Petrusburg

Petrusburg
Petrusburg Location in the Free State
Petrusburg
Coordinates: 29°07′S 25°25′E
Country	South Africa
Province	Free State
District	Xhariep
Municipality	Letsemeng
Area
• Total	1.99 km2 (0.77 sq mi)
Population (2001)
• Total	588
• Density	295/km2 (760/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2001)
• Black African	7.7%
• Indian/Asian	0.5%
• White	91.8%
First languages (2001)
• Afrikaans	95.4%
• Sotho	2.0%
• English	1.0%
• Other	1.6%
Time zone	SAST (UTC+2)

Petrusburg is a small mixed farming town in the Free State province of South Africa. It started out as a Dutch Reformed Church serving the farms in 1891. When it became a town, it was originally started on a farm close to "Emmaus", a railway station on the line between Bloemfontein and Kimberley. The original foundations are still there, but they ran out of water, and had to move to the present location where a strong fountain was available. So much so that the first houses had free running water from the fountain for irrigation. The town was named after Petrus Albertus Venter, whose farm, Diepfontein, provided the original land. It is situated between Bloemfontein (80 km on the N8) and Kimberley (80 km on the N8).

Every year in March, a big music festival is held called the Aartappelfees (Potato Festival). The main street in town is Pretorius Street, but the busiest street is Ossewa street. The main school in town is A.J.C. Jooste High school. Next to Petrusburg is also a large township called Bolokanang, a legacy of the Apartheid era, which is expanding in recent years.