| Prince Albert | |
| Native Name: | Prins Albert |
| Pushpin Map: | South Africa Western Cape#South Africa |
| Coordinates: | -33.2253°N 22.03°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | South Africa |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | Western Cape |
| Subdivision Type2: | District |
| Subdivision Name2: | Central Karoo |
| Subdivision Type3: | Municipality |
| Subdivision Name3: | Prince Albert |
| Subdivision Type4: | Main Place |
| Established Title: | Established |
| Established Date: | 1842[1] |
| Leader Title: | Councillor |
| Area Footnotes: | [2] |
| Area Total Km2: | 37.70 |
| Population Total: | 7054 |
| Population As Of: | 2011 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Demographics Type1: | Racial makeup (2011) |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Black African |
| Demographics1 Info1: | 2.2% |
| Demographics1 Title2: | Coloured |
| Demographics1 Info2: | 85.7% |
| Demographics1 Title3: | Indian/Asian |
| Demographics1 Info3: | 0.2% |
| Demographics1 Title4: | White |
| Demographics1 Info4: | 11.3% |
| Demographics1 Title5: | Other |
| Demographics1 Info5: | 0.6% |
| Demographics Type2: | First languages (2011) |
| Demographics2 Title1: | Afrikaans |
| Demographics2 Info1: | 91.7% |
| Demographics2 Title2: | English |
| Demographics2 Info2: | 4.7% |
| Demographics2 Title5: | Other |
| Demographics2 Info5: | 3.6% |
| Timezone1: | SAST |
| Utc Offset1: | +2 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code (street) |
| Postal Code: | 6930 |
| Postal2 Code Type: | PO box |
| Postal2 Code: | 6930 |
| Area Code Type: | Area code |
| Area Code: | 023 |
Prince Albert (Afrikaans: Prins Albert) is a small town in the Western Cape in South Africa. It is located on the southern edge of the Great Karoo, at the foot of the Swartberg mountains. In recent years the moniker the "Franschhoek of the Karoo" has been used to describe the town's appeal to the art community and wealthier South Africans, many of whom have become residents of the town.[3]
Prince Albert was founded in 1762[4] on a farm called Queekvalleij.[5] Originally known as Albertsburg, when it obtained municipal status in 1845 it was renamed Prince Albert in honour of Queen Victoria's consort, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg. Prince Albert was historically part of the Cape Colony.
During the latter part of the century, a nugget of gold was discovered on a farm in the area. Due to the fact that a similar occurrence had led to the Gold Rush in the Witwatersrand, this new discovery precipitated a similar population boom. However, the gold yield turned out to be minimal. Prince Albert became a British garrison during the Second Boer War in 1899. The town was the site of several clashes between the British and the Boers during this period.
The town has a GINI coefficient of 0.56[6],and a Human Development Index of 0.68. Around 20% of the town's working age population is unemployed. The total size of the town's GDPR in 2015 was R418 million (roughly equivalent to US$34.3 million).[7] The three largest economic sectors by value in the town's economy being government services (21%), agriculture (19%), and retail and tourism (15%). Agriculture provides about one third of all jobs in the town with retail and tourism being the second largest employer by sector accounting for 18% of all jobs provided.
The town hosts a number of private art galleries and relatively large community of artists. Since the mid-1990s the town has experienced an economic boom which has been driven by the increasing number of artists and retirees moving to it.
Prince Albert has a small local population, mainly engaged in farming and tourism. The village has thirteen National Monuments.