Monday, March 22, 2010

Maitland Street - Bloemfontein, South Africa


This card dates from around 1910. Currently, Bloemfontein, with a population of about 370,000, is the capital and cultural center of the Free State Province (formerly the Orange Free State) in South Africa. It is also the seat of the South African Supreme Court of Appeal.


Bloemfontein is known for its flowers; it is also the birthplace of J.R.R Tolkien, author of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. Tolkien was born here in 1892, but left South Africa for England when he was three years old. He and his mother and brother had actually intended to return to South Africa after visiting relatives, but Tolkien's father died in South Africa during their visit abroad, so the rest of the family ended up staying in England. Tolkien also suffered a spider bite in Bloemfontein, which gave him a lifelong fear of spiders.

2 comments:

  1. Das sieht beinah europäisch aus.
    Ich hab einen Kommentar unter die Dresdenkarten geschrieben.
    Mir ist was aufgefallen, was dir vielleicht entgangen ist.
    Hab einen guten Start in die Woche
    Janine

    ReplyDelete
  2. Danke Janine,
    Ja es sieht ein bisschen wie Holland aus, weil die Hollaendische Einsiedler Vieles gebaut haben. Vielen Dank auch fuer dein Kommentar. Du hast Recht; es ist mir entgangen. Ich kann Suetterlin nur mit viel Muehe lesen.

    ReplyDelete

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