Bloemfontein

Free State

Bloemfontein is the economic and cultural centre of the Free State. Some major companies in the food, furniture and glass industries are headquartered here. The cultural offerings are well known far beyond the town borders. The performances of the Sand du Plessis Theatre, one of the most modern in the world, are regularly fully booked weeks in advance.



Please find visitor information and accommodation on the Bloemfontein INFO page.

Bloemfontein, the City of Roses, is a modern city in the midst of a vast rural area. The beginnings of the town go back to 1840, when Johannes Nicolaas Brits arrived here with a Boer Trek and started a farm. Because the spring on his plot was covered with wild flowers, he called the farm Bloemfontein, meaning flowering spring. Soon the place grew into a bigger settlement, and two years later it became the capital of the newly founded province "Oranje Vrystaat". Some administration buildings were erected, and today the many well preserved historical buildings characterise the centre of town. Besides its function as provincial capital, Bloemfontein plays another important role as the third capital of South Africa, because it is the seat of the South African Supreme Court.



Top: Aerial shot of Bloemfontein.
Centre: Court building.
Left: Sand-du-Plessis theater.

Bloemfontein is the economic and cultural centre of the Free State. Some major companies in the food, furniture and glass industries are headquartered here. The cultural offerings are well known far beyond the town borders. The performances of the Sand du Plessis Theatre, one of the most modern in the world, are regularly fully booked weeks in advance.



Please find visitor information and accommodation on the Bloemfontein INFO page.