Welcome to the website of the
Jewish Community of Bloemfontein
Bloemfontein is the capital of the region between the Orange and Vaal Rivers. The image above is of the Supreme Court of Appeal – making Bloemfontein the judicial capital of South Africa. It is perhaps more famous as the birthplace in 1892 of JRR Tolkien, author of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings.
1848 marks the beginning of Jewish life in Bloemfontein with the arrival of Isaac Baumann, who with a small number of German-speaking Jewish settlers established themselves in the newly founded town in what was then the Orange River Sovereignty, a short-lived British colonial territory (1848-1854) before becoming the independent Orange Free State. In 1910 it became the Orange Free State province of the Union of South Africa and is today known as the Free State province of South Africa.
There were four phases of Jewish life in Bloemfontein: first the German settler phase, from 1848 to 1880; second the Eastern European arrival and settlement (1880-1930); the third phase, 1930 to 1980, was the heyday and peak of the community's power and prosperity, building new synagogues and institutions for its nearly 1500 Jewish souls; the fourth phase, after 1980, was the rapid dwindling and decline.
This website is managed by Jeremy Hodes. For additions and information contact Jeremy (pictured) directly at jeremy@chol.website.
To join the CHOL email list email info@chol.website.
Click here for a map.
Website of the Bloemfontein Jewish Community
Hosted by CHOL – Community History On-Line
Created by Geraldine Auerbach MBE, London, and Jeremy Hodes, Albury, Australia
Acknowledging information and pictures
collected by Eli Rabinowitz, Perth, Australia
Formatted and uploaded by Bramie Lenhoff, Delaware, USA
June 2026
