Bloemfontein
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| Coordinates | 29 ° 7 ′ S , 26 ° 13 ′ E | ||
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| Country | South Africa | ||
| free State | |||
| metropolis | Mangaung | ||
| ISO 3166-2 | ZA-FS | ||
| height | 1395 m | ||
| surface | 236.2 km² | ||
| Residents | 256,185 (2011) | ||
| density | 1,084.7 Ew. / km² | ||
| founding | 1846 | ||
 Parliament in Bloemfontein
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Bloemfontein [ ˈblumfontəɪ̯n, ˈblomfontəɪ̯n ] is the sixth largest city in the Republic of South Africa and the capital of the Free State Province . She is also the seat of the Supreme Court of Appeal ( English Supreme Court of Appeal , Afrikaans Appelhof ). It has 256,185 inhabitants (as of 2011; census) and is the seat of the metropolitan municipality of Mangaung .
name of the city
Because of its abundance of flowers and the annual rose festival, Bloemfontein is also known as the “City of Roses”. The name literally means "flower fountain" in Dutch . According to other sources, the city was named after Jan Bloem, a Koranna leader who lived nearby when it was founded.
history
Before the arrival of European settlers on the Great Trek in 1836, San , Koranna, Griqua and Basotho lived in the Bloemfontein area.
In 1840 the Voortrekker Johannes Nicolaas Brits built a farm on a spring surrounded by flowers, which he called "Bloemfontein".
From 1846, English immigrants began arriving under Major Henry Douglas Warden . In 1850 Bloemfontein was officially founded as a municipality. In 1854 the Boers and British concluded the Bloemfontein Convention , which led to the official establishment of the Boer Republic of Orange Free State , whose seat of government became Bloemfontein.
On March 13, 1900, the place fell into the hands of British troops during the Second Boer War . Ten years later, Bloemfontein became part of the South African Union and in 1945 received city status.
economy
The greater Bloemfontein area has agriculture, mining and manufacturing industries. Major companies from the food, furniture and glass industries have settled in the city. The automobile manufacturer Barnard Motors can also be found here.
population
In the 2011 census, residents described themselves as follows:
- Black 56.1%
- Colored 12.8%
- Indian / Asian 0.8%
- Whiteness 29.8%
- Other 0.5%
Language distribution (2011):
Transport links
The city has been connected to Cape Town by a railroad since 1890 . Another railway line runs north to Johannesburg . Only freight trains run on the route to Bethlehem .
From 1915 to 1937, the city operated the first trolleybus system in South Africa.
With Bloemfontein Airport , the city also has an airport. It is also very well connected to the national road network, with direct motorway connections to Cape Town and Johannesburg. The national roads N1 , N6 and coming from Maseru the N8 lead to the city .
education
Bloemfontein is the seat of the University of the Freestate, which was founded in 1904 and has around 20,000 students.
Attractions
Naval Hill is a hill in the middle of the city where giraffes , ostriches , antelopes and many other herbivores live. From there you also have a good view of the city. Other attractions on Naval Hill include the Natural History Museum and Botanical Gardens.
There are numerous parks, such as Kings Park with more than 4,000 varieties of roses. The City Hall is one of the older buildings of different architectural styles . It is a symbol of the city and was built in 1935 from marble and teak . The First Raadsaal , where the People's Council once held its meetings, has been preserved in its original condition .
The Freshford House Museum depicts the living conditions of a wealthy family around 1900. Contemporary works by South African artists can be viewed in the Oliewenhuis Art Gallery .
Other attractions include the Women's Monument , National Museum , President Brand Street , the National Afrikaans Museum and the Zoological Garden.
climate
Winter in Bloemfontein lasts from May to August, and summer is from October to February. The winter months are dry with average rainfall of less than 30 mm. Here the maximum daily temperatures reach values of 16 ° C to 20 ° C, the mean nocturnal minimum values reach freezing point, whereby night frost is not uncommon. In the summer months there are frequent downpours, the mean monthly rainfall is between 50 mm and over 100 mm. The daily maximum temperatures reach mean values of just over 30 ° C in midsummer, the daily minimum values average around 16 ° C.
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Monthly average temperatures and rainfall for Bloemfontein
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Sports
Bloemfontein is home to the Free State Cheetahs rugby union team and hosted six games of the 2010 World Cup .
sons and daughters of the town
- JRR Tolkien (1892-1973), British writer (The Lord of the Rings)
- Bram Fischer (1908–1975), civil rights activist
- Winkie Direko (1929–2012), politician and Prime Minister of the Free State Province
- Maretha Maartens (* 1945), writer
- Linda Mvusi (* 1955), actress and architect
- Frances Beatrice Marshoff (* 1957), politician and Prime Minister of the Free State Province
- Reinhard Zöllner (* 1961), German Japanologist
- Zola Budd (born 1966), track and field athlete
- Marcos Ondruska (* 1972), tennis player
- Ryk Neethling (* 1977), Olympic champion in swimming
- Shaun Morgan (* 1978), singer in the grunge band Seether
- Ronel van Wyk (* 1978), racing cyclist
- Gert Fouche (* 1980), racing cyclist
- Juan Smith (born 1981), rugby player
- Kate Roberts (born 1983), professional triathlete
- Fritz Wolmarans (* 1986), tennis player
Web links
Wikinews: Bloemfontein - on the news- History of Bloemfontein at sahistory.org.za (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ 2011 census , accessed on November 24, 2013.
- ↑ Bridget Hilton-Barber: Weekends with Legends. Spearhead, Claremont 2001, ISBN 0-86486-471-X , p. 98 (reading sample, books.google.de ).
- ↑ southafrica-travel.net: Bloemfontein, Free State.
- ^ Census 2011: Main Place: Bloemfontein. Retrieved May 4, 2020 .
- ↑ wetterkontor.de