Welcome to Welkom!
Welkom is the second-largest city in the Free State province. Welkom is known as "Circle City", "City within a Garden", "Mvela" and "Matjhabeng". The city's Sotho name, Matjhabeng, means 'where nations meet', derived from the migrant labor system, where people of various countries such as Lesotho, Malawi, and Mozambique met to work in the mines of the gold fields.
Welkom is the second-largest city in the Free State province of South Africa, located about 140 kilometers (90 mi) northeast of Bloemfontein which is the provincial capital. Welkom is also known as Circle City, City Within A Garden, Mvela, and Matjhabeng. The city's Sotho name, Matjhabeng means 'where nations meet', derived from the migrant labor system, where people of various countries such as Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, etc. met to work in the mines of the gold fields.
A settlement was laid out on a farm named "Welkom" (which is the Afrikaans and Dutch word for "welcome") after gold was discovered in the region, and it was officially proclaimed a town in 1948. The town became a municipality in 1961. It now falls in the Matjhabeng Municipality, part of the Lejweleputswa District. Welkom was officially declared a city on 14 February 1968.