Kroonstad (lit. 'Crown City' in Afrikaans) is a town on the N1 highway in Free State, South Africa. It is the fourth largest town in the Free State (after Bloemfontein, Welkom and Bethlehem). It is the second-largest commercial and urban centre in the Northern Free State (after Welkom), and an important railway junction on the main line from Cape Town to Johannesburg.

Kroonstad was established in 1855 by the Irish pioneer Joseph Orpen, and was the first town founded after the independence of the Orange Free State. It was chosen as the capital of the state, a dignity it held from the March 13 to May 11 1900. On the following day the town was occupied by Lord Roberts. The linking of the town in 1906 with the Colony of Natal made the route via Kroonstad the shortest railway connection between Cape Town and Durban.

While Kroon means "crown", this was in fact the name of a horse that had drowned in the nearby ford. A lover of animals, Orpen had witnessed the incident, and named the infant settlement in honour of the unfortunate creature. Similarly, the ford in question came to be known as Kroondrift.

During the Second Boer War, from 13 March to 11 May 1900, the city became the capital of the Orange Free State, and subsequently the site of a concentration camp to contain Boer women and children.

The main industry of Kroonstad is agriculture. It is the centre of a rich agricultural district, producing maize, wheat, dairy and meat products and wool. The Bloemhoek Dam lies just east of the town and supplies much of its water needs. A caravan park and many more camp sites on the banks of the willow-lined Vals River (Afrikaans: Valsrivier) are frequented by anglers and watersport enthusiasts.

Leisure opportunities are plentiful in Kroonstad, where visitors can enjoy golf on the 18-hole course in the town, lion tours and interaction with lion and tiger cubs at the Boskoppie Lion and Tiger Park, fishing in the well stocked Vals River or on the Bloemhoek Dam, and boating on the Serfontein Dam. Horseriding, gliding and hiking trails are also available.

Kroonstad lies directly on the N1, which bypasses the town centre to the east (to Johannesburg in the north and Bloemfontein in the south). Other regional roads in the town are the R34 to Odendaalsrus in the south-west and Heilbron in the east, the R76 to Steynsrus in the south-east and Viljoenskroon in the north-west, the R721 to Vredefort in the north-west and the R82 to Sasolburg in the north-east.

Kroonstad railway station serves the town and is located on the important railway junction from Cape Town to Johannesburg via Bloemfontein.