Steynsburg has a historical focus on two themes: church architecture in the town and railway history. Its churches represent different architectural styles and periods in the town’s history; the Steynsburg Tunnel points to an earlier connection between rural towns and the region’s agricultural trade. Visitors who like to choose their destination around specific cultural themes will find both a link to the town’s history and a regional perspective here.

Church Architecture and Local History

Steynsburg developed around a Reformed church founded in 1872. Construction of the first church building for the Steynsburg Dutch Reformed Church began in 1874; the foundation stone was laid in March 1875. The Steynsburg Reformed Church was inaugurated on 4 September 1880 and expanded into its present building in 1939; the tower was added during this expansion. The dates therefore range from 1872 to 1939, but refer to different historical details: the town’s development, construction of the Dutch Reformed Church’s first building, and the inauguration and expansion of the Reformed Church. This distinction helps make sense of the chronology without conflating the dates into a single building history. The years of the inauguration and expansion are 59 years apart; the tower therefore belongs to a significantly later phase of construction.

Two Churches, Two Architectural Profiles

Three building elements can be distinguished at Holy Cross Anglican Church: the base is made of roughly dressed ashlar, the main structure of face brick, and the roof of corrugated galvanised iron. This sequence of materials draws the eye from the base, up across the wall surfaces, to the roof covering. Wesleyan Methodist Church is a simple hall-style building with a red face-brick base, a plastered upper wall section, and a corrugated iron roof. Both roofs are made of corrugated iron; the differences lie in the treatment of the base and wall surfaces and—in the case of Wesleyan—in its explicitly stated hall form. Visitors interested in church architecture can find a concrete comparison of building form, base, and wall construction here.

Railway History in the Area

The Steynsburg Tunnel is near Steynsburg and forms part of an old railway line. The line once connected rural towns and supported agricultural trade in the region. The tunnel shifts the focus: rather than the form of individual buildings, it is about an earlier regional connection and its economic function. Railway history thus adds another way of exploring the past alongside the churches.

Steynsburg as a Place to Stay

When planning your stay, it helps to choose between the historical chronology, a comparison of architectural styles, and the regional railway connection. The chronology focuses on developments over several decades, the comparison of materials on individual building elements, and the railway line broadens the perspective to regional connections and trade.

Discover more destinations: Bloemendal, Nomlengane, Ugie, Jamestown, Barkly East, Burgersdorp, Venterstad

Go to the main travel overview: Drakensberg District.