places of worship

Read more about the article The Victorian era designed Dutch Reformed Church of Jansenville
Firefly the Travel Guy

The Victorian era designed Dutch Reformed Church of Jansenville

Each Karoo town has a different charm and atmosphere just like each one has an unique historic Dutch Reformed Church. The town of Jansenville is in no way any different. The Dutch Reformed Church in Jansenville is unusual in that the bell tower is separate from the church. The church is of typical Victorian-era design, complete with decorative plaster quoins on the corners of the exterior walls. The building was designed by prolific ecclesiastical architect Carl Otto Hager, whose plans…

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24/05/2024
Read more about the article Steynsburg, the small town with a big church
Firefly the Travel Guy

Steynsburg, the small town with a big church

The town of Steynsburg in the Eastern Cape's Karoo Heartland developed around the Reformed Church which was established in 1872 and was administered by a village management board controlled by the church.  Steynsburg is named after Douwe Gerbrandt Steyn, grandfather of President Paul Kruger. The members of the Dutch Reformed Church from the district had to travel long distances (64km) to Burgersdorp by horse, horse cart and ox wagon to go to church and there was a need for their…

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25/01/2023
Read more about the article The Moederkerk in the heart of Cradock
Firefly the Travel Guy

The Moederkerk in the heart of Cradock

The first Dutch Reformed congregation (and also the first church) in Cradock was established back in 1824, 10 years after the town received its name.  The present Dutch Reformed Mother Church building, situated on the upper end of Church Street, was completed on the original site as the first church in 1868 at an apparent cost of some £24,500.  The building’s design was based on St. Martins-in-the-Field on Trafalgar Square in London.   At the opening ceremony, the builder refused to hand over the door…

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20/01/2023
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St Mary’s front and back

On Tuesday I posted a picture of St Mary's Cathedral in the Port Elizabeth city centre.  I realised that although people may know what the cathedral looks like from the outside, that not many may have been inside the cathedral yet.  So today I'm posting two pictures taken inside the building, one looking to the front...... and one looking back at the pews.

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15/03/2018
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3, 2, 1 stained glass windows

A week ago I posted a picture of the big stained glass window in the St Augustine's Cathedral.  When I was doing the post I considered posted the three pictures in this post along with it, but decided that it was magnificent enough to warrant a stand-alone post.  So here is stained glass post #2 featuring a 3, 2, 1 combination of stained glass windows. So...3 21

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30/11/2017
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St Augustine’s tour

I got to see the inside of St Augustine's Cathedral for the first time a few weeks ago while on a tour of Route 67.  The church isn't generally open like St Mary's on the other side of the Public Library, so if you want to see it you need to make special arrangements or alternatively just attend a service.

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16/11/2017
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The history of St. Augustine’s Cathedral

When the first Catholic priest, Father George Corcoran, set foot in Port Elizabeth in 1840 it wasn't just a case of getting off the boat and taking up his position. No, he was shipwrecked in Cape St Francis and had to travel the last 100km to town on horseback.  Once he arrived here he found that there were only 42 Catholics in the town.  But the show had to go on and in the ensuing years the Catholic community in…

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15/11/2017