Bloemfontein is the capital of the South African province of the Free State and one of the largest cities in South Africa. The area was originally owned as a farm by Johannes Nicolaas Brits, who sold the place to the British Major Henry Douglas Warden, who established a fort here in 1846. Two years later, the region was established as the Orange River Sovereignty, which from 1854 was called the Orange Free State. Bloemfontein became the capital of the established Boer Republic, and this led to growth with the construction of several new administration buildings for the republic.

The railway to Cape Town brought new growth from 1890, and in 1899 the city hosted the Bloemfontein Conference, which was an attempt at dialogue between parties that later that year started the Second Boer War. The war ended and in 1910 Bloemfontein and the region became part of the Republic of South Africa. On that occasion, there was no agreement on the establishment of a capital, and the capital status was instead shared, Bloemfontein becoming the country’s legal capital. Throughout the 20th century, the city grew with the development of many new suburbs.

Today, Bloemfontein is a city with a lot of sights and attractions in the downtown’s perpendicular street pattern. You can start a stroll at the City Hall/Stadsaal, which is Bloemfontein’s town hall. The building was constructed 1934-1936 according to architect Gordon Leith’s design with the characteristic twin towers on the facade. The town hall stands in an area with many well-known institutions and buildings, and south of City Hall you can see the Supreme Court of Appeal/Hoogste Hof van Appèl, which is the seat of the second highest court of appeal in South Africa. The courthouse was purpose-built and opened in 1929.

Continuing east from the Supreme Court of Appeal, you arrive at the Fourth Raadsaal/Vierde Raadsaal, which serves as the assembly hall for the Legislative Assembly of the Free State. The building was inaugurated in 1893 as the presidential office and council chamber of the then Orange Free State/Oranje Vrystaat. Johannesburg-based architect Lennox Canning designed the beautiful building, which is adorned with columns and a central dome.

Close by, you can visit the National Museum/Nasionale Museum, whose history goes back to the 1870s with collections of curiosities from all over the world. The museum opened in the then Raadsaal in 1878, and it moved into the current museum building with opening in 1915. Today, you can explore the museum collections in art, cultural history and natural history with a focus on African cultures and wildlife. The museum has other departments than the main building. For example, you can see the First Raadsal Museum/Eerste Raadsaal Museum, which stands in Bloemfontein as the city’s oldest preserved house. First Raadsaal was built in 1849 as a school, but over the years had many other functions.

To the south and west in Central, which is Bloemfontein’s downtown, you can see several other sights like the modern Sand du Plessis Theatre/Sand du Plessis theater complex, which opened in 1985. You can walk to the Old Presidency/Ou Presidensie as well, which is a beautiful house that was the presidential residence of the Oranje Frystaat from 1886 to 1899. The house was purpose-built at a time when the former residence was deemed too small and unrepresentable for a president of an independent nation. The Old Presidency is open as a museum.

South of the center is another of Bloemfontein’s well-known museums, the Anglo-Boer War Museum, which tells the story of the Boer War that took place from 1899 to 1902 between the Boer republics of Oranje Vrystaat and Transvaal on one side and the British Empire on the other. The British supported their colonists in the Cape Colony and in Natal, and the war was about the domination of southern Africa. At the museum you can see depictions, dioramas and collections that tell the story of the war. On the spot you can also see the National Women’s Monument/Nasionale Vrouemonument, which is a memorial to the many thousands of Boers who died in British concentration camps during the same war.

There are also nice recreational opportunities in and around Bloemfontein, where the ridges north of the city are worth a trip. Naval Hill, which takes its name from two naval guns on the site during the Boer War, is a place from which there is a panoramic view of the city. There is a statue of Nelson Mandela on the site, and in the area, there is also a planetarium, hiking trails and a lot of wildlife, as the hill is part of the Franklin Game Reserve.