Frankfort is a small farming

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an o ...

situated on the banks of the Wilge River in the Free State province of

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

. The town was laid out in 1869 on the farm ''Roodepoort'', and named Frankfurt (after

Frankfurt-am-Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian dialects, Hessian: , "Franks, Frank ford (crossing), ford on the Main (river), Main"), is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as o ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

) by Albert van Gordon. The town later received municipality status in 1896. Frankfort is now the capital town to Villiers, Cornelia and

Tweeling __NOTOC__ Tweeling (meaning twin in Dutch and Afrikaans) is a small town situated 22 km from Frankfort in the Free State province of South Africa. The adjacent black township is named Mafahlaneng, or "place of twins". This region of the hi ...

, called the Mafube Municipality. The main street is 'Brand Street', named after the 4th president of the

Orange Free State The Orange Free State ( nl, Oranje Vrijstaat; af, Oranje-Vrystaat;) was an independent Boer sovereign republic under British suzerainty in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, which ceased to exist after it was defeat ...

, Sir Johannes Brand. The name has since changed to J.J Hadebe. During 1883, he visited the town and laid the cornerstone of the Dutch Reformed Church. This church was burnt down by the British troops 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 So ...

(1899–1902). After the war the church was rebuilt and inaugurated in 1918. The Second Boer War was disastrous for the town; according to one contemporary source there were ′not a house or tree′ remaining after the destruction.

Sports History

This town has produced notable soccer players like Paul Motaung (former Kaizer Chiefs defender) and Chris Motaung (former Swallows midfielder),Thabo Motsoeneng (former Bloemfontein Celtics) other professional football players include Thomas Mofokeng, Ernest Nkosi and Dlangamandla. Frederich Lombaard a former Cheetah and Springbok rugby player, and academics like Professor M.J Lenake and Dr Mahlathini Tshabalala, who is now based in Gauteng and the renowned Motloung brothers Paul and Michael who are based in

Botshabelo Botshabelo, meaning "a place of refuge", is a large township set up in 1979 by the then apartheid government. It is located 45 km east of Bloemfontein in the present-day Free State province of South Africa. Botshabelo is now the largest ...

and

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein, ( ; , "fountain of flowers") also known as Bloem, is one of South Africa's three capital cities and the capital of the Free State province. It serves as the country's judicial capital, along with legislative capital Cape To ...

respectively. Mamontha Modise and Sophie Mokoena former Lesedi FM anchors. The first black comrade marathon winner, Mr Tshabalala, also comes from this town.

Notes

Populated places in the Mafube Local Municipality Populated places founded by Afrikaners Populated places established in 1878 1878 establishments in the Orange Free State {{FreeState-geo-stub