Jan Joubertsgat Bridge

About Jan Joubertsgat Bridge

Jan Joubert’s Gat Bridge is the oldest stone-arched bridge still in use in South Africa. Completed in 1825, it spans 5 metres across a deep ravine (kloof) on the Franschhoek Pass in the Western Cape. Built by Major William Cuthbert Holloway of the Royal Engineers and soldiers of the Royal African Corps, it was the first stone-arched bridge constructed in the country. The bridge is named after Jan Joubert, a frontiersman who died at this site after a wagon accident caused by a broken "disselboom" (draught pole). It was declared a National Monument in 1979 and is now a Provincial Heritage Resource.