Amersfoort

Municipality

Municipality:
District Municipality:

Amersfoort Tourism Bureau

Amersfoort
Phone number: 017-846-1006

Name

Amersfoort is name after the medieval Dutch city Amersfoort in the province of Utrecht in central Netherlands.

Attractions

Amersfoort, at an elevation of 1'664m, lies on the banks of Schulpspruit (Shell Creek) on N11 Highway between Ermelo and Volksrust.

This area is within the WWF highveld grassland ecoregion, and relatively flat with water pans and scattered streams.

History

Amersfoort is name after the medieval Dutch city Amersfoort in the province of Utrecht in central Netherlands. Amersfoort was also the name of a Dutch ship that brought slave children to the Cape of Good Hope. The children were captured from a Portuguese slave trader. In 1658 Commander Jan van Riebeeck established a school for these children. This was the first European type school in southern Africa.

In 1876 a Dutch Reformed Church was established by the Reverend Frans Lion Cachet on a farm in the area. The town developed around the church and was eventually established in 1888.

Economy

Amersfoort is an agricultural town - mainly maize and sheep.

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