Bloemfontein was one of the biggest cities in South Africa. The city was selected as one of the 9 host cities for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. The Free State stadium was slightly upgraded to conform with FIFA regulations. I’ve not visited this city since 1997, but from what I’ve heard it’s gotten considerably bigger over the last few years.
Maybe I should go an check it out sometime. There seems to be more than just the Cheetahs rugby team in the city.
Here are 15 Interesting Facts about Bloemfontein
1. Bloemfontein (meaning “fountain of flowers” in Dutch) was founded in 1846 as a fort by Henry Douglas Warden (an English army major).
2. Bloemfontein is the provincial capital of the Free State province and the judicial capital of South Africa. The legislative capital of South Africa is Cape Town and the administrative capital of South Africa is Pretoria.
3. According to 2021 estimates, the city has a population of roughly 578,000 people,
4. Bloemfontein is popularly and poetically known as “the city of roses”. There’s an abundance of roses in the city. An annual rose festival is held here.
5. The city’s Sesotho name is Mangaung, meaning “place of cheetahs”. The city became part of the Mangaung Local Municipality in 2000.
6. Following the Battle of Paardeberg during the Anglo-Boer War (in 1900) British forces captured the city and built a concentration camp nearby to house Boer women and children. Today the National Women’s Memorial on the outskirts of the city pays homage to those that died in the concentration camps during the war in South Africa.
7. Grey College, the third oldest school in South Africa and the oldest school North of the Orange River is situated in this city.
8. Allan Donald (South African cricketer), Francois Steyn (Springbok rugby player), Hansie Cronje (former South African cricket team captain), Os du Rant (Springbok rugby player), Ryk Neethling (Olympic gold medalist swimmer), Shaun Morgan (lead vocalist of the band Seether), Zola Budd (international long distance athlete) and J.R.R. Tolkien (author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings) were all born in Bloemfontein.
9. The largest fire service museum in South Africa is situated at the Ehrlich Park fire station in Bloemfontein.
10. It was forecast at one stage in the 1970`s that, because of the rate of desertification, Bloemfontein would be a part of the Karoo by 2030. Contemporary climatologists are not so sure about this.
11. The city hosts the annual Mangaung African Cultural Festival, also known as Macufe, one of the largest cultural festivals in Africa.
12. The best time to visit Bloemfontein is during the autumn (March to May) and spring (September to November) seasons when the weather is mild and pleasant. Summers (December to February) can be hot, while winters (June to August) can be chilly.
13. Tolkien’s Bloemfontein roots shaped his writing. The grave of Tolkien’s father, Arthur Tolkien, is still identifiable in Bloemfontein’s President Brand Cemetery. Tolkien himself claimed to have few childhood memories of South Africa, except for a vivid encounter with a large spider, an experience he reportedly drew on in his later writing.
14. The Oliewenhuis Art Museum has a royal history. The Oliewenhuis mansion, completed in 1941, served as residence for the Governor General of the Union of South Africa. In 1947, King George VI, his wife and two daughters used it as their residence during their three-day visit to Bloemfontein. After South Africa became a republic in 1961, it became the official residence for State Presidents during visits to the city, before being converted into an art museum in 1985.
15. Franklin Nature Reserve sits in the middle of the city. Atop Naval Hill, the Franklin Nature Reserve is a great place for a walk or a short drive to spot zebras, antelope and giraffes, making it one of the few urban nature reserves in South Africa where you can see big wildlife without leaving the city limits.
Well, there you have it, 15 facts you might not know about Bloemfontein. If there’s something I missed, feel free to add it in the comments below.
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