Fort Merensky, Dry-stone fort on a hill near Botshabelo mission station, Middelburg, South Africa

Fort Merensky, also called Fort Wilhelm, stands on a hill above Botshabelo, a former Berlin Mission Station 13 km from Middelburg on the Groblersdal road. It was built by dry wall construction, without mortar, to protect the mission converts from attacks by local Bantu tribes. The walls follow the hilltop, and the site overlooks the church and village below.

Alexander Merensky fled Ga-Ratau with a small group of parishioners after attacks by soldiers of Sekhukhune, king of the baPedi, and founded Botshabelo in February 1865 in the Transvaal Republic. Within a year the station held 420 people, and he had Fort Wilhelm built above the church and village, with two further forts guarding the Moutse area.

The name Botshabelo means "place of refuge" in Sotho, given to the station Merensky founded after fleeing Ga-Ratau. The site became the Berlin Mission Society's main spiritual, cultural and educational centre in that part of the Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek, and its church and village stood below the fort.

Fort Merensky stands on a hill near Botshabelo, 13 km from Middelburg on the Groblersdal road. The site is reached on foot from the former mission station, so wear sturdy shoes for the climb. The walls are dry-stone construction, and the position above the church and village gives wide views over the Moutse area.

Merensky named the stronghold Fort Wilhelm, not after himself, and it stood guard above the church and village of Botshabelo. Two further forts completed the ring that shielded the whole Moutse area, so the mission's defence was a system of three positions rather than a single hilltop wall.