Stellenbosch Local Municipality (also known as Stellenbosch Municipality) is the local municipality that governs the towns of Stellenbosch, Franschhoek and Pniel, and the surrounding rural areas, in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It covers an area of and, , had a population of 155,733 people in 43,420 households. It falls within the Cape Winelands District Municipality. Geography The municipality covers an area of around the towns of Stellenbosch and Franschhoek. To the west and southwest it extends as far as the urban edge of the Cape Town metropolitan area, while to the east and southeast it is bounded by mountain ranges. The western part of the municipality around Stellenbosch and the eastern part in the Franschhoek valley are separated by mountains through which the Helshoogte Pass travels. The Stellenbosch Municipality abuts on the Drakenstein Municipality to the north, the Breede Valley Municipality to the northeast, the Theewaterskloof Municipality to the southeast and the City of Cape Town to the west and southwest. About half of the residents of the municipality live in Stellenbosch and its suburbs, which have a total population of 77,476. The second-largest town is Franschhoek with 15,616 residents. Klapmuts (pop. 7,703) is situated on the northern edge of the municipality next to the N1 national road. In the Helshoogte Pass between Stellenbosch and Franschhoek are the villages of Pniel (pop. 1,975), Kylemore (pop. 4,328) and Languedoc (pop. 4,289). Other rural settlements in the municipality are Jamestown (pop. 2,840), Koelenhof (pop. 302), Lynedoch (pop. 108), Raithby (pop. 908) and Wiesiesdraai (pop. 1,727). History At the end of the apartheid era, the area that is today the Stellenbosch Municipality formed part of the Western Cape Regional Services Council (RSC). The towns of Stellenbosch and Franschhoek were governed by municipal councils elected by their white residents. The coloured residents of Idas Valley and Cloetesville (Stellenbosch) and Groendal (Franschhoek) were governed by management committees subordinate to the white councils; those resident in Johannesdal, Kylemore and Klapmuts South by management committees subordinate to the RSC. Kayamandi was governed by a town council established under the Black Local Authorities Act, 1982. The former mission station of Pniel was governed by a board of management. While the negotiations to end apartheid were taking place a process was established for local authorities to agree on voluntary mergers. The Franschhoek Municipality and Groendal Management Committee took part in this process, merging to create the