Tokai wine region in South Africa

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South Africa is well known for its wines and sparkling wines. No wonder one district of Cape Town bears the name Tokai, after the Hungarian wine-growing city Tokaj. The district is located in the southwestern part of the city, next to the mountains. The district originally did not belong to the city, with vineyards and cellars.

However, after the World War II, returning soldiers needed to be provided with new housing, so the area was built. Although there are no wineries or vineyards in the district, it still retains the Tokai name, a suburban area now one of the more developed districts.

The town of Tokaj in northern Hungary is the name of the wine region, which played a major role in the production and trade of wine, but at the same time its strategic location as a transport hub has an outstanding importance. The area itself is first mentioned as a wine region in 1067, which has now become a World Heritage Site.

 

Hungarians in South Africa

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Hungarians live all over the world, as well as in South Africa. The Hungarians of Johannesburg and the roots of the Hungarian Alliance of South Africa date back to 1932, when the adventurous Hungarians who came here for gold and diamonds and the refugees of Trianon founded the alliance.

During World War II, the local authorities ceased to operate the association because the authorities thought that the local Hungarians’ association could pose a risk. After the war and then in 1956, after the revolution in Hungary, South Africa welcomed new Hungarians who reorganized the local Hungarians. However, the currently functioning community center, the Hungarian Estate, was only built in the 1970s, with the help of local Hungarians.

The majority of the local Hungarians are still Hungarians and their descendants who emigrated from Hungary in 1956, but more came in the 1960s and 1970s as well. In the 2000s, they came mainly from international companies, as it employees, but in their case, their contracts applied for a limited period and then they returned to Hungary.

Previously, there were two Hungarian clubs in the country, one was the favorite gathering place of the more affluent and educated class, as it is today referred to as the elite club, while the other was for the less well-off Hungarians. Many clubs in downtown are no longer in operation, but its regular audience, or at least part of it, started to visit the Hungarian Estate.