I’m back home when I hear the call of the [Music] harida. Of course, our final home is not this world, but like that of the hugenotes with our heavenly father. Wherever you’re watching this from, if you haven’t committed your life to Christ yet, or if you went astray along the way and want to return to the right path, why not do that today? Thank you for coming along to France Hook and hope to see you in the next episode where we’ll be taking one of the most scenic routes in the world. If you haven’t done so already, please subscribe to the channel and leave us a comment. We’d love to hear from [Music]

South Africa was a safe haven for many Europeans during the 17th century. While religious persecution was widespread across Europe, with many protestants being imprisoned, tortured or executed, the Cape Colony, as it was known back then, offered a safe haven for those who managed to escape.

One South African town in today’s Western Cape that became a popular settlement for French protestants, also known as Huguenots, is Franschhoek. This town is also known for it’s splendid nature and other historic sites.

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