Worcester Information, Accommodation, Restaurants, Business Directory and Properties for Sale

The town of Worcester was named after the brother of Lord Charles Somerset, the Marquis of Worcester, and boasts a very impressive cultural heritage.

Worcester is the largest town in the Breede River Valley, and is located about 120 kilometers north-east of Cape Town on the N1 highway. It is also the administrative capital of the Breede Valley Local Municipality and the hub of the Western Cape’s retail, distribution and commercial activity.

Surrounded by majestic mountains and lush valleys, the town is seated in the biggest wine-producing district in the country. There is a lot to see and do in Worcester and it is ideally situated to explore the surrounding towns, vines and valleys - a real eco-destination nestled between majestic mountain ranges and magnificent scenery. From here you can visit the towns like Tulbagh, Ceres or Robertson, or take a tour around the KWV Brandy Cellar Complex

To reach Worcester can be the source of a tremendously satisfying driving experience. One can use either the well know Huguenot Tunnel, or one of several absolutely spectacular mountain passes:

“From Cape Town Du Toitskloof
from Wellington Bainskloof
from Malmesbury Nieuwekloof
from Ceres Mitchells
from Robertson Goree
from Hermanus Rooihoogte
from Johannesburg Hex River, with vistas over the Hex Valley.

Wine & Spirits

The Breede River Valley is South Africa’s largest wine producing region and contributes almost 20% of the total viniculture output. The Hex River Valley produces more than an incredible 17 million cartons of table grapes per year!

In recent years the production of olives has really taken off as well.

The Greater Brandvlei dam, completed in 1936, fully extended by 1987 and boasting a capacity of 342 million cubic litres, is central to the agricultural production and provides water to various irrigation schemes in the valley.

The Olof Bergh Solera Brandy Cellar and the KWV Brandy Cellar form part of the South African Brandy Route and 33 Wineries produce and bottle in the Worcester area.

Old Worcester motto: "Mutare Sperno" - I scorn to change

Some Famous Worcester Residents

Hugo Naude - South African artist
C. Louis Leipoldt - South African poet, born in Worcester 1882
Jean Welz - Austrian born architect and artist, lived in Worcester from 1943 to 1969
Stephan Welz - South African Antique and Art Auctioneer
J.M. Coetzee - Nobel Prize winner for literature, lived as a boy in Worcester
Martin Welz - Editor of Noseweek, investigative journalist
David Kramer - Singer, songwriter, playwright and director
Academics
Prof. J.N. de Villiers, vice-chancellor of the University of Stellenbosch
Source - Wikipedia