Parys
Parys is a town situated on the banks of the Vaal River in the Free State province of South Africa. Population 43,791.
In the early 1870’s, towns in the northern Free State were very far apart and members of different churches had to travel great distances to take part in religious services. It was then decided by the Ring of the Dutch Reformed Church to implant the idea of a congregation north of the Rhenoster River into the minds of the residents of the farm Klipspruit, on the Vaal River, which was owned by four van Coller brothers. After long deliberation by the brothers, the first erven were laid out in 1876, and the little town of Parys was born.
The name of the town is the Afrikaans translation of Paris. The name was given by a German surveyor named Schilbach who had participated in the Siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War and the location next to the Vaal reminded him of Paris on the River Seine.
