Franschhoek (Afrikaans for "French Corner") is a small town in the Western Cape Province and one of the oldest towns of the Republic of South Africa. It is about 75 km from Cape Town and has a population of slightly over 15,000 people. In 1688 French Huguenot refugees began populating the valley establishing farms and businesses bringing with them their experience in agriculture. The name of the area soon changed to le Coin Français ("the French Corner"), and later to Franschhoek (Dutch for "French Corner"), with many of the settlers naming their new farms after the areas in France from which they came. These farms have grown into renowned wineries.