Frankfort, Free State
Frankfort | |
|---|---|
Industrial buildings in Frankfort | |
| Coordinates: 27°17′S 28°31′E / 27.283°S 28.517°E | |
| Country | South Africa |
| Province | Free State |
| District | Fezile Dabi |
| Municipality | Mafube |
| Established | 1878 |
| Area | |
• Total | 20.9 km2 (8.1 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 1,530 m (5,020 ft) |
| Population (2011) | |
• Total | 26,144 |
| • Density | 1,300/km2 (3,200/sq mi) |
| Racial makeup (2011) | |
| • Black African | 91.0% |
| • Coloured | 0.5% |
| • Indian/Asian | 0.2% |
| • White | 8.2% |
| • Other | 0.2% |
| First languages (2011) | |
| • Sotho | 61.8% |
| • Zulu | 22.3% |
| • Afrikaans | 9.0% |
| • Xhosa | 1.9% |
| • Other | 5.0% |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (SAST) |
| Postal code (street) | 9830 |
| PO box | 9830 |
| Area code | 058 |
Frankfort is a small farming town situated on the banks of the Wilge River in the Free State province of South Africa. The town was laid out in 1869 on the farm Roodepoort, and named Frankfurt (after Frankfurt-am-Main in Germany) by Albert van Gordon. The town later received municipality status in 1896.
Frankfort is now the capital town to Villiers, Cornelia and Tweeling, called the Mafube Municipality. The main street is 'Brand Street', named after the 4th president of the Orange Free State, Sir Johannes Brand. (The name has since changed to J.J Hadebe.) Sir Johannes Brand visited the town during 1883 and laid the cornerstone of the Dutch Reformed Church. This church was burnt down by the British troops during the Second Boer War (1899–1902). After the war the church was rebuilt and inaugurated in 1918. The Second Boer War was disastrous for the town; according to one contemporary source there were ′not a house or tree′ remaining after the destruction.