Wepener
| Wepener | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Coordinates | 29 ° 44 ′ 0 ″ S , 27 ° 2 ′ 0 ″ E | ||
| Basic data | |||
| Country | South Africa | ||
| free State | |||
| metropolis | Mangaung | ||
| ISO 3166-2 | ZA-FS | ||
| surface | 36.3 km² | ||
| Residents | 1281 (2011) | ||
| density | 35.3 Ew. / km² | ||
 Aerial view of Wepener
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Wepener is a city with 1281 inhabitants (status: 2011). The township Qibing with 8,272 inhabitants is neighboring . Wepener is located in the metropolitan municipality of Mangaung , Free State Province in South Africa . Until 2016 it belonged to the Naledi community , Xhariep district . It is on the R702 road, 105 kilometers southeast of Bloemfontein , near the Lesotho border .
The city is named after the Boer commander Louw Wepener , who was killed in the Boers' war against the Basotho in 1865 under their leader Moshoeshoe I on Thaba Bosiu . Wepener was founded in 1867 on the banks of the Jammerdrif, a tributary of the Caledon . Today the city is the economic center of the agricultural community with cattle and sheep farms, dairy farming, wheat and corn cultivation.
history
Around 1890, the Jammerdrif Mill in Wepener was the largest grain mill in South Africa. Up to 100 ox carts were loaded and unloaded a day. Due to this lively trade, the construction of an iron bridge over the Jammerdrif became necessary in 1891, which was built by Scottish engineers and craftsmen. The mill was destroyed by fire in 1970.
Attractions
- Caledon Nature Reserve
- Caledon River Bridge , a massive sandstone bridge (National Monument)
- City Hall , historic building from 1927
- Jammerdrift Battlesite ; several fights took place here during the Second Boer War , with a large military cemetery
- Louw Wepener Memorial , a bronze statue, erected on the 100th anniversary of Louw Wepener's death
- San - rock carvings at Ventershoek Farm
Personalities
- Vincenz Duncker (* 1884; † after 1908), athlete and medalist at the 1906 Olympic Games, born in Wepener
- Jacobus Johannes Fouché (1898–1980), President of South Africa from 1968 to 1975, born in Wepener
Web links
- Information about Wepener (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Wepener , accessed on July 8, 2017
- ↑ Qibing , accessed July 8, 2017
- ↑ Mills of Southern Africa ( Memento of March 26, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) (English), accessed on October 9, 2012