Location

In the eastern part of the Free State Province, close to the Lesotho border

Bethlehem is the Eastern Free State's most important farming and commercial centre, set in golden upland countryside, founded by the hardy Calvinist Voortrekkers of the 1840s and named after both the birthplace of Christ and the region's wheat-growing potential (the word means 'town of bread' in Hebrew).

Its beginnings may have been rather dour but it is now a surprisingly lively and modern-looking little place that offers a varied calendar of arts and entertainment plus, some good restaurants and plenty of visitor accommodation. Of special note are the pleasant sandstone buildings, many of them historic, the champagne quality of the upland air, and a number of attractive outdoor venues. The great Maluti Mountains of Lesotho, their South African heights as known as the Drakensberg, lie just to the south.

Highlights

Museums The Nazareth mission church contains some fine furniture, needlework, porcelain and objects d'art in its cultural history extension. Bethlehem museum itself focuses on transport and farming - old wagons, horse carriages, implements, and a steam locomotive. You'll also find an intriguing collection of implements, plus utensils, leatherwork and so on, in Baartman House.

Nature Sanctuaries The small, cliff-flanked Pretoriuskloof bird park is within town limits (entrance from Church Street); small animals are also on view, and there are pleasant walks along the banks of the Jordan River. Six kilometres away is the Wolhuter Nature Reserve, a haven for a wide variety of antelope and an array of birds. The area also embraces a dam, patches of thick pine forest and attractive picnic spots

Loch Athlone Part of the Jordan River complex, the storage dam serves as a popular recreational area which offers boating, bathing, tennis, angling, water-skiing, picnicking, barbecuing and, in the summer holiday season, organized sports and entertainment. An unusual feature is the Athlone Castle restaurant, a re-creation of the old Union Castle vessel of that name (it's equipped with some of the original ship's furnishings).

Excursions A trip to and through the Golden Gate Highlands National Park, just to the south, will fill a morning most pleasantly. The charming village of Clarens is just on the other side. To the southeast is the lovely Qwaqwa and northern Drakensberg areas.

Nearest Towns

Harrismith is on the N5 highway to the east; the road south (R26) leads to Ficksburg, Clocolan and the Lesotho capital Maseru. Bloemfontein lies to the west (take the N5 to the N1).

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BETHLEHEM

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PROVINCES

Western Cape
Gauteng
Eastern Cape
Free State
Kwazulu Natal
Mpumalanga
Northern Cape
Northern
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