Bloemfontein << BLOOM fon `tayn` >> is the judicial capital of South Africa. The Supreme Court of Appeal, one of South Africa’s highest courts, meets in Bloemfontein. Cape Town is South Africa’s legislative capital, and Pretoria is its administrative capital. Bloemfontein also serves as the capital of Free State, a province of South Africa. Bloemfontein is an Afrikaans word meaning fountain of flowers.
In the 1830’s and 1840’s, white settlers called Boers conquered local Black African farmers and settled in the area that is now Bloemfontein. In 1845, Bloemfontein became the center of British administration in the area. In 1854, it became the capital of the Orange Free State (now Free State). Today, more Black people than white people live in Bloemfontein. Most of them speak Sesotho. English and Afrikaans are also widely spoken. Bloemfontein has the main campus of the University of the Free State.
In the mid-1990’s, after the end of South Africa’s racial segregation system called apartheid, Bloemfontein was merged with the Black African township of Mangaung and other nearby communities. In 2000, Bloemfontein, the towns of Botshabelo and Thaba Nchu, and the surrounding communities and rural areas were merged to form the Mangaung local municipality. The municipality has a population of 811,431.
