Hermannsburg, KwaZulu-Natal
| Hermannsburg | |
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 Hermannsburg
Hermannsburg
Hermannsburg
Hermannsburg shown within KwaZulu-Natal
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| Coordinates: 29°02′32″S 30°47′45″E / 29.04222°S 30.79583°ECoordinates: 29°02′32″S 30°47′45″E / 29.04222°S 30.79583°E | |
| Country | South Africa |
| Province | KwaZulu-Natal |
| District | uMzinyathi |
| Municipality | Umvoti |
| Established | 1854 |
| Postal code (street) | 3508 |
| PO box | 3258 |
| Area code | 033 |
Hermannsburg is a small hamlet located in the Province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. It is home to the Hermannsburg School (German: Deutsche Schule Hermannsburg).
Hermannsburg was established in 1854 as the first station of the Hermannsburg Missionary Society based in Hermannsburg, Germany. The Hermannsburg Missionary Society was founded on the initiative of Louis Harms, who served the Saints Peter and Paul Lutheran Congregation in Hermannsburg, Germany. Under his leadership, the missionaries originally planned to reach Ethiopia, but were forced to turn back when the Sultan of Zanzibar denied them permission to enter his dominions. They turned back and stopped over in Port Natal (Durban), where local Lutherans in New Germany under the leadership of Wilhelm Posselt encourage them to consider a mission to the Zulu people. The Hermannsburg missionaries accepted and started a mission in South Africa. They bought the farm Perseverance on the edge of Zululand near Greytown as Mpande the king of the Zulus would not allow them to settle in his land.
In 1854, after arrival at the new mission station, the missionaries constructed a large house (the Mission House), which was converted to a museum in 1981.
Some unique aspects of the mission approach of the Hermannsburg Missionary Society included its practice of community of property, its extensive use of lay artisans, and its practice of "colonisation," i.e. having the mission stations form the nucleus of new settlements with the intent of establishing an African Christian civilization.
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Wikipedia