| Vredefort | |
| Pushpin Map: | South Africa Free State#South Africa |
| Coordinates: | -27.0167°N 50°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | South Africa |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | Free State |
| Subdivision Type2: | District |
| Subdivision Name2: | Fezile Dabi |
| Subdivision Type3: | Municipality |
| Subdivision Name3: | Ngwathe |
| Subdivision Type4: | Main Place |
| Established Title: | Established |
| Established Date: | 1878[1] |
| Leader Title: | Councillor |
| Area Footnotes: | [2] |
| Area Total Km2: | 21.4 |
| Population Total: | 14619 |
| Population As Of: | 2011 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Demographics Type1: | Racial makeup (2011) |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Black African |
| Demographics1 Info1: | 92.4% |
| Demographics1 Title2: | Coloured |
| Demographics1 Info2: | 2.1% |
| Demographics1 Title3: | Indian/Asian |
| Demographics1 Info3: | 0.3% |
| Demographics1 Title4: | White |
| Demographics1 Info4: | 5.0% |
| Demographics1 Title5: | Other |
| Demographics1 Info5: | 0.3% |
| Demographics Type2: | First languages (2011) |
| Demographics2 Title1: | Sotho |
| Demographics2 Info1: | 68.9% |
| Demographics2 Title2: | Xhosa |
| Demographics2 Info2: | 15.7% |
| Demographics2 Title3: | Afrikaans |
| Demographics2 Info3: | 7.7% |
| Demographics2 Title4: | Zulu |
| Demographics2 Info4: | 1.6% |
| Demographics2 Title5: | Other |
| Demographics2 Info5: | 6.0% |
| Timezone1: | SAST |
| Utc Offset1: | +2 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code (street) |
| Postal Code: | 9595 |
| Postal2 Code Type: | PO box |
| Postal2 Code: | 9595 |
| Area Code Type: | Area code |
| Area Code: | 056 |
Vredefort (in Afrikaans ˈfriədəfɔrt/) is a small farming town in the Free State province of South Africa with cattle, peanuts, sorghum, sunflowers and maize being farmed. It is home to 3,000 residents.
The town was established in 1876 on a farm called Visgat, on the Vredefort impact structure, the largest and oldest visible bolide impact crater in the world (with a diameter of 300km (200miles)). It was this approximately 10km (10miles) wide bolide that led to the preservation of the gold-bearing reefs of the Free State some 2.02 billion years ago. The town's name, which translates to "peace fort" in Afrikaans and Dutch, was derived from the peaceful conclusion to a threatened war between the Transvaal and the Orange Free State. The British built a concentration camp here during the Second Boer War to house Boer women and children.
The Vredefort Dome is currently the largest and one of the oldest known asteroid impact sites in the world.[3] It is South Africa's seventh World Heritage Site and its status is largely due to the efforts of research scientists from Wits University.[4]