Bloemfontein, also known as Bloem, is the capital and the largest city of the Free State province in South Africa. It is often, and has been traditionally, referred to as the country's "judicial capital", alongside the legislative capital Cape Town and administrative capital Pretoria, although the highest court in South Africa, the Constitutional Court, has been in Johannesburg since 1994.
The Sotho, also known as the Basotho, are a prominent Sotho-Tswana ethnic group with roots in Southern Africa. They primarily inhabit the regions of Lesotho and South Africa.
The Free State, formerly known as the Orange Free State, is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bloemfontein, which is also South Africa's judicial capital. Its historical origins lie in the Boer republic called the Orange Free State and later the Orange Free State Province.
Bethlehem is a city in the eastern Free State province of South Africa that is situated on the Liebenbergs river along a fertile valley just north of the Rooiberg Mountains on the N5 road. It is the fastest growing city in the Free state province, with its target of being the third largest city after Bloemfontein and Welkom.
Clarens is a small town situated in the foothills of the Maluti Mountains in the Free State province of South Africa and nicknamed the "Jewel of the Eastern Free State". It was established in 1912 and named after the town of Clarens in Switzerland where exiled Paul Kruger spent his last days. It is situated 336 km from Johannesburg, 284 km from Bloemfontein, 389 km from Durban.
Clocolan, officially renamed Hlohlolwane, was established in 1906, is a small town in the Free State Province of South Africa. The Basotho called the place Hlohlolwane. New inhabitants mispronounced the name and called it Clocolan.
Ficksburg is a town situated at the foot of the 1,750 meter high Imperani Mountain in Free State province, South Africa. The town was founded by General Johan Fick in 1867 who won the territory in the Basotho Wars. He laid out many erven and plots that could be bought at a reasonable price. It is located on the north bank of the Mohokare River, which separates it from the town of Maputsoe in Lesotho. The town was later proclaimed a municipality in 1891. The last Governor-General of the Union of South Africa and the first State President of South Africa, Charles Robberts Swart was imprisoned here by the British in 1914 and released one day before his scheduled execution.
Fouriesburg is a small town situated at the junction of the R711 and R26 routes in the eastern Free State, South Africa. It is near the Maluti Mountains and only 10 km from Caledon's Poort border post, which gives access to Lesotho.
Harrismith is a large town in the Free State province of South Africa. It was named for Sir Harry Smith, a 19th-century British governor and high commissioner of the Cape Colony. It is situated by the Wilge River, alongside the N3 highway, about midway between Johannesburg, about 275 km to the north-west, and Durban to the southeast. The town is located at the junction of the N5 highway, which continues westward towards the provincial capital Bloemfontein, some 340 km to the south-west. This important crossroads in South Africa's land trade routes is surrounded by mesas and buttes. It is located at the base of one of these called Platberg.
Rosendal is a small farming town and arts colony 45 km north of Ficksburg in the Free State province of South Africa which was founded in 1908. It has become a popular tourist destination, known for spectacular scenery, including the surrounding Witteberg mountains, and is home to a community of artists and small business owners. The town has a number of attractive buildings and restored early-20th-century homes. The quality of architectural design for newly built homes is notable, adding to the town's attractive character. This includes a number of "Tiny Homes" - less than 100 square meters - and which has earned Rosendal a reputation for becoming South Africa's tiny home capital. There are several art galleries, cafes and good restaurants as well as a heritage district of restored buildings in the former downtown. Until recently live theatre was hosted here by well known Afrikaans language actor, Chris Van Niekerk.
Rouxville is a small wool and cattle farming town in the Free State province of South Africa and is situated on the N6 national route. The town is at the centre of the wool producing area of the Transgariep.
Smithfield is a small town in the Free State province of South Africa. Founded in 1848 in the Orange River Sovereignty, the town is situated in a rural farming district and is the third oldest town in present-day Free State, after Philippolis and Winburg.
Motheo was, until the municipal elections of 18 May 2011, a district of the Free State province of South Africa. At the time of the 2011 elections it was disestablished as a consequence of Mangaung Local Municipality being upgraded to a metropolitan municipality.
The Volksblad is an Afrikaans-language daily newspaper published in Bloemfontein, South Africa, and distributed in the Free State and Northern Cape provinces, where it is the largest Afrikaans daily. It is South Africa's oldest Afrikaans The paper is owned by Media24.
Matjhabeng Municipality is a local municipality within the Lejweleputswa District Municipality, in the Free State province of South Africa. The municipality includes Welkom, Virginia, Odendaalsrus and Allanridge. Matjhabeng is a Sesotho word meaning "where nations meet". It is derived from the migrant labour system where people from various countries like Lesotho, Mozambique, etc. met to work in the mines.
Bethlehem Hydro owns and operates two small hydro power plants situated in the Dihlabeng Local Municipality in the Free State province of South Africa. The scheme utilizes the water supplied to South Africa by the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, which releases water into the As River via a tunnel outlet near the town of Clarens. South Africa has limited potential for hydro energy due to low average annual rainfall making projects like Bethlehem Hydro rare. The project was identified in 1999 and developed by NuPlanet Project Development. The two power stations in the scheme will cut back carbon dioxide emissions by 33,000 tons per year by reducing the demand for traditional fossil-fuel power stations.
Orange Free State Command was a command of the South African Army, active from c. 1933 to c. 1999. Its headquarters was at Bloemfontein, seemingly for a period at the Tempe airfield, later to become the Tempe Military Base.
For thousands of years, a pilgrimage has been made by the Basotho people to a network of sacred caves to communicate with the spiritual world. The caves also contain dinosaur footprints and ancient rock paintings. The caves are located between the eastern parts of the Free State and Lesotho. These sacred caves are often described as 'the key to religion' in Southern Africa.
The Brandwater Basin is the drainage basin of the Brandwater River, a tributary of the Grootspruit River in the south-east of Orange Free State, South Africa, north of Lesotho. The basin is situated south of Bethlehem and south-east of Senekal, between the Witteberg to the west and north, the Rooiberge to the east, and the Drakensberg over the Caledon River to the south. It is also northwest of the Slaapkrans Basin and the Maloti Mountains on the northern border of Lesotho. Towns in the Brandwater Basin are Fouriesburg, founded in 1892, and Clarens, established in 1912.
