Swakopmund
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Swakopmund
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Climate | BWk |
Website | swakopmun |
Swakopmund, (a German name translating to English as: "Mouth of the Swakop") is a city on the coast of western Namibia,[3] 352 km (219 mi) west of the Namibian capital Windhoek via the B2 main road. It is the capital of the Erongo administrative district. As of 2011[update], the town had 44,725 inhabitants and 196 km2 (76 sq mi) of land.[1][4] In 2023, the population had increased to 75,921 people.[5]
The city is situated at the edge of the
Buildings in the city include the
Activities like quad biking, camel rides, sky diving, paragliding, and desert day trips are offered in the sand dunes near Langstrand, south of the Swakop River.
Outside the city, the Rossmund Desert Golf Course is one of only five all-grass desert golf courses in the world. A farm that camel rides to tourists and the Martin Luther steam locomotive, dating from 1896 and abandoned in the desert.
History
Etymology
The town is named after the
The Herero called the place Otjozondjii 'place of seashells'.[8]
Until World War I
Captain Curt von François founded Swakopmund in 1892 as the main harbour for the Imperial German colony—the natural deep-sea harbour at Walvis Bay belonged to the British. The founding date was on August 8 when the crew of gunboat Hyäne erected two beacons on the shore. Swakopmund was chosen for the availability of fresh water and a relatively easy connection into the centre of the South West African territory, particularly Otjimbingwe and Windhoek. Other sites such as Sandwich Harbour and Cape Cross were found unsuitable due to dune belts that block the way to the hinterland.[9]
The Swakop site did not offer any natural protection to ships lying off the coast, a geographical feature sparsely located along Namibia's coast. When the first 120 Schutztruppe soldiers and 40 settlers were offloaded at Swakopmund in 1893, they had to dig caves into the sand for shelter. The offloading was done by Kru tribesmen from Liberia who used special boats. Woermann-Linie, the operator of the shipping route to Germany, employed 600 Kru at that time.[7]
Swakopmund quickly became the main port for imports and exports for the whole territory and was one of six towns which received municipal status in 1909. Many governmental departments for German South West Africa had offices in Swakopmund. During the Herero Wars a concentration camp for Herero people was operated in town. Inmates were forced into slave labour,[10] resulting in the death of approximately 2,000 Herero.[citation needed]
Soon, the harbour created by the "Mole" (breakwater) silted up, and in 1905, work was started on a wooden jetty, but in the long term this was inadequate.[citation needed] In 1914, construction of a steel jetty was therefore commenced.[citation needed] Trading and shipping companies founded branches in Swakopmund.
Until Namibian Independence
Early in World War I in 1915, German South West Africa was taken over by the Union of South Africa. With this, the logistic and political barriers disappeared to use the harbour in Walvis Bay for South West Africa. In Swakopmund all harbour activities ceased, central government services disappeared, and the jetty became a pedestrian walkway. Businesses closed down, the number of inhabitants diminished, and the town fell in decline.[11]
However, Swakopmund had been guaranteed a lifeline in a 1923 treaty in London negotiating the aftermath of World War I. Its moderate climate and location on the Atlantic made it suitable as a holiday resort for the white population of the territory, and the town was re-shaped into a tourism destination. Having lost its military importance, Swakopmund was used for recreation even during World War II, and in the 1940s and 1950s it was expanded to serve more and more tourists.[12]
With the opening of the Rössing uranium mine in 1976, Swakopmund changed its shape once again. While this mine 60 kilometres (37 mi) to the east eventually got its own town built, Arandis, logistics and workers' accommodation were first supplied by Swakopmund.[13]
Since 1990
After Namibian independence from South Africa in 1990 many street names were changed from their original German, or in some cases, Afrikaans names, to honour Namibians, predominantly Namibians of black heritage. For example, in 2001, then-president of Namibia Sam Nujoma renamed the main street (Kaiser-Wilhelm-Straße) Sam Nujoma Avenue in honour of himself.[14]
Economy
Mining
The discovery of
Salt Company Swakopmund produces approximately 120,000 tons of table salt per year through solar evaporation of sea water. The salt is marketed as "Light Flow".[15]
Tourism
The city has scattered coffee shops, night clubs, bars, and hotels. Recreation includes balloon rides, skydiving, quad biking, and small marine cruises. The Swakopmund Skydiving Club has operated from Swakopmund Airport since its founding in 1972.
There are three museums, the Swakopmund Museum, the Kristall Galerie (English: Crystal gallery) and the Martin Luther (steam locomotive) museum outside town.
As of the 1970s, German influences remained evident, including German street names, a German daily newspaper, and the German language being spoken by some residents, prompting The
Technology
In October 2000, an agreement was signed between the Namibian and
Transport
Swakopmund lies on the
Education
The German school Regierungsschule Swakopmund was previously located in the city.[18] The four secondary schools are Secondary School Swakopmund, Namib High School, Private School Swakopmund, and Coastal High School. West Side High School, Atlantic High School and Private School Swakopmund include both primary and secondary grades. Other Primary schools include Hanganeni Primary, Tamariskia Primary, Festus ǃGonteb Primary, Swakopmund Primary, Namib Primary and Vrede Rede Primary Schools.
Health
The main healthcare provider in the city is the Cottage Medi-Clinic, a hospital with 70 beds.[19] The other public health facilities in Swakopmund are Swakopmund State Hospital and Tamariskia Clinic.
