The History of The Steenberg Hotel

''At the dawning of the Cape, the swans rejoined, feeding in paradise at the foot of the Steenberg Mountains.' Steenberg celebrated its 320th anniversary in 2002 and has a fascinating lineage. The first owner of Steenberg, formally named Swaaneweide, was Catharina Ustings, a widow from Lubeck, Germany. Catharina is considered as one of the most daring and controversial figures ever to settle in the Cape. Catharina, or Tryn as she was fondly known, realised very soon after landing at the Cape in 1662 that the achievement of power in those tempestuous times was to marry or obtain property. She wedded Hans Ras, who died shortly after by being killed by a lion. Legend has it that she hunted the lion on horseback and shot it. She married a third time but was once again left widowed. This time, he was killed by marauding tribesmen. His successor was trampled underfoot by elephants. It was only after The Widow Ras took her fifth husband, Matthys Michelse that she approached the Governor of the Cape, Simon van der Stel for a portion of ground at the foot of the Ou Kaapse Weg (Old Cape Road). He agreed to lease 25 morgen to her in 1682.

In 1688, the official deeds to the property were handed over to this enigmatic woman, making her the first woman to own property in the Cape. She continued to cultivate, plough and to possess the farm below the Stone Mountains and eventually sold the farm to Frederik Russouw in 1695, a powerful and wealthy member of the Burger Council. He built the original U-shaped Manor House in typical Cape Dutch architecture and also made the first wines at Swaaneweide.

During winter months ships would dock in Simons Town in False Bay because of the destructive storm winds in Table Bay. Steenberg was exactly one days' journey from Table Bay and one days' journey from Simons Town, which meant that many seafarers would stay over for the night on the farm.

Christina Diemer (the widow of Frederik Russouw) became the recipient of a highly profitable business of supplying hospitality to travellers and provisions to the fleet, which still happens to this day to discerning guests worldwide. Christina was another indomitable woman in her own right, acquiring property stretching as far as Cape Point.

After the death of Christina Diemer, her youngest son, Nicolaas Russouw, continued to farm the land from 1765 to 1801. He built the fine new gable in the front of the Manor House, the only surviving example of its type in the Cape Peninsula. It is a convex-concave or "holbol" outlined by heavy mouldings in a small keystone.

The farm changed hands to Johannes Adriaan Louw in 1842. Steenberg remained property of the Louw family for a further three generations until it was purchased by J.C.I (Johannesburg Consolidated Investments) in 1990.

This consortium arranged for the painstaking restoration of the historic 'Werf' area of the farm. This includes the circa 1740 Manor House, Jonkershuis (young mans' house), barn and the original wine cellar, now Catharina's restaurant - dedicated to the woman who pioneered it all. The farmstead has been declared a National Monument in terms of the War Graves and National Monument Act of 1969. A state of the art winery replaced the old one in 1995, paving the road forward for Steenberg Vineyards.

In November 2001, Steenberg Hotel and Winery was purchased by Mantis Collection, co-owned by Adrian Gardiner and Dr Gaston Savoi. In 2005 Steenberg Hotel was bought out by Graham Beck's Kangra Holdings.