The farm Kronendal, which was in existence since 1843, was
registered in 1858 in the name of Jan Michiel van Helsdingen. A
mission was established here, but when the society could no longer
afford to provide maintenance for anyone but the missionaries, the
lay workers who had worked at the station settled as independent
farmers nearby. The settlement was surveyed and divided into plots
in 1889 and a school which acquired a reputation for excellence was
founded. Among those of the pupils who were not German-speaking
were Louis Botha, who was to become South Africa's first Prime
Minister, and the Afrikaans poet Totius, J D du Toit.
The largely German-speaking town has a distinctly Teutonic
architecture and cultural atmosphere.
The Kroondal Lutheran Church is a rural congregation with over
400 members. The church is situated in the centre of Kroondal,
which is about 5 kilometres outside Rustenburg on the old Pretoria
road. [R104] The Kroondal congregation was founded in 1896 by a
small group of German missionaries and farmers. Over the years
Kroondal has grown into the vibrant congregation it now is. Of the
400 congregation members about 80% use German as their home
language, with the rest being mainly Afrikaans. Each Sunday at
09:30 the main church service of the week is conducted. Once every
second month the service is in Afrikaans. On all other Sundays the
service is conducted in German.
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