Victoria West is named after the British Queen Victoria

Architecture

De Oude Pastorie was built in 1846 and the oldest building in Victoria West. The Anglican Church was built   in 1869 and has stained glass windows. The Dutch Reformed Church dates from 1847. The local newspaper, the Victoria West Messenger, was published since 1876 in the Print Shop.

Museums

The town museum is a regional museum, with exhibits of fish fossils. One fossil is estimated to be 250 million years old.

For rugby fanatics, there is the Mannetjies Roux rugby-museum. He played rugby for the Springboks in the 1970s.

Hiking trail

The Moonlight Hill walking trail offers a panoramic view over the village and environment.

Game farms

There are several game farms in the Victoria West region, many offering hunting trips.

Annual festivals

An annual Agricultural Show is held in February each year.

The Karoo Golf Classic is held annually in May.

Anannual South African Film Festival is held in September in the Apollo Theatre. This art deco theatre of the 1950s has a red velvet curtain that opens for films unlike modern theatres with no curtains. The oringal Apollo Theatre was built in 1928 by Andrew Aristides Bassil, a Greek immigrant who arrived in the town in 1823. In the 1950s it was rennovated according to the then fashionable art deco style. It was declared a heritage site by the National Monuments Council.

Victoria West Nature Reserve

The Victoria West Nature Reserve is home to the endangered Riverine Rabbit.

History

Victoria West was established as a church centre in 1843 on portions of the farms Zeekoegat and Kapokfontein. The first stands were sold in 1850. During the diamond rush in the 1880s Victoria West was used as a staging post en route to Kimberley and other areas.

The village was first just called Victoria, but to avoid confusion with another Victoria in the Eastern Cape, the name became Victoria West in 1855.

Victoria West was named after the British Queen Victoria (24 May 1819 - 22 January 1901), who ruled the British Empire for 64 years. She became Queen at the age of 18, when her father, King William IV died.

Nature

Victoria West is loacted within the WWF AT1314 Nama Karoo or Great Karoo ecoregion.

The region has 2'147 species of which 377 are endemic.

Bird watching

The Black Eagle is found in the area.

Animals

The Riverine Rabbit (Bunolagus monticularis - Lepus m.) is an endangered species. Its habitat is dense riverine scrub along the seasonal rivers of the central Karoo Desert. Between 1948 and 1979 none were spotted, and were assumed to be extinct. Most of its habitat has been destroyed y agriculture.

Other game that can be seen in the area are: eland, zebra

Climate

The area is arid, with an annual rainfall ranging between between 100 mm and 500 mm. The lowest rainfall was measured in 1922, with 26 mm. Rainstorms often lead to floods. Such a flood killed 62 people in 1871.

Economy

Farming: wool, especially from Merino and Dorper sheep and Angora goats.