Bloemfontein (Afrikaans: "Fountain of Flowers" — population 500,000 city, 1.0 million metropolitan area: the capital of the Free State Province and the judicial capital of South Africa — the seat of the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa (the highest court for non-constitutional matters in South Africa)) is one of the three capitals of South Africa: the administrative capital is Pretoria (also known as Tshwane), the legislative capital is Cape Town, and the judicial capital is Bloemfontein (also known by its Sesotho name "Mangaung" — "place of cheetahs"). The city was established on 19 January 1846 by the British colonial administrator Major Henry Douglas Warden (who named the settlement after the natural spring (the "fontein" in Afrikaans) that he found at the base of the Naval Hill (now the Franklin Game Reserve): the spring was surrounded by the most beautiful wildflowers (the "bloem" — the flower in Afrikaans): the most beautiful name of any South African city). Bloemfontein is the birthplace of J.R.R. Tolkien (John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (January 3, 1892 — September 2, 1973): the author of "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" — the two best-selling fantasy novels in the history of world literature: Tolkien was born at Bloemfontein (where his father Arthur Tolkien managed a branch of the Bank of Africa) and lived here until the age of 3 when his mother Mabel took him and his younger brother Hilary back to England after Arthur Tolkien died of rheumatic fever in Bloemfontein in 1896).
Anglo-Boer War Museum (Oorlogsmuseum van die Boererepublieke — the War Museum of the Boer Republics): the most important war museum in South Africa and the most comprehensive record of the Second Anglo-Boer War (October 11 1899 – May 31 1902): the most controversial war in British imperial history (the war between the British Empire (the most powerful empire in human history at the time of the war) and the two Boer Republics (the South African Republic (the Transvaal) and the Orange Free State (Oranje Vrijstaat)) — the war that transformed the British concept of empire and produced the most important political and moral debate in British political life since the abolition of slavery): the British concentration camps (the most important and most disturbing section of the museum: the system of camps established by Lord Kitchener from 1900 to hold the Boer civilian population (primarily the women and children whose farms had been burned by the British "scorched earth" policy): the first use of the term "concentration camp" in modern history (the British themselves called the camps "concentration camps" — from the Spanish "reconcentración" camps used in Cuba by General Valeriano Weyler in the 1890s): 26,000 Afrikaner women and children died in the camps from the typhoid, the dysentery and the measles epidemics of the overcrowded, undersupplied camps): the Emily Hobhouse memorial (Emily Hobhouse (1860–1926) — the British social activist who exposed the conditions in the concentration camps to the British public in 1901 and became the most important humanitarian figure of the Anglo-Boer War: the most beloved non-Afrikaner figure in Afrikaner history).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideNaval Hill Franklin Game Reserve (the most remarkable urban game reserve in South Africa — an 800-hectare fenced game reserve on the plateau of Naval Hill in the geographic center of Bloemfontein): the game (the white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum — the second-largest land animal in Africa (after the elephant): the "white" rhino (the name is a mistranslation of the Afrikaans "wyd" (wide) — referring to the wide, flat lip of the grazing white rhino, as opposed to the pointed "hook" lip of the browsing black rhino): the white rhino was nearly extinct at the beginning of the 20th century (fewer than 50 individuals survived in 1900): the most successful large mammal conservation story in history (the white rhino population has recovered to approximately 20,000 individuals today — the most numerous of the five rhino species)), the plains zebra (Equus quagga burchellii — the most common zebra species in Africa: the distinctive black and white stripe pattern: the most frequently sighted large mammal in the Franklin Game Reserve), the springbok (Antidorcas marsupialis — the national animal of South Africa: the small-medium antelope with the distinctive white rump patch and the spectacular "pronking" (the high-speed jumping display with all four legs stiff and the back arched: the most dramatic animal display in the South African savanna)), the giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis — the most distinctively African of all mammals: the tallest living terrestrial animal (up to 6m tall)), and the eland (Taurotragus oryx — the largest antelope in Africa (up to 900kg))).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideJ.R.R. Tolkien birthplace (38 Maitland Street, Bloemfontein — the house where John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born on January 3 1892): Tolkien is the most famous person born in Bloemfontein and the most famous author born in South Africa: "The Hobbit" (published 1937: the prequel to the Lord of the Rings, written by Tolkien for his children as a bedtime story) and "The Lord of the Rings" (published in three volumes 1954–1955: the most important fantasy novel in the history of world literature and the best-selling fantasy novel of all time (over 150 million copies sold)): the Tolkien family in Bloemfontein (Arthur Tolkien (the father) managed a branch of the Bank of Africa in Bloemfontein from 1891 to 1896: Arthur died of rheumatic fever in Bloemfontein in February 1896 when Tolkien was 3 years old: Mabel Tolkien (the mother) had already taken the boys back to England in 1895 — Tolkien never returned to South Africa): the influence of Bloemfontein on Tolkien's work (Tolkien scholars have noted that the African landscape — the red soil, the termite mounds, the vivid insect life and the vast hot sky — may have influenced his imagination in the creation of Mordor and the Dead Marshes: the most directly South African element in "The Lord of the Rings" may be the large spider Shelob (a name derived from the Afrikaans "she-spider")).