Wupperthal

Wupperthal is a medium town situated within the Cederberg region in the Western Cape province. Located 75km from Clanwilliam town, the town is hidden at the end of the twisting Koueberg Pass and the Wupperthal road are not recommended for carriers of over 25-30 passengers. The town was established in 1830 and thrive on small scale farming and well known for growing Rooibos Tea before then a shoe factory was the main source of income and employment for the locals as well as a tannery and a glove factory. The shoe is still operational but at a smaller scale. Donkey cart rides, mountain biking, skiing, abseiling, river rafting, visit to the rock pool, graveyard, famous and traditional dancers will keep the visitors on their feet. The town has a community hall, post office, shop, a Moravian church and a tea room.

HEALTHCARE:
There is no hospital in Wupperthal, there is a Mobile Clinic Tel : +27(0)27 482 3010.

RESTAURANTS:
There is a small coffee shop called the "Lekker Bekkie Restaurant". (June 2016).

SHOPS:
There is a farmstall.

“The history of Wupperthal The settlement was founded in 1830 after two Rhenish missionaries, Theobald von Wurmb and Johann Gottlieb Leipoldt (grandfather of the poet and doctor C Louis Leipoldt) bought two farms in the Cederberg. The men came from a region in Germany where the Wupper River flowed 100 years before the city Wupperthal would be founded in their motherland. All indications are that Johann Leipoldt, an experienced shoemaker, moved into the farmhouse on Rietmond – today the oldest house in Wupperthal (circa 1800), known as Leipoldt House. It is believed that the smidswinkel, or smithy, would either already have been on the farm by 1830 or built shortly thereafter, next to the erstwhile threshing floor. After Leipoldt House, the smithy and the threshing floor are Wupperthal’s oldest structures. The missionaries and locals were industrious, and by 1834 had built a church. It was followed by a parsonage, the Mission Stores building, a school, two hostels and a post office. Later, a new school, parsonage and clinic were built, and in 1981 a community hall. Twelve surrounding communities, including Eselbank, Nuweplaas, Beukeskraal and Langkloof, depend on Wupperthal for the school, church, and medical and social services. The Rhenish Church transferred its responsibilities to the Moravian Church in 1965, and to this day Wupperthal is managed by the church. Residents practise subsistence farming with vegetables, goats and rooibos tea. A shoe factory, tannery and glove factory were once lucrative sources of income. Today the town certainly has potential for the development of tourism. (Tsidi Mzansi Historian)” - Chris Smit, 2025/05/12

“'Wupperthal is a mission village 70 km S/E of Clanwilliam in a valley between the Tra-Tra mountains to the north, Singkop to the south and the Cedarberg to the west. It was established in January 1830 as a farm of the Rhenish Missionary Society and named after the valley (German Tal) of the Wupper River in Germany.' (SA Place Names)” - Chris Smit, 2024/08/10

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