Botshabelo was the major spiritual, cultural and educational centre of the Berliner Mission Society in the part of South Africa at one time known as the Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek (ZAR). It played a significant role during the Sekhukuni, the Mapoch, First and Second South African Wars. At one time it was one of very few institutions in the old Transvaal where black people could receive a tertiary education. Symbolically it is one of the most important sites of land restitution in the new South Africa. The placing of this historic village in an environmentally sensitive part of the Highveld, which sustains a diverse range of indigenous fauna and flora, further recommends its declaration.
