About the town » Bethlehem, Thabo Mofutsanyana District Municipality, Orange Free State, South Africa

Bethlehem is a town in the eastern Free State province of South Africa that is situated on the Liebenbergs river (also called Liebenbergs Vlei) along a fertile valley just south of the Rooiberg Mountains on the N5 road. It is a wheat growing area and named after the biblical Bethlehem (from "Beit Lechem", Hebrew for "house of bread"). The town lies at an altitude of 1,700 metres and this contributes to its cool climate with frosty winters and mild summers. The average annual temperature is around 24 °C Bethlehem is situated approximately 240 kilometres north-east of Bloemfontein, 140 kilometres east of Kroonstad and 90 kilometres west of Harrismith. The town is strategically situated in the heart of the picturesque north-eastern Free State and originally developed as a service centre. Bethlehem is the seat of the Dihlabeng Local Municipality (this municipality is situated within the boundaries of the Thabo Mofutsanyana District Municipality in the Eastern Free State). The township associated with Bethlehem is called Bohlokong (Sesotho meaning "place of pain").