Prince Albert (Afrikaans: Prins Albert) is a small town in the Western Cape in South Africa. It is located on the southern edge of the Great Karoo, at the foot of the Swartberg mountains. In recent years the moniker the “Franschhoek of the Karoo” has been used to describe the town’s appeal to the art community and wealthier South Africans, many of whom have become residents of the town.
Prince Albert was founded in 1762 on a farm called Queekvalleij. Originally known as Albertsburg, when it obtained municipal status in 1845 it was renamed Prince Albert in honour of Queen Victoria‘s consort, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg. Prince Albert was historically part of the Cape Colony.
During the latter part of the century, a nugget of gold was discovered on a farm in the area. Due to the fact that a similar occurrence had led to the Gold Rush in the Witwatersrand, this new discovery precipitated a similar population boom. However, the gold yield turned out to be minimal. Prince Albert became a British garrison during the Second Boer War in 1899. The town was the site of several clashes between the British and the Boers during this period.
The town hosts a number of private art galleries and relatively large community of artists. Since the mid-1990s the town has experienced an economic boom which has been driven by the increasing number of artists and retirees moving to it.
Prince Albert has a small local population, mainly engaged in farming and tourism. The village has thirteen National Monuments.
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