Marburg, South Africa

Marburg
Marburg
Marburg
Coordinates: 30°43′S 30°23′E / 30.717°S 30.383°E / -30.717; 30.383
CountrySouth Africa
ProvinceKwaZulu-Natal
DistrictUgu
MunicipalityRay Nkonyeni
Main PlacePort Shepstone
Area
  Total
1.5 km2 (0.6 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)
  Total
1,355
  Density900/km2 (2,300/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)
  Black African9.1%
  Coloured3.4%
  Indian/Asian87.0%
  White0.1%
  Other0.4%
First languages (2011)
  English88.3%
  Zulu6.1%
  Xhosa2.0%
  Afrikaans1.9%
  Other1.7%
Time zoneUTC+2 (SAST)
PO box
4252

Marburg is a settlement in the Ugu District Municipality in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa, situated approximately 112 kilometres south-west of the city of Durban. Marburg was a Norwegian settlement given the name Marburg for a nearby German mission. The Norwegian founders played a significant role in the development of Marburg and Port Shepstone, which it forms part of today. The British colonial government gave the settlers a free voyage to South Africa and also houses and 100 acres of land. Marburg was the only successful Scandinavian settlement in South Africa.

Marburg was established in 1882 by Norwegian immigrants and was likely named after Marburg, a city 74 km north of Frankfurt in Germany.