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Bloemfontein
Bloemfontein ( ; ), also known as Bloem, is the capital and the largest city of the Free State province in South Africa. It is often, and has been traditionally, referred to as the country's "judicial capital", alongside the legislative capital Cape Town and administrative capital Pretoria. However, the highest court in South Africa, the Constitutional Court, has been in Johannesburg since 1994.
AI overview
Bloemfontein is the capital and largest city of South Africa's Free State province, historically known as the country's "judicial capital" alongside Cape Town (legislative capital) and Pretoria (administrative capital). Though it held this judicial designation traditionally, the Constitutional Court—South Africa's highest court—has been located in Johannesburg since 1994.
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Place details
- Locality
- Bloemfontein
- Region
- Free State
- Country
- South Africa
- Population
- 556,637
Travel guide
Understand
thumb|300px|Hoffman square
Bloemfontein is the judicial capital of South Africa and the capital of the Free State Province.
Bloemfontein was founded in 1846 and now has a population of around half a million people.
J. R. R. Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings, was born in Bloemfontein in 1892. Despite Tolkien's fame, there is surprisingly little commemorating him in his city of birth.
In 1923, the African National Congress (ANC) political party was founded in Bloemfontein.
Today, Bloemfontein is a compact city surrounded by sprawling suburbs. It hosts sub-Saharan Africa's first digital planetarium, the Naval Hill Planetarium and Boyden Observatory, an astronomical research observatory erected by Harvard University.
The city centre is safe to walk around during the day, but many of the city's activities are focused on the Waterfront and Mimosa malls and on the large sporting complex. Second Avenue, north of the Waterfront mall, has the majority of the city's bars and restaurants.
Do
Go to the Waterfront Golf Cricket: Visit one of the numerous game reserves in the area and go sightseeing / hunting Take a walk through the tree-lined President Brand Street and visit the various museums Take a drive through the northern suburbs and see the lush gardens Visit the City Zoo just behind the Waterfront shopping mall. This zoo is home to a stuffed Liger a cross between a lion and a tiger, that was bred at the zoo in the 1930s. This specimen holds the world record for being the largest ever living cat. And at 798 kg you can see why!
Buy
The ongoing expansion of the Waterfront mall means that Bloemfontein now has two branches of each of the standard South African chain stores (the other branches being in the Mimosa Mall 2 km up the road). There is a craft market near the Waterfront mall on the first Saturday of the month. Many shops close Saturday afternoons and all day Sunday.
Eat
People eat early in Bloemfontein - even by South African standards, if you arrive at a restaurant after 7:30PM, especially on a weeknight, you may get some funny looks from the staff, and rushed service as they try to get you out the door so they can lock up and go home.
~31 min read
Article
57 sectionsContents
- History
- Early history
- Orange Free State (1854–1902)
- Unionisation of South Africa (1910s)
- Apartheid era (1948–1994)
- Since 1994
- Government
- Geography and climate
- Suburbs
- Sports
- Stadium
- Soccer
- Rugby
- Cricket
- Soaring
- Motor sports
- Shooting sports
- Metallic Silhouette Shooting
- Rock climbing
- Rose Festival
- History of the Rose Festival
- Activities
- Loch Logan Waterfront
- Rose Morning High Tea
- Mangaung Rose Classic Cycle Tour
- Let's Green Bloem Expo
- Education
- Primary education
- Secondary education
- Tertiary education
- Public tertiary institutions
- Museums
- Economy
- Major companies
- Hospitals and clinics
- Entertainment
- Media
- Newspapers
- Radio
- Transport
- Road
- Rail
- Air
- Public transport
- Notable people
- Rugby players
- Cricket players
- Football players
- Musicians
- Actors / Directors
- Other
- Religion
- Community service organisations
- International relations
- Sister cities
- References
- External links
Bloemfontein ( ; ), also known as Bloem, is the capital and the largest city of the Free State province in South Africa. It is often, and has been traditionally, referred to as the country's "judicial capital", alongside the legislative capital Cape Town and administrative capital Pretoria. However, the highest court in South Africa, the Constitutional Court, has been in Johannesburg since 1994.
Situated at an elevation of above sea level, the city is home to 256,185 (as of 2011) residents and forms part of the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality which has a population of 747,431. It was one of the host cities for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
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