Bethlehem (South Africa)
| Bethlehem | |||
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| Coordinates | 28 ° 13 '59 " S , 28 ° 18' 25" E | ||
| Basic data | |||
| Country | South Africa | ||
| free State | |||
| District | Thabo Mofutsanyana | ||
| ISO 3166-2 | ZA-FS | ||
| local community | Dihlabeng | ||
| height | 1706 m | ||
| surface | 27.8 km² | ||
| Residents | 16,236 (2011) | ||
| density | 583.4 Ew. / km² | ||
| founding | 1864 | ||
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Bethlehem is a city in Dihlabeng Municipality , Thabo Mofutsanyana District , Free State Province in South Africa . It has 16,236 inhabitants (as of 2011; census). The surrounding townships Bohlokong, Thorisong, Vuka and Old Location together had 60,431 inhabitants in the same year. Bethlehem is located at an altitude of 1706 meters at the northern foot of the Rooiberge , a promontory of the Drakensberg . Bethlehem is an agricultural center (wheat cultivation, sheep farming).
The city was founded in 1864 by devout Voortrekkers . It is named after Bethlehem , whose Hebrew name Beit Lechem בית לחם means "house of bread". The river flowing through the city was appropriately named Jordan.
Bethlehem is on the railway line from Bloemfontein to Durban and is used for freight and passenger traffic. Another route, which is only operated by freight traffic, leads north towards Johannesburg .
Attractions
- Pretoriuskloof Nature Reserve
- many species of birds can be seen on the banks of the Jordan
- Wolhuterskop Nature Reserve
- 4 km away, 800 hectares in size; to see antelopes, gazelles, birds, 15 km of hiking trails
- National Hot Air Balloon Championship
- every year in May / June
Personalities
- Jimmy Kruger (1917–1987), politician, Minister for Justice, Police and the Prison Service