Breyten is a small farming town situated along the R36 Provincial Route in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa.
The town is located 25 km west of Chrissiesmeer, 30 km north of Ermelo, 32 km south-west of Carolina, and 35 km south-east of Hendrina.
Breyten lies at the foot of Klipstapel, meaning “rock pile” in Afrikaans, which at 1829 metres above sea level is the highest point on the watershed between the westward- flowing Vaal River system and the eastward-flowing Olifants and Komati River systems. In the late summer months the landscape is swathed in the pink and white of cosmos flowers.
The Batwa Valley region surrounding Breyten is brimming with San history that is seldom told.
The town’s origins are quite intriguing as Bothasrus, which was the original farmstead on which the town was established, was granted to Mr Lukas Potgieter after he lost his leg during the first Anglo-Boer War. Potgieter later sold it to Nicolaas Breytenbach who named the village after himself.
Although the farming town of Breyten was a bustling railway stop between Johannesburg and Nelspruit in the early 20th century, today the only remnants of that history is the class 19 series (number 1369) steam locomotive and carriage that is painted in the South African flag and plinthed outside the old railway station.
Breyten is also home to one of three leather tanneries left in South Africa, which sells sheepskin slippers across the county and is the town’s biggest employer.
The main spoken languages are isiZulu, Siswati and Afrikaans.
