Situated at an elevation of 1,395 m (4,577 ft) above sea level, the city is home to 256,185 (as of 2011)[9] residents and forms part of theMangaung Metropolitan Municipality which has a population of 747,431.[10] It was one of the host cities for the2010 FIFA World Cup.
Bloemfontein is popularly and poetically known as "the city of roses" for its abundance of these flowers and the annual rose festival held there. The city is situated in the middle of the country; hence it is referred to as "Central South Africa".[12][13][14] The city'sSesotho name isMangaung, meaning "place ofcheetahs".
Though historically a!Orana andBarolong settlement, and then aBoer settlement, Bloemfontein was officially founded in 1846 as a fort byBritish Army majorHenry Douglas Warden as a British outpost in the Transoranje region, at that stage occupied by various groups of peoples including !Orana (so-called "Korana" of the ǀHõaǁʼaes, ǀHũdiǁʼaes, Einiǁʼaes, and others),Cape ColonyTrekboers,Griqua (at that time known as "Baasters") andBarolong.
Warden initially chose the site primarily because of its proximity to the main route toWinburg, the spacious open country, and the absence ofhorse sickness. Bloemfontein was the original farm of Johannes Nicolaas Brits, born on 21 February 1790, owner and first inhabitant of Bloemfontein. Johann – as he was known – sold the farm to Major Warden.[15]
As the capital of the Orange Free State Republic, the growth and maturing of the republic resulted in the development of Bloemfontein. The city constructed numerous public buildings that remain in use today, facilitated by the republic's governance and compensation from the British for the loss of the diamond-richGriqua Land area.[17] The old Orange Free State's presidential residence, theOld Presidency, is currently a museum and cultural space in the city.
A railway line was built in 1890 connecting Bloemfontein toCape Town. The railway line provided a centrally locatedrailway station and proved critical to the British in occupying the city later.
The writerJ. R. R. Tolkien was born in the city on 3 January 1892. However, his family leftOrange Free State (nowFree State province, South Africa) following the death of his father,Arthur Tolkien, when Tolkien was three (1895).[18] He recorded that his earliest memories were of "a hot country".[19]
In 1899, the city was the site of theBloemfontein Conference, which failed to prevent the outbreak of theSecond Boer War. The conference was a final attempt to avert a war between Britain and theSouth African Republic, and its failure set the stage for war, which broke out on 11 October 1899.
On 13 March 1900, following theBattle of Paardeberg, the British captured the city and built aconcentration camp nearby to houseBoer women and children. In 1913, theNational Women's Monument was constructed on the outskirts of the city to commemorate all Boer civilians who died in concentration camps during the war.[20][21]
The hill in town was named Naval Hill after thenaval guns brought in by the British to fortify the position against attack.[22]
Due to disagreements over where the Union's capital should be, a compromise was reached that allowed Bloemfontein to hostAppellate Division and become the Union's judicial capital.[24] Bloemfontein was also given financial compensation.[25]
On 8 January 1912, theSouth African Native National Congress (SANNC) was founded in Bloemfontein. The Union of South Africa had not granted rights to black South Africans, causing the organisation's creation. Its primary aim was to fight for the rights of black South Africans.[26] During the implementation ofpass laws, the city saw major demonstrations that forced South African authorities to exempt women from them for nearly four decades.[27]
Waaihoek Wesleyan Church, World Heritage Site (2025)
When the National Party won the1948 South African national government elections, they began implementing the policy known asapartheid. The policy was built on separate development of ethnic groups, and racial segregation was enforced. In Bloemfontein, residential segregation had begun in the 19th century with the passing of Ordinance 1 of 1860, which determined that no non-white, without written permission from the landlord (British government), had the right to occupy urban land in towns where local municipalities did not yet exist. On 3 June 1861, the council demarcated three locations in the following areas; the black population was to move to the area that lay to the right of a neighbourhood that was known as Kaffirfontein, Coloureds were to move to the Waaihoek Black residential area on the eastern outskirts of the town. The inhabitants of these settlements had to pay the so-called hut tax and grazing rights tax.[29] This laid the foundation for the implementation of residential urban segregation as envisaged by the architects of apartheid.
