Bloemfontein (lit. fountain of flowers), is one of South Africa's three capital cities serving as the judicial capital (Pretoria being the executive capital and Cape Town the legislative capital). It also serves as the capital of the Free State province. The city's Sesotho name is Mangaung, which means "the place where cheetahs dwell". Although the area had been inhabited earlier, it was first pronounced an urban settlement in 1850, four years before the official founding of the Republic of the Orange Free State. A railway line was built in 1890 to connect Bloemfontein and Cape Town.

In 1899, the city was the site of the Bloemfontein Conference, which failed to prevent the outbreak of the Anglo-Boer War.

The city is situated at latitude 29 degrees south and longitude 26 degrees east and is 1,395 metres above sea level. The surrounding countryside consists of dry grasslands. The city has approximately 500,000 residents. The greater Mangaung municipality has closer to 1 000 000 residents.

J. R. R. Tolkien was born in the city on January 3, 1892.

On March 13, 1900 during the Anglo-Boer War, British forces captured the city and built a concentration camp here during the to house Boer women and children.

Bloemfontein is served by Bloemfontein Airport.

bloemfontein is also the name of a local band from Windsor, Ontario. Their official website is at bloemfontein.ca (http://www.bloemfontein.ca).

External link

• Bloemfontein (http://www.bloemfontein.co.za) The Official Mangaung Local Municipality Website
• Additional information about Bloemfontein Airport (http://www.people.frenet.de/copilot/Flughafen-eng.htm)