Laingsburg, South Africa
Laingsburg | |
|---|---|
A view of Laingsburg | |
| Coordinates: 33°11′42″S 20°51′33″E / 33.19500°S 20.85917°E | |
| Country | South Africa |
| Province | Western Cape |
| District | Central Karoo |
| Municipality | Laingsburg |
| Area | |
• Total | 723.72 km2 (279.43 sq mi) |
| Population (2011) | |
• Total | 5,667 |
| • Density | 7.8/km2 (20/sq mi) |
| Racial makeup (2011) | |
| • Black African | 8.2% |
| • Coloured | 82.3% |
| • Indian/Asian | 0.3% |
| • White | 8.5% |
| • Other | 0.7% |
| First languages (2011) | |
| • Afrikaans | 93.6% |
| • English | 1.7% |
| • Xhosa | 1.6% |
| • Other | 3.1% |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (SAST) |
| Postal code (street) | 6900 |
| PO box | 6900 |
| Area code | 023 |
Laingsburg (Afrikaans pronunciation: [ˈlainzbœrχ]) is a town located in the Western Cape province in South Africa. It is a relatively large agricultural town in the semi-arid Great Karoo; its economy is based on farming goats, sheep, fruits, and vegetable. The town is served by two main roads, namely the N1 and the R323.
The area that became Laingsburg was first settled around 1727 or 1728. A train stop was built there in 1878, by which it had been called Buffelsrivier. It was then renamed to "Nassau", and finally to "Laingsburg". In 1904, Laingsburg became a municipality. In 1981, a flash flood, later called the Laingsburg Flood, almost completely submerged the town, destroying much of it.