When theSouth Africanapartheid government passed theGroup Areas Act of 1950, the Bloemfontein municipality put into effect changes in the racial set-up of the city. The municipality demolished the Cape Stands residential area, which was occupied by the city'scoloured population, and moved the residents toHeidedal. However, due to Coloureds living in such proximity to black people,intermarriages across racial lines occurred, resulting in a partially mixed population inHeidedal andMangaung. In 1952, the Bloemfontein municipality began building new residential areas for the city's black population. New residential areas to separate ethnic groups such asSotho,Xhosa andTswana were formed. The residential areas were jointly known as Mangaung.[29] Phahameng, aSotho township, was the first formal housing projects to be approved by the municipality in 1956. Physical buffers such as the railway line and roads were put into place to separate black ethnic groups, the white and coloured population. Eleven thousand housing structures, of which approximately 6,000 were government-built rental accommodations, were erected in Mangaung between 1952 and 1968.[30]
In 1968, Mangaung faced severe housing shortages when as many as 3,000 to 6,000 housing units were needed. To counter this problem, a 55 km eastward expansion calledBotshabelo was added in 1979. The Bloemfontein municipality channelled off all black urbanisation toThaba 'Nchu and Botshabelo, which were developed as a source of cheap labour for the city of Bloemfontein. A subsidised bus service was established, and Botshabelo was declared a decentralisation point, meaning it was designated to become an industrial development point to reduce the distance between the place of employment and the place of residence.
In 1988, approximately 14,500 people were commuting daily betweenBotshabelo and Bloemfontein. This meant that 55% of Botshabelo's workforce was employed outside the city.[31] In 1994, after the disestablishment of the apartheid government, Bloemfontein, Botshabelo, and Thaba Nchu became part ofMotheo District Municipality. TheMotheo District Municipality was disestablished on 18 May 2011, and Mangaung was upgraded to become an autonomous metropolitan municipality with Bloemfontein as the main seat.
Until 1994, the city was South Africa's sole judicial capital. It remains the seat for theSupreme Court of Appeal (formerly the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court). The city is also an administrative centre with many private hospitals and educational institutions.
The Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality elects a municipal council for five-year periods through amixed-member proportional representation (MMP) system in which wards elect individual councillors alongside those named from party lists. Voters get two votes: one for a representative to become a ward councillor and the other for a political party. The latter vote distributes seats in the municipal council amongst parties, while the former distributes seats through the individual representatives.
Bloemfontein is located in central South Africa on the southern edge of theHighveld at an elevation of 1,400 metres (4,600 ft), bordering on the semi-arid region of theKaroo. The area is generally flat with occasional hills ("koppies" inAfrikaans), and the general vegetation isHighveld grassland.
Bloemfontein experiences acold semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk), with hot summer days and cool, dry winters with frosty nights. Rainfall usually arrives in the summer months, often in the form of dramatic but short-lived afternoon/evening thunderstorms that serve as a temporary relief from the heat. The city tends to be dry and dusty in winter with freezing nights and mostly mild, sunny days. Frost is very common but snow is rare. Snowfall was reported in August 2006 with snowfalls occurring again at the airport on 26 July 2007. As recently as August 2020 and July 2021 very light snow fell across the city with heavier snowfall on 4 June 2024. In addition, the city's highland elevation allows for exceptional temperature diurnal of about 15–20°C (27–36°F)
Climate data for Bloemfontein, elevation 1,353 m (4,439 ft), (1991−2020 normals)
Bloemfontein'sFree State Stadium is home to tworugby union teams; theCheetahs, who as of 2023 compete as in invited side in theEPCR Challenge Cup,[35] and theFree State Cheetahs who play in the domesticCurrie Cup. The Free State Cheetahs won the Currie Cup in 2005 against theBlue Bulls; they drew the final with the Blue Bulls in 2006 and retained the Currie Cup title in 2007 by beating theGolden Lions, resulting in the Cheetahs remaining Currie Cup champions until 2008 when the failed to make the final for the first time since 2004. 2009 saw the Cheetahs return to the Currie Cup final, but they could not beat the Blue Bulls atLoftus Versfeld. In 2016, the Cheetahs won the Currie Cup after a perfect season, beating the Blue Bulls in Bloemfontein.
TheKnights cricket team representing the Free State and Northern Cape in various series is located atMangaung Oval, part of the Free State Stadium complex. Bloemfontein features as a regular venue for touring international and local cricket teams.[36]
Bloemfontein has amotocross track (tempe) run by the Bloemfontein Off Road Club, as well as ago-kart circuit (M&F Raceway), which was closed down in early 2015.
Bloemfontein has a comprehensive shooting centre 20 km (12 mi) south of the city, offering most forms of shooting, including various clay target, pistol, and rifle disciplines. Bloemfontein's shooting sports community has produced many provincial and national representatives.
