Haenertsburg History
Known as the Capital of the Land of the Silver Mists, this picturesque village lies just off the R71 between Tzaneen and Pietersburg. Haenertsburg named after Carl Ferdinand Haenert who was born near Erfurt in Germany. He came to South Africa in 1857 to hunt Big Game and fell in love with South Africa and never returned to Germany.

He initially settled near the historic town of Schoemansdal and was the first ever coffee grower in the Transvaal. With the discovery of gold at Eersteling, Haenert began prospecting and he crisscrossed the Transvaal in his search for the precious metal. In 1880 he made his discoveries in the Houtboschberg ( Wolkberg & woodbush area), which led to a small gold rush and the proclamations and the founding of the village in 1887.

When the village was surveyed, Haenert was one of the first people to acquire stands and he built a house on the corner of Kerk & Kantoor streets. This was later the site of the old Haenertsburg Hotel, sadly not standing today. In 1887 he was nominated by the Government to the Divisional council for the ward of Houtboschberg and was also appointed as the Postal agent for Haenertsburg.

Haenert died in Pietersburg on the28th December 1894 and was buried in the old Pietesburg Cemetery where his grave can still be seen.