Bethlehem

It is a wheat growing area and named after the biblical Bethlehem, from Hebrew: בֵּית לֶחֶם ("Beit Lechem"), meaning "house of bread".

The city lies at an altitude of 1,700 metres (5,600 ft), which contributes to its cool climate, with frosty winters and mild summers. The average annual temperature is around 14 °C (57 °F).

Bethlehem is situated approximately 240 kilometres (150 mi) north-east of Bloemfontein, 140 kilometres (87 mi) east of Kroonstad and 90 kilometres (56 mi) north-west of Harrismith. The city 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, which forms part of the Thabo Mofutsanyana District Municipality.

The townships historically associated with Bethlehem were established under apartheid-era spatial segregation frameworks, which strictly partitioned residential zones along racial lines.