The Huguenot Memorial Museum documents “the gripping tale of the ruthless persecution of the Huguenots in France and the settlement of approximately three hundred of them at the Cape of Good Hope in the late the seventeenth century.

Although they lost their language, the Huguenots made a larger contribution to the material and social development of the settlement at the Cape than the free burghers from the Dutch Republic or the German states”. Historian, Hermann Giliomee.

The Huguenot Monument in Franschhoek was inaugurated on 17 April, 1948. With its simplicity and elegance of line, the monument displays a historic French character.

The female figure, with the Bible in her right hand and a broken chain in her left hand, personifies the spirit of religious freedom. The fleur-de-lis (French lily) on her robe represents a noble spirit and character.