Heilbron is a small farming town in the Free State province of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

which services the

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

dairy A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on ...

sorghum ''Sorghum'' () is a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the grass family (Poaceae). Some of these species are grown as cereals for human consumption and some in pastures for animals. One species is grown for grain, while many othe ...

sunflower The common sunflower (''Helianthus annuus'') is a large annual forb of the genus ''Helianthus'' grown as a crop for its edible oily seeds. Apart from cooking oil production, it is also used as livestock forage (as a meal or a silage plant), as ...

and

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. Th ...

industries. Raw stock beneficiation occurs in leisure foods,

dairy products Dairy products or milk products, also known as lacticinia, are Food product, food products made from (or containing) milk. The most common dairy animals are cow, water buffalo, dairy goat, nanny goat, and Sheep, ewe. Dairy products include commo ...

and stock feeds. It also serves as a dormitory town for the

Gauteng Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name in Sotho-Tswana languages means 'place of gold'. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only ...

metropolis.

Game farming A game farm is a place where game animals are raised to stock wildlife areas for hunting. The term also includes places where such animals are raised to be sold as food or for photography. Their existence has been exemplified within the South Afri ...

in the district grew to the extent that it is believed that

game A game is a structured form of play (activity), play, usually undertaken for enjoyment, entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator s ...

numbers reached an all-time high, evident in visiting tourist numbers. Due to its close proximity to

(60 km) the town became ever more popular to weekend

tourists Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mo ...

and city dwellers in need of a

relaxing Leisure has often been defined as a quality of experience or as free time. Free time is time spent away from business, Employment, work, job hunting, Housekeeping, domestic chores, and education, as well as necessary activities such as eatin ...

weekend filled with peace, quiet and fresh air. Popular activities are

horse riding Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, Driving (horse), driving, and Equestrian vaulting, vaulting ...

, off road cycling,

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

, game drives, utilizing both motor vehicles and quad bikes, historical tours and affordable sporting facilities.

History

In 1836, the Voortrekkers fought off the local people of Ndebele Chief

Mzilikazi Mzilikazi Moselekatse, Khumalo ( 1790 – 9 September 1868) was a Southern African king who founded the Mthwakazi Kingdom now known as Matebeleland, in Zimbabwe. His name means "the great river of blood". He was born the son of Mashobane kaMange ...

at the

Battle of Vegkop The Battle of Vegkop, alternatively spelt as Vechtkop, took place on 16 October 1836 near the present day town of Heilbron, Free State, South Africa. After an impi of about 600 Matebele murdered 15 to 17 Afrikaner voortrekkers on the Vaal Rive ...

near the present town of Heilbron. This

historical site A historic site or heritage site is an official location where pieces of political, military, cultural, or social history have been preserved due to their cultural heritage value. Historic sites are usually protected by law, and many have been rec ...

boasts a

monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, his ...

and a contemporary

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

which are both popular stops for

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

field tourists. Heilbron was officially established in 1873. The town was founded at the site of a perennial natural fountain, thus the name 'Heilbron' (

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...

for 'Spring of Bliss'). The fountain is the source of a small stream which runs through the town. Various small groups of people have lived on the banks of the stream for centuries. A Hester Dorothea PELSTER, a1b2c4d1e1f6g6h4, born 19 November 1891, was baptised in Heilbron on 28 February 1892. She is a descendant of the PELTZER progenitor Abraham PELTZER and his wife Elizabeth VAN DEN BERG. After Bloemfontein was conquered by the British forces during the

Anglo-Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

(on 13 March 1900), Heilbron was proclaimed as the capital of the independent Boer Republic of the Orange Free State. A few weeks after the fall of Bloemfontein, Heilbron was also occupied, and President Steyn moved the capital to Frankfort , another town in the northern Free State. By 18 May 1900, the Orange Free State was defeated, annexed by Britain and renamed the "Orange River Colony". Many Boer fighters refused to surrender. The area surrounding Heilbron was rife with guerilla activity. In order to subdue those Boers who continued to fight, the British High Command attempted to cut the guerilla army off from its source of provisions. Boer farms were razed and

concentration camps Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...

, such as the one in Heilbron, were built to house the Boer women, children and non-combatant labourers who provided support to the Boer fighters. The camps were ill-planned and thousands of Boer civilians died of starvation, disease and exposure. Today the Heilbron concentration camp is used as a private school. A monument to commemorate the victims of the camps can be found in the town cemetery. During the early years of its history, several

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

citizens of Heilbron played an important role in developing the town. Many of the streets in Heilbron are thus named after prominent founding Jewish citizens. The old

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

has been converted into a museum, by the name of "Riemland Museum".

Attractions

Heilbron train station

Heilbron railway was first laid in 1899 and connects to the link in Wolwehoek. Later the line was extended to

Petrus Steyn Petrus Steyn, is a small farming town between Tweeling and Kroonstad, 35 km north-east of Lindley in the Free State province of South Africa. It is at the centre of an agricultural area known for wheat, maize, sunflower, potato, cattle, ...

and Lindley . The old sandstone building is a provincial heritage site.

NG Church

The congregation of Heilbron was first established in 1874, it was seceded from

Kroonstad Kroonstad (Afrikaans directly translated "Crown City") is the third largest city in the Free State (after Bloemfontein and Welkom) and lies two hours' drive on the N1 from Gauteng. Maokeng is an area within Kroonstad, and is occasionally used ...

. The sandstone building of the Dutch Reformed church was inaugurated in 1885, the cornerstone was laid by President Brand in 1880. On it's grounds is a monument to the Heilbron burghers killed in the Anglo-Boer war.

Leeuwpoort of the Weilbachs Farms

During the

Heilbron was for a few days the capital of the Free State. One of the houses was built by a Scottish building contractor for Johan Frederik Weilbach and his wife Catharina Johanna in 1894. During the Anglo-Boer War the house was not burned down as many of the others were. Colonel Delzeal, the commanding officer in Heilbron, had given instruction that Johan's wife and 12 children still lived in the house and that they should not be harmed.

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

visited the farm Leeuwpoort, which was used as a base for the British officers during the war. The farms are provincial heritage sites.

Mother and Child Memorial

The Mother and Child Memorial commemorates the 787 Boer women and children who died between 1899-1902 in the British concentration camp at Heilbron during the Anglo-Boer War. The large cemetery serves as a stark reminder of the tragedy.

Vechtkop Battlefields, Monument and Museum

The

was fought between the Matebele of Mzilikazi and the Voortrekkers of Hendrik Potgieter just outside the town of Heilbron. On 16 October 1836 about 6 000 Matebele warriors attacked the laager of the Voortrekkers at Vechtkop. A battle ensued and 430 Matebele and two Voortrekkers were killed.

Riemland Museum

The Riemland Museum is housed in an old Jewish synagogue, which in itself tells the story of the Jewish influence on the history of the town. The museum tells the rich history of the early hunters in the Riemland, as well as the early pioneers and settlers.

References

External links

*http://freestatetourism.org/heilbron-attractions/ *http://www.free-state-info.co.za/provinces/town/472/heilbron {{Fezile Dabi District Municipality Populated places in the Ngwathe Local Municipality Second Boer War concentration camps Populated places established in 1872 1872 establishments in the Orange Free State