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideLoch Logan Waterfront (the most important entertainment and dining complex in Bloemfontein — the artificial lake (the "Loch Logan" — the name derived from the Logan family who owned the land in the early 20th century) in the center of Bloemfontein surrounded by the Waterfront shopping center and the outdoor dining and entertainment area): the sunset (the Bloemfontein sunset is one of the most spectacular in South Africa — the Highveld (the South African interior plateau: the region between the Vaal River to the north and the Orange River to the south at an altitude of 1,400–1,800m: the most important economic and cultural heartland of South Africa) plateau sky is the most dramatic sunset sky in South Africa: the combination of the altitude (the thinner atmosphere scatters the light more dramatically), the dust (the Highveld dust storms in the winter months produce the most extraordinary red and orange sunsets) and the absence of buildings (the flat Highveld allows the full 180° western sky to be visible): the most spectacular sunset in Bloemfontein is viewed from the Naval Hill plateau (the 800m elevation above the city gives the most complete panoramic view)).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideOliewenhuis Art Museum (the former official residence of the Governor-General of South Africa — the "Olive Branch House": the magnificent Cape Dutch-inspired mansion built in 1941–1947 for the South African Governor-General (the representative of the British Crown in South Africa): the 2.6-hectare indigenous garden (the most beautiful formal garden in Bloemfontein: the garden planted with the indigenous plants of the Free State province — the aloes, the ericas, the proteas, the restios and the grasses of the Free State grassland biome): the art collection (the most important collection of South African art in the Free State province: the paintings, the sculptures and the works on paper by the most important South African artists of the 20th century: the works of Irma Stern (the most important South African painter of the 20th century: the German-Jewish South African expressionist whose portraits of African subjects are the most valuable South African artworks at auction), Pierneef (the South African landscape painter whose Bushveld and Karoo landscapes are the most iconic images of the South African interior), and the contemporary South African art collection (the works of William Kentridge, the most internationally recognized South African contemporary artist)).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideNasionale Museum Bloemfontein (the National Museum of the Free State — the most important museum in Bloemfontein for the natural and cultural history of the region): the San (Bushman) rock art documentation (the most important collection of San rock art reproductions in South Africa: the San (the indigenous hunter-gatherer people of southern Africa: the most ancient human population group in Africa (the San are the direct descendants of the first anatomically modern humans — the mitochondrial DNA evidence suggests that the San lineage diverged from all other human lineages approximately 130,000 years ago (the most ancient divergence in the entire human family tree))): the dinosaur fossils (the Karoo Basin (the vast semi-arid plateau of the South African interior south of Bloemfontein) is one of the most important fossil sites in the world for the Triassic and Cretaceous periods: the Karoo Supergroup sedimentary rocks preserve the most complete record of land vertebrate evolution in the world from the Permian (approximately 260 million years ago) through the Triassic (252–201 million years ago) and into the Cretaceous (145–66 million years ago)).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideBasotho Cultural Village (the most important South Sotho cultural heritage site in South Africa — 100km east of Bloemfontein in the QwaQwa conservation area of the Maloti Mountains (the QwaQwa was a South African bantustan (a "homeland" — one of the 10 territorial homelands created by the apartheid government for the Black South African population between 1951 and 1994: the most important system of forced population segregation in human history)): the traditional Basotho village (the recreation of a South Sotho village from the Iron Age (approximately 500 CE) to the mid-20th century: the round thatched house (the "rondavel" — the most ubiquitous traditional dwelling form in southern Africa: the circular plan with the conical thatched roof, the mud walls decorated with the most elaborate geometric patterns in any traditional African architecture)), the Basotho blanket (the most important cultural textile in the Basotho tradition: the heavy wool blanket introduced by the British trading company Frasers (the Basotho Pony Trekking blanket) that has become the most important marker of Basotho cultural identity — the blanket is worn as a cloak and displayed at all important social occasions), and the Basotho pony (the most important domestic animal in Basotho culture — the Basotho pony is a hybrid breed developed in the 19th century by crossing the introduced Cape Horse with the local indigenous ponies: the most hardy and most sure-footed horse in the Maloti Mountains).