Grahamstown is in a warm hollow amidst the hills of the Eastern Cape. The city that has acquired many names over the years; ‘City of Saints’ due to over 40 places of worship, the most notable of which is the magnificent St George’s Cathedral; ‘City of Schools’ for its fine educational establishments such as the famous Rhodes University and ‘City of Settlers’ due to the many frontier wars fought with the Xhosa tribes people. The Xhosas suffered a terrible self-imposed fate when their 14 year old prophetess ‘Nongqause’ urged her people to burn their crops and kill all their cattle and in return they would be free of the white settlers. Their deliverance never came and thousands of Xhosa’s died of starvation.

Property in Grahamstown is available in the form of houses, vacant land, apartments and townhouses. Cluster homes and townhouses are also available. Commercial, industrial and residential properties are available in Grahamstown. You can buy or rent property in Grahamstown.

In the early 1800’s Grahamstown was a thriving bustling city of ivory traders, big game hunters and soldiers thronging the streets. Today the streets still hum with activity but only during the June/July Arts Festival when it comes alive with artistes, markets stalls, performers and visitors. The most bizarre thing you might see in Grahamstown outside festival time is the pre-historic Coelacanth, a fish caught off the east coast of Africa thought to be extinct for more than 80 million years!

History:
A busy commercial, cultural and educational centre, the city of Grahamstown is situated in a temperate valley between the coastal plain and the hinterland of the Eastern Cape. Its strategic location makes the city readily accessible by road and air. On the N2 it is 127km from Port Elizabeth and 180km from East London, an airstrip links the city to the rest of the country by air, and several long-distance bus companies include Grahamstown on their schedule. Its situation 60km from the coast and 535m above sea level endows Grahamstown with a mild climate which is famous for its changeability : locals claim it is possible to experience all four seasons in a single day!

Grahamstown's unique atmosphere is a result of its long and varied history. Founded in 1812 as a military outpost, it began to grow and thrive in the 1820's as struggling Settler families left their farms to establish themselves in more secure trades. Its position at the nexus of the coast and the hinterland, and between the Cape Colony and the north meant that Grahamstown was ideally situated as a focus for communications and agriculture. The city's broad tree-lined streets and imposing public buildings are the legacy of a time when Grahamstown was the Cape's second city : it became the seat of bishopric in 1852 and in 1864 the site of the only session of the Cape Parliament to held outside Cape Town. Grahamstonians are characteristically proud of their city's historical heritage, a pride which is evident in the care taken to preserve and enhance the many historic buildings which endure to this day. Prominent among these are the city's many places of worship, numbering over forty, which testify to the variety of cultures which coexist in the city, and the premises of Rhodes University and the several excellent schools, all of which combine to lend the city its air of cultural diversity. Grahamstown was founded by Lt. Colonel John Graham in 1812 as the military headquarters for a system of forts along the Fish River, which had been established as the boundary of the Cape Colony. Lord Charles Somerset became governor of the Colony in 1814 and he saw that a concentration of European settlers along the border would do away with the need for more soldiers to maintain the frontier. At this time, there was much unemployment in Britain. Soldiers had been demobilised after the Napoleonic Wars and the industrial revolution was at its height. So Somerset's frontier scheme seemed an ideal solution to both ?? ???????? ???????? ?? ??????? ??? ??? ???? ??????? ??? ???????? ???? ????? ? ???? ??????????? ??????????? ?? ??? ???? ???? ????? ???? ?? ??? ????????? ??? ? ???? ???? ?????????? ??? ???? ?????? ??? ??????? ?????????? ??? ?????????? ???????? ???????????? ??? ?? ??? ???????? ???? ??? ?? ??????? ?????? ???? ??? ?????? ????? ?????? ?? ???????? ??? ?????????? ?? ????? ?????? ????????????? ???? ????? ???????? ???? ?????? ????? ???? ???????? ?? ????? ?????? ??????? ??? ??????????? ?? ????? ??????? ???? ?????? ???? ??? ????? ??? ?????????? ??????? ??? ???????? ???????? ????? ?? ???????????? ??????????? ???????? ?????? ?? ????? ???????? ??? ????? ?? ???? ?????? ??????????? ?????? ?? ??? ??? ????????? ???????? ??? ???? ?? ??? ????? ?????? ? ???????? ?? ????? ????? ???? ?? ???????? ???? ?????????????????? ??????? ???? ? ???????? ?????????? ???? ? ???????? ?????? ????? ???? ???? ???? ??? ????????????? ?? ????????????? ???????? ??????? ??? ?????????