Place · city

Bloemfontein

1846 · 19th century

Bloemfontein is a city in central South Africa, capital of the Free State province and the country's judicial capital. Founded in 1846 by Major Henry Warden as a British post, it became the capital of the Orange River Sovereignty and from 1854 of the Orange Free State. It was occupied by the British in 1900, and since 1910 it has been the seat of the country's highest court of appeal.

Bloemfontein
Image: South African Tourism from South Africa · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 4 profiles

South African RepublicDeclineOrange Free StateFoundation, Socioeconomy, Military, Impact, Decline, SummaryUnion of South AfricaFoundation, Impact, SummaryRepublic of South AfricaFoundation, Summary

Mentioned in 4 state histories

Orange River SovereigntyOrange Free StateOrange River ColonyRepublic of South Africa

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Bloemfontein. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/bloemfontein
MLA
“Bloemfontein.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/bloemfontein. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Bloemfontein.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/bloemfontein.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Bloemfontein’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/bloemfontein (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