Fouriesburg

Fouriesburg
Fouriesburg
Coordinates	28 ° 37 ′  S , 28 ° 13 ′  E Coordinates: 28 ° 37 ′  S , 28 ° 13 ′  E
Basic data
Country	South Africa
province	free State
District	Thabo Mofutsanyana
local community	Dihlabeng
height	1787 m
Residents	664 (2011)
founding	1892
Dutch Reformed Church in Fouriesburg

Fouriesburg is a city in the South African province of Free State . It is located in the municipality Dihlabeng Local Municipality in the district Thabo Mofutsanyana .

geography

In 2011 Fouriesburg had 664 inhabitants, the township of Mashaeng, a little to the west, had 12,310 inhabitants. The place is about nine kilometers north of the Caledon , which forms the border with Lesotho here. It is also located in the Brandwater Basin, a basin between the Witteberge and Rooiberge mountain ranges , which is characterized by sandstone cliffs . After Butha-Buthe in Lesotho there are south about 19 kilometers to Bethlehem in the north about 50 kilometers and after Ficksburg in the southwest 53 km.

history

In the 18th century, the then head of the Bakoena , Monaheng, founded the place Fothane on the site of today's Fouriesburg. In the second half of the 19th century, the Boers advanced east, so that the area came under their control. The place Fouriesburg was founded in 1892. A sandstone church was inaugurated in 1893. The place was named after the farmer Christoffel Fourie, a Boer who gave land to the Orange Free State that was temporarily used as the provisional capital during the Second Boer War by President Marthinus Theunis Steyn . Several fighting took place around Fouriesburg. Boer troops broke through a British siege ring with President Steyn there.

Economy and Transport

The main industries are agriculture - including the cultivation of cherries - and tourism.

Fouriesburg is on the R26 between Ficksburg and Bethlehem. The R711 leads northeast towards Clarens . A side road leads across the border crossing Caledonspoort to Butha-Buthe. The Fouriesburg freight station is located several kilometers northwest of the village on the Bloemfontein – Bethlehem railway line , which was also used by passenger trains until around 1990.

Personalities

• Mohlomi (1720 (?) - 1816), Bakoena head and healer, born in Fothane

Web links

Commons : Fouriesburg  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Portrait at sa-venues.com (English)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Fouriesburg , accessed July 7, 2017
2. ↑ Mashaeng , accessed July 7, 2017
3. ↑ Mohlomi Lecture 2012 (English), accessed on February 6, 2014
4. ↑ Brief message at sahistory.co.za (English), accessed on February 6, 2014