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideFree State steakhouse dinner: the Karoo lamb (the most prized lamb in South Africa — the Merino and Dorper sheep of the Karoo semi-desert (the vast, arid plateau of the South African interior south of Bloemfontein) graze on the aromatic Karoo shrubs (the "bossies" — the succulent and aromatic shrubs of the Karoo: the Ruschia, the Galenia, the Salsola and the Mesembryanthemum species that give the Karoo lamb its distinctive flavor): the flavor of the Karoo lamb is the most distinctive in South Africa (the meat has the most pronounced and most herbal flavor of any lamb in Africa: the "bush flavour" of the Karoo lamb is as prized in South Africa as the "pré-salé" lamb (the salt-marsh lamb of the Normandy coast) is in France)): the potjiekos (the "small pot food" — the South African cast-iron three-legged pot stew: the most important communal cooking tradition in Afrikaner and Coloured South African culture: the cast-iron pot hung over the wood fire outdoors (the "vuurmaak" — the fire-making) and the slow cooking of the meat and vegetables in the sealed pot for 4–6 hours: the most important social cooking event in the South African rural tradition).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideGariep Dam (the "H.F. Verwoerd Dam" (the original name — renamed "Gariep Dam" after 1994 to remove the name of the apartheid prime minister who authorized the dam's construction): the most important water infrastructure project in South Africa: the 374 km² reservoir on the Orange River (the Gariep River — the "great river" in Khoikhoi): the most important source of irrigation water for the Karoo and the Langkloof of the Western Cape): the birdlife (the most important waterbird habitat in the Free State province: the lesser flamingo (Phoeniconaias minor — the most numerous flamingo species in the world: the most important feature of the Gariep Dam flamingo population is the "super-flock" phenomenon: in years of good rainfall, the lesser flamingo population at the Gariep Dam can exceed 30,000 individuals — the most spectacular waterbird concentrations in South Africa), the white pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus — the largest flying bird in South Africa: the 11kg bird with the 2.5m wingspan and the distinctive yellow-orange gular pouch (the "bill pouch")), and the South African shelduck (Tadorna cana — the most distinctive duck in South Africa: the male has a completely grey head (unique among the shelducks) and the female has a white face patch)).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideGolden Gate Highlands National Park (the most beautiful landscape national park in South Africa — 340 km² of the Rooiberge mountains and the Little Caledon River valley in the Maloti Mountains of the northeastern Free State): the "Golden Gate" (the twin sandstone buttresses (the Brandwag and the Gladstone's Nose) that glow the most extraordinary golden and orange color in the morning and evening light — the most photographed landscape in the Free State province): the geology (the Clarens Formation sandstone (the "Clarens Formation" — the Upper Triassic/Lower Jurassic aeolian sandstone (wind-blown sand) that forms the dramatic cave and cliff landscapes of the Maloti Mountains: the same formation that contains the most important dinosaur fossil sites in South Africa)): the wildlife (the blesbok (Damaliscus pygargus phillipsi — the most distinctively southern African antelope: the large purple-brown antelope with the white forehead blaze and the white lower legs: the Free State blesbok population is one of the largest in South Africa), the Cape vulture (Gyps coprotheres — the most important vulture in South Africa: the endangered colony at Vultures' Retreat within the park is the most easily observable Cape vulture colony in the Maloti Mountains)).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideClarens (the "Jewel of the Free State" — the most picturesque village in the Free State province, 40km south of the Golden Gate National Park): the sandstone buildings (the village is built almost entirely from the local Clarens Formation sandstone — the same honey-gold colored sandstone that forms the dramatic cliffs of the Golden Gate National Park: the result is the most architecturally coherent and most beautiful small town in the Free State): the art galleries (the most concentrated collection of art galleries per capita in South Africa (approximately 20 galleries in a village of 3,000 people): the Clarens Craft & Art Market (the most important art market in the Free State: held on the first weekend of every month in the Clarens village green)): the Clarens Brewery (the most important craft brewery in the Free State: the craft beers made with the pure Maloti Mountain spring water — the "Golden Gate Pilsner" and the "Highlands Weiss" are the most popular beers in the Free State craft beer market).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideFree State farewell braai (the most important social institution in South African life — the "braai" (the Afrikaans word for "roast" or "barbecue"): the wood-fire outdoor grill that is simultaneously the most important social ritual, the most important weekend activity and the most important cultural institution in the South African rural (and increasingly urban) tradition): the essentials of the Free State braai: the Karoo lamb chops (the most prized braai meat in the Free State: the lamb from the Karoo semi-desert graze on the aromatic Karoo "bossies" giving the meat the distinctive herbal flavor), the boerewors (the "farmer's sausage" — the most important braai meat in South African culture: the coil sausage made from beef (60%) + pork (40%) + the boerewors spice mix (coriander seed + black pepper + nutmeg + cloves + allspice) + vinegar: the boerewors is the most widely eaten South African food and the most deeply culturally embedded braai meat in the country), the pap (the maize porridge — the most important starch in the South African diet: the white maize meal cooked with the water and the salt to a stiff porridge), and the bredie (the tomato and onion stew — the most important sauce to serve with the pap at the braai: the fried onion + tomato + garlic + chili + salt cooked until thick).
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