Old-school elegance: Karoo-style in Ladismith

Consider, for a moment, the glorious Otto Hager Church at the base of Church Street in Ladismith, where much of the Klein Karoo’s remarkably diverse architecture is to be found.

It is a pure example of a building that is pleasing to look at and photograph. Its story is also great: the brilliance of Carl Otto Hager, designer of more than 25 Neo-Gothic styled churches in South Africa, the fact that it was rebuilt twice, that it was used as a lucerne store by farmers for decades, and that the steeple was also rebuilt. That it is now the home of Ladismith Tourism, with a small but interesting museum attached.

Down Church Street

Church Street deserves a slow drive, a slow walk, or maybe several of both. There are the missionary churches, simple thatched cottages and a number of old Karoo houses with Ladismith Eyes for summer ventilation. One householder has incorporated a Ladismith Eye into his gate.

As you walk through the town, you can reel off the various styles: Victorian, Georgian, Edwardian, Art Deco, Karoo Style, Ladismith Style, Ostrich Palace pomp, Cape Dutch Revival. There’s even a Lithuanian-style synagogue that is now tragically falling apart.

Architectural guru Hans Fransen describes the classic Ladismith Style as: “Flat roofed with a low second storey pierced by round ventilator windows.”

We rise in the half-dark and stroll slowly around town, photographing dwellings in the were-light. In the evenings, we work in the twilight hour. There is a sense of triumph as one finds another interesting bargeboard, holbol or Flemish gable, a modest Feather Boom mansion, a finial, a fishtail turret, and unusual hutters.

Curtain twitching

Sometimes people having their first cup of coffee and a rusk on their stoep in the morning, spot us and rush back inside. Others strike up conversations.

One woman pulls over and says she lives in a nearby labourer’s cottage and has never been happier, growing her own food and being in harmony with the land. Her former city life entailed renting out costumes to advertising film crews.

Then we see a woman peering out from a sweet little house wedged between a few Ladismith beauties. She turns out to be Rebecca Kannemeyer, who has been living here for 31 years. She has come out onto the street to chat with her neighbour who lives opposite.

The departing sun lights up the contrails overhead, the remains of some city-to-city flight. We wish Rebecca and her neighbour well and continue, keeping a beady eye out for interesting buildings, with an interesting array of Ladismith Eyes keeping watch on us.

Klein Karoo Magic (390 pages, full colour) by Chris Marais and Julienne du Toit will be released in mid-May, 2026. To pre-order your author-signed copy (R400 including SA courier service), email Julie at julie@karoospace.co.za