Zastron is a small agricultural town in the Free State

Free State

The Free State is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bloemfontein, which is also South Africa's judicial capital. Its historical origins lie in the Orange Free State Boer republic and later Orange Free State Province. The current borders of the province date from 1994 when the Bantustans...

 province of South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

, some 30 km from the border of Lesotho

Lesotho

Lesotho , officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a landlocked country and enclave, surrounded by the Republic of South Africa. It is just over in size with a population of approximately 2,067,000. Its capital and largest city is Maseru. Lesotho is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The name...

. It is situated at the foot of Aasvoëlberg (Vulture Mountain), named for the rare Cape Vulture

Cape Vulture

The Cape Griffon or Cape Vulture , also known as Kolbe's Vulture, is an Old World vulture in the family Accipitridae, which also includes eagles, kites, buzzards and hawks. It is endemic to southern Africa, and is found mainly in South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana and in some parts of northern Namibia...

s attracted by a feeding project a short distance out of town. A curious rock formation in the mountain, Die Oog (The Eye), has been adopted as the town's unofficial emblem.

The town was founded in 1876 on the farm Verliesfontein, and named after the maiden name

Married and maiden names

A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....

 of President Brand's wife, Johanna Sibella Brand, née Zastron.