Bloemfontein's Metallic Silhouette Shooting Range is one of the topmetallic silhouetteshooting ranges in the world. ThreeIMSSU international championships have been held here :
Every year Bloemfontein, the 'City of Roses', celebrates the 'Bloemfontein Rose Festival', also known as the 'Mangaung Rose Festival', in October—the cool month in which roses in the Free State bloom best.[40] The majority of the events happen at the Loch Logan Waterfront in Bloemfontein.[41][42] The festival attracts rose enthusiasts from all over South Africa and the world to participate in and experience this grand showcase of roses and other local events and attractions.[43] The festival has made Bloemfontein a popular tourist destination with thousands of people attending the festival annually.[44]
The first rose festival occurred in 1976, when council members decided that hosting such a festival was appropriate, given the area's name. In 1976, the events spanned over a few days and included activities related to roses in theSanlam Plaza. Since then, the rose festival has expanded and grown to meet the needs and interests of the public.[42]
Horticulturalists are invited to participate in competitions to design and improve unkempt gardens around the city. Festival activities occur in private gardens all over Bloemfontein as city residents open their gardens to the general public.[44]
Most festival activities occur at the Loch Logan Waterfront, the largest shopping centre in central South Africa. It spans about 80 000 m2 of space and is the hub of shopping, entertainment, sport, and culture in Bloemfontein.[45] The waterfront displays flowers created by local nurseries as well as the official municipal display created by the parks department, which the Mangaung Municipality organises.[43][44] The Free State Rose Society's champion Rose Cut Competition, with approximately 700 entrants every year, is also hosted at the Waterfront, along with the Miss Volksblad Rosebud competition for girls aged 3–4 years old, organised in conjunction with theVolksblad daily newspaper.[40]
The Rose Morning High Tea usually occurs at the Urth Garden Centre, where tea and treats are served. The Urth Garden Centre is a retail and wholesale nursery that is located on Kenneth Kaunda Road in Bloemfontein.[46] The crowning of the King and Mangaung in the year of nomination.[47]
The Mangaung Rose Classic Cycle Tour is a road race that takes place during the festival every year. The event is organised by AfriCycle Tours, and the dates are announced annually. The race starts at the Urth, and the race distances include 22 km, 56 km, and 106 km.[48][49]
This expo forms part of the Mangaung/Bloemfontein Rose Festival and gives 'green' and organic local businesses an opportunity to promote their businesses.[50] This includes showcasing different products and services that support a green environment, such as solar power, grey water systems, vegetable tunnels, JoJo tank systems, etc.[51]
Bloemfontein houses many institutions of learning, from pre-schools to universities and colleges. Classes are taught in different languages from school to school, with some even teaching all their classes in two languages. The languages are predominantlyAfrikaans, English, andSesotho.
There is a Further Education and Training College called Motheo FET College, which comprises three main campuses (Thaba N'chu, Hillside View, and Bloemfontein) and satellite campuses in Zastron, Philippolis, and Botshabelo.Motheo TVET College
The private sector mainly drives Bloemfontein's economy. Bloemfontein's share of National GDP, employment, and population is the lowest among the benchmark group of South African and Southern African cities, falling just below the city ofPort Elizabeth. The city's share of the National GDP is 1.73%, with a share of national employment at 1.86% and a share of the national population at 1.67%. Bloemfontein's GDP growth, at 0.57% in 2015, stood in the lower half of the benchmark group of cities. Like other major cities in South Africa, Bloemfontein's GDP growth has slowly decreased in recent years.[55]
The city is home to two of South Africa's top construction and infrastructure companies. Raubex Group Ltd, established in 1974 and listed on theJSE Limited since March 2007[56] and Ruwacon (Pty Ltd), established in 1999.[57]
Other major companies included the retail department store, Kloppers, established in 1967[58] and EconoFoods (Pty Ltd) established in 1996.[59]
Queen of Roses also happens during this event.[clarification needed][60] The competition recognizes citizens of the City of Bloemfontein for contributions that go beyond their regular duties to enrich the Mangaung Metro. Nominees need to be citizens.
In October 2016, the Mangaung Metropolitan and various taxi associations agreed on the Integrated Public Transport system, which is currently under construction. The project consists of two phases. The first phase will involve the construction of busways along the Metropolitan. The second will be the building of depots and stations.[62]
New Covenant Ministries International had a church called Fountainhead led by Chris Gerber. It was a New Testament Church known as Fountainhead Church International. Later, this church merged withDoxa Deo Bloemfontein, now the combined church's name.
The city also has a large Jewish population, established in the mid-19th century.[68]
There are two main cemeteries in Bloemfontein:
The Old Cemetery: Over 1,000 names from the three cemeteries. Old: The oldest of the three cemeteries, dating from 1871, is simply a tiny fenced-off area of a public cemetery near the city centre. It includes a few graves of several Jewish pioneers involved in the city's early days who died serving on either side in the Boer War, 1899–1902. Each of these pioneer families' thirty or so tombstones has been completely transcribed.
