Mariannhill is a cluster of suburbs and townships in eThekwini Municipality in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. In 1882, Trappist missionary Father Franz Pfanner established Mariannhill Monastery 16 km west of Durban. He promoted local development and opened schools, health clinics, craft workshops, printing presses and farms providing work for hundreds of religious workers and others. The name is derived from those of the Virgin Mary and her mother Saint Anne.