Kolmanskop

Kolmanskop

Kolmanskop is a long abandoned town in Namibia. Founded by German colonists during the diamond boom in the early part of the last century, the town survived for less than half a century. Now Kolmanskop is a popular tourist attraction among foreign tourists, reminding of the vanity of modern civilization. Usually travelers stop here as part of a tour of national parks and neighboring ghost towns, as an hour and a half tour with a photo shoot to get acquainted with half-filled Kolmanskop is quite enough.

Video: Kolmanskop from above

• Geographical location of Kolmanskop
• History of the ghost town
• Kolmanskop in its heyday
• Kolmanskop in modern times
• Tourist information
• Excursions to Kolmanskop
• Permission to travel
• Luderitz sights
• How to get there and where to stay

Geographical location of Kolmanskop

The city is located 10 kilometers from the Atlantic coast, in the Namib Desert. It would seem that in the harsh natural conditions, mining can only be done on a rotational basis, so unfavorable is the local climate for humans. The lack of fresh water alone puts an end to the comfort of the settlers. To this must be added a sharp daily temperature difference and a wild wind, with an annoying constant increase in the afternoon. Nevertheless, German entrepreneurs managed to establish a real garden city here, but with fresh water imported from Cape Town itself. The liquid literally became priceless over a 1000 km journey, but the income from the diamonds mined in Kolmanskop covered all the costs.

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History of the ghost town

The town was named “Kolmanskop” after a carter named Colman, who got his wagon stuck here during a sandstorm. He was rescued, many others were less fortunate: getting lost in bad weather meant certain death from thirst and heat, so along with diamonds in the sands often found mummified remains of unfortunate travelers. In 1908, the first diamond was found by an employee of the railroad that united the mines. His boss August Stauch received dividends from the find and invested money in the development of the mines. The government of the colony also oriented itself: they invested money in the development of the site, declared the territory 360 km north of the Orange River and 100 km into the interior a restricted zone, and in the blink of an eye they rebuilt the German city of dreams.

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The fairy tale did not last long: it turned out that diamond reserves were scarce, and soon Kolmanskop was deserted and the cottages fell victim to the sand. Stauch, who had made gigantic sums of money, went bankrupt during World War II and died in poverty.

Namibian diamonds were striking in their clarity, but they were very small. To find them, miners had to crawl on all fours across the diamond fields. The laborers lived in barracks, villas with gardens were built for the management, and the administration lived in Kolmanskop itself. For 400 permanent residents there were several stores, a power station, an elementary school, a dance and gymnasium, a hospital with the first X-ray room in Africa. The latter was intended not so much for medical as for police purposes: workers were mercilessly screened to avoid theft. Each was given 20 liters of free drinking water daily, wine and milk. Unfortunately, the fossil reserves ran out in 1931, at which time a new deposit was found at the mouth of the Orange River. In 1956, the last residents left Kolmanskop, leaving behind only the hulks of buildings.

Kolmanskop in modern times

Popularity returned to the town in the early 21st century when Namibia’s tourism industry began to boom. Authorities quickly made cosmetic repairs to Kolmanskop’s most preserved facilities, restored the casino and gymnasium, and cleared sandy debris where possible. The desolate landscape surprisingly echoes the fantasies of Danelia in the futuristic movie “Kin-Dza-Dza”. However, Russian guests who can appreciate the irony of the director-nature, there are still few: Namibian Atlantic coast is favored by fans of ecotourism from Western Europe, attracted by the low prices and the relative safety of the trip.

Tourist information

When choosing a time to go, you should realize that Kolmanskop is extreme in any season. Due to weather conditions, visiting the “ghost” is allowed only until 13:30, later the wind rises, according to locals. In fact, by European standards, just the wind blows in the first half of the day, and what happens later is a real storm. Photo equipment and faces need to be protected from the sand in order to get back in good health and not suffer property damage.

Excursions at Kolmanskop

Guests travel to Kolmanskop from Lüderitz on a fairly decent paved road. Organized tours take place at 9:30 and 11:00 in English, German and Italian. Tourists are shown hastily restored buildings, a museum inside the director’s house. A snack is available at the cafe.

Travel authorization

The Kolmanskop area falls within the boundaries of the Sperrgebiet National Park, which translates from German as “forbidden zone”. This is by no means a figure of speech – permission to travel must be obtained in advance, usually 6 days in advance, from Lüderitz Safaris & Tours or the Kolmanskop Tour Company in Lüderitz. Tourists are usually offered a comprehensive tour that includes visits to other deserted diamond fields, such as the Merhental Valley, the ghost town of Bogenfels, and the village of Pomona.

Lüderitz sights

Since you can’t get past Lüderitz, otherwise you can’t get a permit, tourists are advised to familiarize themselves with its sights, there are few of them. The town has neat buildings from the time of German colonization. From the rocky part of the coast, tourists observe the habitat of penguins, walk along the sandy beach. It is not recommended to swim far from the shore because of the cold Bengal current. Restaurants in the city are famous for sea fish and seafood dishes.

How to get there and where to stay

The most comfortable hotels are in the capital Windhoek, but you can also stay in Lüderitz, which lies 10 km from Kolmanskop. Foreigners usually arrive in Windhoek, and from there Air Namibia flight, flying twice a week, get to the airport Lüderitz. Travel time is about an hour and the route is served by a compact Embraer ERJ-135 airplane with a single 37-seat economy class cabin. Passengers find the flight conditions acceptable, although they note the standard check-in chaos.

You can rent a car in the capital and drive to Lüderitz in 7 hours, staying on the track so as not to get bogged down in the sand. You need to fill up in Windhoek, you must take a full can of gasoline with you. The road to Kolmanskop is not too crowded, but it is safe. English is spoken by one in ten locals, many know Afrikaans, a dialect of Dutch.