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Introduction:There can hardly be a more appropriate place in which to welcome visitors to the second oldest town in South Africa than this building, one of a group of historical buildings surrounding the village green, better known as the Braak. A private dwelling, built in 1797 by Antonie Fick, the grandson of a German immigrant, it is a good example of the famous Cape Dutch style of architecture, which experts have described as the most lyrical architectural style in the world. The South African artist, J H Pierneef, described its gable as one of the most beautiful in the Cape. . This "Burger House" is typical of the dwellings of well-to-do citizens or burghers of the old Cape and recalls the elegant way of living of the 17th and 18th centuries.
The house was in a state of decay when the Town Council of Stellenbosch, to whom it had been presented by the State, decided to restore it in 1959 at considerable cost. As a service to the community of Stellenbosch and because they keenly support the policy of restoring and preserving classic examples of the Cape Dutch period, the Rembrandt Group of Companies agreed to rent the building for such a period and for such a sum as would cover the cost of restoration and other incidental expenses, which would have accrued to the Municipality of Stellenbosch.
We have tried to furnish the
" Burger House" in such a way as to increase as far as possible the atmosphere
of this type of house in its heyday.
Yung Chêng porcelain decorated in Famille Rose enamels. Design probably based on West Friesland Ducatoon of 1728, commemorating the centenary of the Siege of Batavia
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