Politics
Administrative divisions
There are the following districts and
- Town Centre
- Vineta
- Mile 4
- Ocean View
- Kramersdorf
- Vogelstrand
- Waterfront
- Mondesa
- Matutura
- Industrial Area
- Tamariskia
- informal settlement founded in 2001 as temporary housing for people waiting for subsidized housing in the city.[20]
Most inhabitants of the town live in the suburbs of Vineta, Tamariskia, Mondesa and Vogelstrand. Both black and white people, mostly well-to-do, live in Vineta. Tamariskia was originally a neighbourhood for the
Local authority elections
Swakopmund is governed by a municipal council that has ten seats.[21]
Namibia's ruling
The 2020 local authority election was won by the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC), an opposition party formed in August 2020. The IPC obtained 3,458 votes and gained three seats. SWAPO was the runner-up, obtaining 2,745 votes and also gaining three seats. The SRA obtained 1,575 votes and two seats, and one seat each went to the Landless People's Movement (LPM, a new party registered in 2018, 1,059 votes) and the UDF with 641 votes.[24]
Geography
Climate
Surrounded by the
Climate data for Swakopmund | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 22 (72) |
23 (73) |
22 (72) |
21 (70) |
21 (70) |
20 (68) |
20 (68) |
18 (64) |
18 (64) |
19 (66) |
21 (70) |
22 (72) |
21 (69) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 16 (61) |
16 (61) |
16 (61) |
14 (57) |
12 (54) |
11 (52) |
10 (50) |
10 (50) |
11 (52) |
12 (54) |
14 (57) |
15 (59) |
13 (56) |
Average rainfall mm (inches) | 1 (0.0) |
2 (0.1) |
6 (0.2) |
2 (0.1) |
1 (0.0) |
1 (0.0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
1 (0.0) |
0 (0) |
1 (0.0) |
1 (0.0) |
16 (0.4) |
Source: World Climate Guide |
Notable people
- Rosina ǁHoabes, former mayor
- Werner Schulz (footballer)
- Turkish Super League
In popular culture
Swakopmund was the filming location for
References
- ^ a b c "Table 2.1 Population density by area" (PDF). 2011 Population and Housing Census - Erongo Regional Profile. Namibia Statistics Agency. p. 4. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
- ^ "Table 4.2.2 Urban population by Census years (2001 and 2011)" (PDF). Namibia 2011 - Population and Housing Census Main Report. Namibia Statistics Agency. p. 39. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
- ^ "Local Authorities". Association of Local Authorities in Namibia (ALAN). Archived from the original on 10 June 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2012.
- ^ "ELECTIONS 2010: Erongo regional profile". New Era. 16 November 2010. Archived from the original on 6 September 2012. Retrieved 16 November 2010.
- ^ "Namibia: Regions, Towns, Villages & Settlements - Population Statistics, Maps, Charts, Weather and Web Information". www.citypopulation.de. Retrieved 2024-03-16.
- ^ "Swakopmund Museum". Scientific Society Swakopmund. Archived from the original on 2021-10-21. Retrieved 2017-12-17.
- ^ a b "Swakopmund". namibweb.com. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
- ^ Menges, Werner (12 May 2005). "Windhoek?! Rather make that Otjomuise". The Namibian.
- ^ Chronik 1986, p. 6.
- ISBN 9780316303583. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
- ^ Chronik 1986, p. 27.
- ^ Chronik 1986, p. 27–29.
- ^ Chronik 1986, p. 34.
- ^ Barnard, Maggi (12 December 2002). "Namibia: Minister Urges Swakopmund Residents to Accept Change" – via AllAfrica.
- ^ Steenkamp, Floris (July 2022). "Namibia among Major Salt Producers". Mining Journal supplement to The Namibian. p. 13.
- ^ Times, Henry Kamm Special to The New York (30 October 1976). "South‐West Africa City Remains 'More German Than Germany'". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
- ^ Hammer, Joshua (13 June 2008). "Retracing the steps of German colonizers in Namibia". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
- ^ "Deutscher Bundestag 4. Wahlperiode Drucksache IV/3672" (Archive). Bundestag (West Germany). 23 June 1965. Retrieved on 12 March 2016. p. 32/51.
- ^ "Our Hospitals". cottagemc.co.za. Archived from the original on 2021-10-16. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
- ^ Swakop’s DRC to provide for youth February 13, 2008, The Namibian
- ^ "Know Your Local Authority". Election Watch. No. 3. Institute for Public Policy Research. 2015. p. 4.
- ^ "Press Release Local Authority – Erongo – Swakopmund". Electoral Commission of Namibia. Archived from the original on 25 January 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
- ^ "Local elections results". Electoral Commission of Namibia. 28 November 2015. pp. 1–2. Archived from the original on 10 December 2015.
- ^ "2020 Local Authority Elections Results and Allocation of Seats" (PDF). Electoral Commission of Namibia. 29 November 2020. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 January 2021. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
- ISBN 978-90-481-3054-2.
- ^ Spriggs, Amy. "Namib desert (AT1315)". Wild World. World Wildlife Fund. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
- ^ Williams, Sue (14 May 2015). "How Australia got magnificently replaced in Mad Max".
- AMCwebsite. Retrieved 2008-09-23.
- ISBN 9781941631454.
- ^ Walker, Jodi. "'The Amazing Race' recap: 'Back in Business'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
- ^ Smith, Shona. "Namib Film facilitate filming for MTV's The Challenge: War of the Worlds". The Location Guide. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
- ^ Andy Dehnart (26 October 2018). "The Challenge season 33 cast includes two Big Brother winners". Reality Blurred. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
Sources
- Massmann, Ursula, ed. (1986). Swakopmund. Eine kleine Chronik [Swakopmund. A small chronicle.] (in German) (2nd ed.). Swakopmund Museum. ISBN 062006062X.