Lüderitz is a harbour town in southwest Namibia, lying on one of the least hospitable coasts in Africa. It is a port developed around Robert Harbour and Shark Island. The town is known for its colonial architecture, including some Art Nouveau work, and for wildlife including seals, penguins, flamingos and ostriches. It is also home to a museum, and lies at the end of a currently decommissioned railway line to Keetmanshoop.
The town was founded in 1883 when Heinrich Vogelsang purchased Angra Pequena and some of the surrounding land on behalf of Adolf Lüderitz, a Hanseat from Bremen in Germany, from the local Nama chief, Josef Frederiks II, in Bethanie. When Adolf Lüderitz did not return from an expedition to the Orange River in 1886, Angra Pequena was named Lüderitzbucht in his honour.
In 1905, German authorities established a concentration camp on Shark Island during the Herero Wars. Between 1,000 and 3,000 Africans from the Herero and Nama tribes died here as a result of forced labour. A
After the discovery of diamonds nearby, Lüderitz enjoyed a sudden surge of prosperity due to the development of a diamond rush to the area. In 1912 Lüderitz had 1,100 European inhabitants. At this time the nearby diamond mining settlement of Kolmanskop was built.
After the German World War I surrender, South Africa took over the administration of German South-West Africa in 1915. Many Germans were deported from Lüderitz, contributing to it shrinking in population numbers. From 1920 onwards, diamond mining was only conducted further south of town in places like Pomona and Elizabeth Bay. Lüderitz' importance declined and only small fishing enterprises, minimal dock activity, and a few carpet weavers remained.
The harbour has a very shallow rock bottom, making it unusable for modern ships; which led to Walvis Bay becoming the centre of the Namibian shipping industry. Recently, however, the addition of a new quay has allowed larger fishing vessels to dock at Lüderitz. The town has also re-styled itself in an attempt to lure tourists to the area, which includes a new waterfront area for shops and offices.
Just outside Lüderitz lies the ghost town of Kolmanskop, a prominent tourist destination. This previously bustling diamond town is now abandoned, and fights a constant struggle against being buried under the shifting sand dunes of the Namib desert.
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We also visited Goerke Haus, which was built in 1910. This is an extremely good example of German colonial architecture. The sheer scale of Goerke Haus and the way it blends into the rockface is very impressive. Originally the home of Lieutenant Hans Goerke, and designed by architect Otto Ertl and constructed in 1910 on Diamond Hill, it was one of the town’s most extravagant properties. The owners new wife came out from Germany, stayed a short time, & having decided she did not like Luderitz, she returned to Germany
The house became the headquarters of the CDM (mining Company) and served as a guest house for the company’s VIPs and was also the magistrate’s residence. Eventually it fell into disrepair in private hands. The government bought and repaired the house and opened it as a museum. However, it is still occasionally used as a guest house for diamond VIPs.
The only sign of SWAPO I saw in Luderitz was this sticker on a car