Kroonstad is a town of South Africa located in the North-East of the province of the free State of Orange ('shortened in State-Free since 1995).

Kroonstad is the third plus big city of the free State and account more than 110 thousand inhabitants.

History

Literally the town of Kroon (literally “crown”), it was founded by the Boers in 1851. Its Christian name pays homage to Kroon, the horse of one of the chiefs Voortrekker S (Sarel Cilliers or Adriaan of Rey), and who had drowned in a river of the Vaal river.

In 1900, during the War of Boers, Kroonstad was during a few months the capital of the republic boer of the free Orange State, after the catch of Bloemfontein by the Britanniques. Thereafter, a British Concentration camp was built there gathering thousands of civilians boers.

Very preserving city during the period of Apartheid, the area of Kroonstad was a stronghold of the Conservative party. In 1992, at the time of the Referendum on the constitutional negotiations concerning the establishment of a multiracial democracy, only 51% of the inhabitants of the area of Kroonstad gave their support for the reforms of the president Frederik de Klerk.

The municipality is managed today by ANC.

Religion

• the current catholic bishop is called Stephen Brislin (named on October 17th, 2006).

Tourism

• the emblem of Kroonstad is the statue of Sarel Cilliers in the center of the city showing it lending oath to God before the Bataille Blood River.

• the reformed church of Kroonstad was registered with the national heritage.

• Other points of interest:
• Sarel Cilliers museum,
• the old town hall,
• the military cemetery of the war anglo-boer.

Random links:

Resolution of the gulf of Tonkin | Tool bags-the-Scey | Andreas Beck | Brian McKechnie (cricket) | Frederic Christian Ier de Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderbourg-Augustenbourg