Bergville

Bergville is a small town situated in the foothills of the Drakensberg mountains, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was established as Bergville Mountain Village in 1897 and is now the commercial centre for a 2,500 km² dairy and cattle ranching area. A blockhouse was built by the British soldiers in the town during the Second Boer War.

Bergville
Bergville Show map of KwaZulu-Natal Bergville Show map of South Africa
Coordinates: 28°44′S 29°22′E
Country	South Africa
Province	KwaZulu-Natal
District	uThukela
Municipality	Okhahlamba
Area [1]
• Total	2.74 km2 (1.06 sq mi)
Population  (2011)[1]
• Total	4,890
• Density	1,800/km2 (4,600/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011) [1]
• Black African	60.4%
• Coloured	1.3%
• Indian/Asian	14.6%
• White	20.0%
• Other	3.8%
First languages (2011) [1]
• Zulu	82.2%
• English	12.1%
• Afrikaans	1.3%
• Sign language	2.3%
• Other	2.1%
Time zone	UTC+2 (SAST)
Postal code (street)	3350
PO box	3350
Area code	036

Bergville is equidistant from Johannesburg and Durban and is also known as the gateway to the Northern Drakensberg holiday resorts. It lies on Route R74 which is a more scenic alternative to the N3 Toll Road. This route takes one via the Oliviershoek Pass, traditionally used to access the Drakensberg, from Johannesburg. Bergville is easiest reached from Durban by turning off the N3 after Estcourt, joining the R74 through Winterton towards the mountain.

There are many small villages associated within Bergville including Hambrook, Green Point, Acton homes Zwelisha, Moyeni, Bethany and Thintwa village.

Other towns in the immediate region include:

• Ladysmith on the R616
• Acton Homes on the R616 towards Ladysmith
• Geluksburg
• Jagersrust on the R74 towards Harrismith - living quarters for workers of the Drakensberg Pumped Storage Scheme

Services

• Emmaus Hospital[2]

Projects in the Bergville Area

• World Vision[3]
• Disability Information Project[4]
• Bergville Community Builders[5][6][7]