The town of Kroonstad, the third-largest town in Free State province of South Africa, lies two hours drive from Gauteng.

It was established in 1855. In the 1991 census it had a population of 110,963. The main industry is agriculture. A caravan park and many more camp sites on the banks of the willow-lined Vals River are frequented by anglers and watersport enthusiasts.

Folklore has it that the town was named after a horse named Kroon (Crown), belonging to              Voortrekker Sarel Cilliers, which drowned in a stream on the site of the present town. From 13 March-11 May 1900, it was the capital of the Orange Free State. The British built a concentration  camp here during the Second Boer War to house Boer women and children.