South Park: This cemetery was consecrated in 1978 and now includes over 10,000 graves. It is the biggest cemetery in the Free State.[69]
On 7 October 2010, Several tombstones in theJewish cemetery in Bloemfontein were defaced withswastikas and antisemitic graffiti.[70]On 10 April 2012, Bloemfontein's historic Memorium cemetery was vandalized, with 35 tombstones toppled and obscene graffiti daubed on the walls of the adjoining Ohel. The graffiti included images of money bags and diamonds, as well as of a crudely drawnMagen David, allegedly as part of an anti-Semitic act.[71]There is also the old Phahameng cemetery, which dates back to the 1960s and was explicitly reserved for Africans during theapartheid era and has a Heroes Acre, where freedom fighters are laid to rest.The Heide Heights cemetery in Heidedal was reserved for coloured people during the apartheid era, but all races could bury their dead after 1994. This cemetery has been closed due to it being full.
Round Table 158 Bloemfontein The firstRound Table was formed inNorwich, England in 1927. The founder,Louis Marchesi, was a young member of the Norwich Rotary Club who felt a need existed for a club where the young business owners of the town could gather regularly. At their meetings, they could exchange ideas, learn from the experiences of their colleagues, and play a collective part in the civic life of Norwich. From a very early stage, it was agreed that Round Table would be a non-religious, non-political club, which has continued to this day.
Child Welfare Bloemfontein Child Welfare Bloemfontein & Childline Free State is a non-profit organisation that was founded in 1914 by a group of volunteers who identified a need for welfare services among the community. In 2004, Child Welfare Bloemfontein celebrated its 90th birthday. Over the past 90 years, many community programmes have been successfully implemented.
Freemasons The Masonic Centre, Bloemfontein, was built during the 1970s when all theMasonic Lodges in Bloemfontein, sold their individual properties. The centre was erected to facilitate all Masonic activities in Bloemfontein and surrounding areas. All four active Constitutions in South Africa gather at the centre. The lodges that own the centre are Lodge Unie (est. 1864), the Rising Star Lodge (est. 1865), Thistle Lodge (est.1903), Emerald Lodge (est. 1905), Lodge Dagbreek (est. 1932) & Lodge Oranje (est. 1964). Various side degrees are catered for at the Centre, which includes the Mark, Ark, the Royal Arch & Rose Croix. Bloemfontein has a rich Masonic history, especially in the Anglo-Boer War (1899–1902), with members such asLord Kitchener,Rudyard Kipling andSir Arthur Conan Doyle, visiting Lodges in Bloemfontein.[citation needed]
^"South Africa at a glance".South African Government. Retrieved18 June 2020.Bloemfontein (judicial) The Constitutional Court is located in Johannesburg.
^David Johnson, "Griqua Land Claims in Southern Africa, 1874-1998", in David L. Eng and David Kazanjian, eds., "Loss: The Politics of Mourning" (Berkeley: Univ. of CA Press, 2003), 283–88.ISBN0520232364
^Tolkien: "though my earliest memories of are a hot country [...] I was shipped home [England] in 1895". Biographical sketch to Houghton Mifflin Co. (July 1955), in "The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien", ed. Humphrey Carpenter (London: Allen Unwin, 1981; London: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014), 165.ISBN0544363795
^Grundlingh, Albert. "The National Women's Monument. The Making and Mutation of Meaning in Afrikaner Memory of the South African War." Cuthbertson, Gregor; Grundlingh, Albert M.; and Suttie, Mary-Lynn (Hrsg.). "Writing a Wider War. Rethinking Gender, Race, and Identity in the South African War, 1899–1902". Athens, Ohio:Ohio University Press. 2002. pp. 18–36.
^Marschall, Sabine. "Serving Male Agendas. Two National Women's Monuments in South Africa". Women's Studies 33 (2004). pp. 1009–1033.
^Clark, Nancy L. (2016).South Africa : the rise and fall of apartheid. William H. Worger (Third ed.). Abingdon, Oxon.ISBN978-1-138-12444-8.OCLC883649263.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^sahoboss (30 March 2011)."National Party (NP)".South African History Online. Retrieved16 December 2017.
^Aronstam, Sheila (25 March 2001). Issroff, Dr Saul (ed.)."A HISTORY OF THE JEWISH COMMUNITY ARCHIVES". Saul Issroff, Mike Getz, SAfrica SIG and Jewishgen Inc. Retrieved19 August 2012.
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