Vrede is a town in the Free State province of

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 ...

that is the agricultural hub of a 100 km² region.

Maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. The ...

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

mutton Lamb, hogget, and mutton, generically sheep meat, are the meat of domestic sheep, ''Ovis aries''. A sheep in its first year is a lamb and its meat is also lamb. The meat from sheep in their second year is hogget. Older sheep meat is mutton. Gen ...

wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. ...

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quantit ...

, dairy products and

poultry Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for their eggs, their meat or their feathers. These birds are most typically members of the superorder Galloanserae (fowl), especially the order Galliformes (which includes chickens, quails, ...

are farmed in the region.

History

In 1863 one J. H. Krynauw bought the farm, aptly named "Krynauwslust" located where the town of Vrede was later proclaimed in 1879. The town celebrated its centenary in 1979. The town's Afrikaans name "Vrede" can be directly translated to "Peace" in English. This name resulted, due to a bitter feud that raged between the early settlers of the area where the town initially should have been placed. A compromise was reached and peace among the early citizens was achieved, hence the name, "Vrede". The names Leeukop (Lionshead), Tygerspoort (Tiger's Passage), Kwaggaspoort (Zebra's Passage) still exist today. Unfortunately the folk of the earlier years were not conscious of the ecology and now only names of the game that roamed the area remain. The last known free roaming lion in the area was shot in 1865. In 1858 a sole hippo was spotted in the wetlands surrounding the district of Memel, the neighboring town. Between 1899 and 1902 many famous battles were fought in and around Vrede and Vrede was also the setting of the stand of the Great Rebellion of 1914 when citizens were called to arms in aid of Britain in the First World War against Germany.

Notable people

* André Brink (1935–2015), novelist, born in Vrede but moving to

Lydenburg Lydenburg, officially known as Mashishing, is a town in Thaba Chweu Local Municipality, on the Mpumalanga highveld, South Africa. It is situated on the Sterkspruit/Dorps River tributary of the Lepelle River at the summit of the Long Tom Pass. ...

in childhood *

Sid Kiel Sidney Kiel (18 July 1916 – 19 July 2007) was a South African doctor better known for his sporting career. Both a track and field athlete and a cricketer, he represented South Africa as a hurdler at the 1938 British Empire Games (now the Commonw ...

(1916–2007), doctor, athlete, and cricketer, born on a Vrede sheep farm but moving to

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

in childhood *Mosebenzi Joseph Zwane (), Chairperson of Portfolio Committee on Transport (National Assembly Parliament) *Bhekizizwe Abram Radebe (1965-), Member at National Assembly (Parliament), Born and Raised in Vrede, one of the township sections is named after him. * Ruben Kruger (1970-2010), Springbok Rugby player, who was part of team who won the Rugby World Cup in 1995. His family still farms in the area. * David Louw (1987-), actor, known for Villa Rosa and Getroud met Rugby. * Piet van Zyl (1989-), Springbok Rugby player, now Stade Français Paris Rugby, was born in Vrede, but went to Grey College at age 14.

References

External links

Populated places in the Phumelela Local Municipality Populated places established in 1876 1876 establishments in the Orange Free State {{FreeState-geo-stub