Van Reenen's Pass

Van Reenen's Pass
Van Reenen's Pass
	Van Reenen's Pass
Elevation	1,690m
Traversed by	N3
Location	Van Reenen, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa
Range	Drakensberg
Coordinates	28°22′12″S 29°22′12″E

Van Reenen's Pass is a pass through the Drakensberg mountains in South Africa. The N3 freeway, the main road between Durban and Johannesburg, was constructed through the pass with the northern end of the pass lying at the border of the provinces of KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State. The village of Van Reenen sits atop the pass and the two nearest towns are Ladysmith and Harrismith, situated in the respective KwaZulu-Natal and Free State provinces.

History

The pass is named after Frans van Reenen who owned the farm Sandspruit at foot of the pass.[1] In 1856, he helped plan a route for a road through the pass.[1] The object of the pass was to open up trade between Natal and the Orange Free State.[2]^: 387 Van Reenen showed the engineers the route he used to move his livestock to the interior.[2]^: 387 A railroad followed in 1891.[2]^: 387

References

Raper, Peter E; Moller, Lucie A; du Plessis, Theodorus L (2014). Dictionary of Southern African Place Names. Jonathan Ball Publishers. ISBN 9781868425501.
Illustrated guide to Southern Africa. Internet Archive. Reader's Digest Association South Africa. 1980. ISBN 978-0-620-04650-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)

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[Dict-1] Raper, Peter E; Moller, Lucie A; du Plessis, Theodorus L (2014). Dictionary of Southern African Place Names. Jonathan Ball Publishers. ISBN 9781868425501.

[Read-2] Illustrated guide to Southern Africa. Internet Archive. Reader's Digest Association South Africa. 1980. ISBN 978-0-620-04650-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)