In front of you is a church that for years could not admit to being one. The Dutch East India Company allowed public worship only for the Dutch Reformed Church, and the hundreds of German, Danish and Scandinavian Lutherans living at the Cape had to make do with the odd pastor passing through on a ship.

1A very busy warehouse

Martin Melck, a wealthy merchant of German origin, put up a building on this street that was, on paper, a warehouse. In 1774 he handed it over to his fellow believers. The authorities knew perfectly well what went on inside and chose to look the other way. After decades of petitions, on 18 October 1779 the Company finally authorised a Lutheran congregation. The first official service was held on 10 December 1780.

Between 1787 and 1792 the sculptor Anton Anreith transformed the building: he designed the facade and carved the pulpit, considered one of his masterpieces. By 1818 the walls were in danger of collapse and the church had to be almost entirely rebuilt; the tower was added then, something Lutheran churches were denied in the Netherlands.

2Hus's swan

In the Dutch Lutheran tradition the church's emblem is a swan, and Anreith carved it in several places in the building. The explanation is a legend.

Before he was burned at the stake in 1415, Jan Hus, whose surname means ‘goose’ in Czech, is said to have declared: “Today you roast a goose, but in a hundred years a swan will come that you cannot roast.” Lutherans saw that swan as Luther.

3What to look for

  • The white swan above the door, the Lutheran emblem.
  • The tower of 1820, the great novelty of the rebuilding.
  • The Martin Melck House, next door, linked to the benefactor.

Documented

Martin Melck handed over the building in 1774; the VOC authorised the Lutheran congregation on 18 October 1779, the first service was held on 10 December 1780 and Anreith worked on the church between 1787 and 1792.

Oral tradition

The swan prophecy attributed to Jan Hus is a Lutheran tradition without direct documentary support.

Sources and credits

Evangelical Lutheran Church Strand Street, history of the congregation; Heritage Western Cape / SAHRA, statement of significance for the Strand Street complex; South African History Online (SAHO), ‘Lutheran Church, Martin Melck House and Sexton House’.

Photos:

  • Facade of the Strand Street Lutheran Church with its clock tower: Debbielouise, CC BY-SA 3.0.

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