Fouriesburg is a small town situated at the junction of the R711 and R26 routes in the eastern Free State,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. It is near the Maluti Mountains and only 10 km from Caledon's Poort border post, which gives access to Lesotho.

History

During the late nineteenth century, this land was donated to the Orange Free State by a local farmer of Huguenot descent, Christoffel Fourie, for use as a temporary capital during the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the South ...

. It was the site of several engagements during the Boer War, and by 1902 the original settlement had been almost completely destroyed.

Vicinity

Ventersberg in Rooiberge, Fouriesburg, b

A small private resort, Meiringskloof Nature Park, is located in a valley just northeast of town. Fouriesburg is about half an hour's drive from Clarens, a popular tourist destination, and a 45-minute drive from Golden Gate Highlands National Park. It is about fifty kilometres south-east of

Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...

, and some fifty-three from

Ficksburg Ficksburg is a town situated at the foot of the 1,750 meter high Imperani Mountain in Free State province, South Africa. The town was founded by General Johan Fick in 1867 who won the territory in the Basotho Wars. He laid out many erven and ...

. Fouriesburg ranked first during South Africa's 2013 ''Kwela Town of the Year'' competition.

References

Populated places in the Dihlabeng Local Municipality Populated places founded by Afrikaners Populated places established in 1892 {{FreeState-geo-stub