Information on Vryheid, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Vryheid is a cattle ranching and coal mining town in KwaZulu-Natal. Vryheid is Afrikaans for liberty or freedom. A number of battle sites from the Boer and Zulu war are within a short distance from Vryheid. Game viewing and hunting is available on the game farms surrounding Vryheid. Other attractions include hot springs, fishing and golf.

After Boer and British mercenaries had helped Dinuzulu defeat his rival Usibepu for the assumption of the Zulu throne, land and farming rights were granted to them along the banks of the Mfolozi River. In 1884, the mercenaries formed the Nieuwe Republiek with Vryheid as its capital. It was later incorporated into the South African Republic, but at the end of the Second Boer War the town and its surrounding area was absorbed into Natal.