Breyten is a small farming town in Mpumalanga, South Africa and is situated at the foot of Klipstapel, the highest point on the watershed between the westward flowing Vaal River system and the eastward flowing Olifants and Komati River systems. The original farm, Bothasrus on which the town is built was given to Lukas Potgieter as compensation for losing a leg during the first Boer War. He later sold the farm to field-cornet Nicolaas Breytenbach, who formed the village in his own name.
Breyten is very close to Ermelo. In fact, the community from Breyten do most of their household errands in Ermelo. Carolina and Hendrina are also close to Ermelo.
Breyten is heavily dependent on the mines around it. Tselentis Mine, Spitzkop Mine and a host of other mines employs the majority of the people of Breyten. There is also a leather factory in Breyten called JCB Leather Works. It is a known fact that it produces top leather goods! Who knows, perhaps the shoe, belt or jacket that you have on was made from leather from the JCB Leather Works.
The main spoken languages are i-SiSwati, Zulu and Ndebele. i-SiSwati dominates.
Breyten is very cold in winter and very hot in summer.
The place is very vibrant during public holidays. All the sons and daughters of Breyten visit home during these holidays. It is common to find people from Gauteng -Soweto and Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban in Breyten.