Swakopmund

Swakopmund("Mouth of theSwakop") is a city on the coast of westernNamibia,352 km (219 mi) west of the Namibian capitalWindhoekvia theB2 main road. It is the capital of theErongo administrative district. It has 75,921 inhabitants.
The city is situated at the edge of theNamib Desertand is the fourth largest population centre in Namibia. Swakopmund is a popularbeach resortand characterized by 19th century German colonial architecture. The city was founded in 1892 as the main harbour forGerman South West Africa.
Buildings in the city include theAltes Gefängnis, a prison designed by Heinrich Bause in 1909. The Woermannhaus, built in 1906 with a prominent tower (Damara tower), is now a public library. Attractions in Swakopmund include the Swakopmund Museum,theNational Marine Aquarium of Namibia, the Crystal Gallery.
Activities like quad biking, camel rides,  sky diving, paragliding, and desert day trips are offered in the sand dunes nearLangstrand, south of theSwakop River.
Outside the city, the Rossmund Desert Golf Course is one of only five all-grass desert golf courses in the world.  Nearby is a farm that offers camel rides to tourists and theMartin Luther steam locomotive, dating from 1896 and abandoned in the desert.
The town is named after theSwakop River. TheGermansettlers rendered itSwachaub, and when in 1896 the district was officially proclaimed, the versionSwakopmund(German:Mouth of theSwakop) was introduced.
TheHererocalled the placeOtjozondjii, which means 'place of seashells'.
CaptainCurt von Françoisfounded Swakopmund in 1892 as the main harbour for theImperial Germancolony—the natural deep-sea harbour atWalvis Baybelonged to theBritish. The founding date was on 8 August when the crew of gunboatHyäneerected twobeaconson 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, particularlyOtjimbingweandWindhoek. Other sites such asSandwich HarbourandCape Crosswere found unsuitable due to dune belts that block the way to the hinterland.
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 120Schutztruppesoldiers and 40 settlers were offloaded at Swakopmund in 1893, they had to dig caves into the sand for shelter. The offloading was done byKrutribesmen fromLiberiawho used special boats.Woermann-Linie, the operator of the shipping route to Germany, employed 600 Kru at that time.
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 theHerero Wars, a concentration camp forHerero peoplewas operated in town. Inmates were forced into slave labour,resulting in the death of approximately 2,000 Herero.
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.In 1914, construction of a steel jetty was therefore commenced.Trading and shipping companies founded branches in Swakopmund.
Early inWorld War Iin 1915, German South West Africa was taken over by theUnion of South Africa. With this, the logistic and political barriers disappeared to use the harbour inWalvis BayforSouth West Africa, as the territory now became known. 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 into decline.
However, Swakopmund had been guaranteed a lifeline in a 1923 treaty in London negotiating theaftermath of World War I. Its moderate climate and location on the Atlantic made it suitable as a holiday resort for thewhite populationof the territory, and the town was re-shaped into a tourism destination. Having lost its military importance, Swakopmund was used for recreation even duringWorld War II, and in the 1940s and 1950s it was expanded to serve more and more tourists.
With the opening of theRössing uranium minein 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.
After Namibian independence fromSouth Africain 1990many street names were changedfrom their original German, or in some cases, Afrikaans names, to honour Namibians, predominantly Namibians of black heritage. For example, in 2001, then-president of NamibiaSam Nujomarenamed the main street (Kaiser-Wilhelm-Straße) Sam Nujoma Avenue in honour of himself.
Swakopmund lies on theB2 road, and on theTrans-Namib RailwayfromWindhoektoWalvis Bay. It is served bySwakopmund AirportandSwakopmund Railway Station.
Public health facilities in Swakopmund are the Swakopmund State Hospital and the Tamariskia Clinic. The main private healthcare provider in the city is the Cottage Medi-Clinic, a hospital with 70 beds.
The Swakopmund Correctional Facility is one of Namibia's seven major prisons.
The discovery ofuraniumatRössing70 km (43 mi) outside town led to the development of the world's largestopen-pituranium mine and the foundation ofArandis. This had an enormous impact on all facets of life in Swakopmund which necessitated expansion of the infrastructure of the town to make it into one of the most modern in Namibia.
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".
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 fromSwakopmund Airportsince its founding in 1972.
There are three museums, the Swakopmund Museum, the Kristall Galerie (English:Crystal gallery) and theMartin 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, promptingTheNew York Timesto describe it as "more German than Germany".A 2008New York Timesarticle describes the town as having "the dislocating feel of aBaltic Searesort set in the tropics".
In October 2000, an agreement was signed between the Namibian andPeople's Republic of Chinagovernments to build asatellite tracking stationat Swakopmund. Construction was completed in July 2001 at a site north of Swakopmund to the east of the Henties Bay-Swakopmund road and opposite the Swakopmund Salt Works. The site was chosen as it was on the orbital track of a crewed spacecraft during its re-entry phase. CostingN$12 million, the complex covers an area of 150m by 85m. It is equipped with five metre and nine metre satellite dishes.
The German school Regierungsschule Swakopmund was previously located in the city.The four secondary schools areSecondary 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.
There are the following districts andsuburbsin Swakopmund:
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 thecoloured people, built in the early 1970s, to replace the shacks the coloureds earlier had between the town centre and Vineta. Mondesa existed already in the 1960s, and it was a neighbourhood for theblack people, and it was a considerable distance from the town centre in the early days.
Swakopmund is governed by a municipal council that has ten seats.
Namibia's rulingSWAPOparty won the2010 local authority electionwith 4,496 votes, followed by the localSwakopmund Residents Association(SRA, 1,005 votes), theUnited Democratic Front(UDF, 916 votes), theRally for Democracy and Progress(RDP, 666 votes), and theNational Unity Democratic Organisation(NUDO, 280 votes).The2015 local authority electionwas again won by SWAPO which gained six seats (5,534 votes). One seat each was won by the UDF (1,168 votes), the SRA (790 votes), theDemocratic Turnhalle Alliance(DTA, 497 votes), and NUDO (296 votes).
The2020 local authority electionwas won by theIndependent 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 theLandless People's Movement(LPM, a new party registered in 2018, 1,059 votes) and the UDF with 641 votes.
Surrounded by theNamib Deserton three sides and the coldAtlanticwaters to the west, Swakopmund has adesert climate(BWk, according to theKöppen climate classification) with mild conditions year-round. The average temperature ranges from 15 to 25 °C or 59 to 77 °F. Rainfall is less than 20 millimetres or 0.8 inches per year, making gutters and drainpipes on buildings a rarity. The coldBenguela Currentsupplies moisture for the area in the form offogthat can reach as deep as 140 km (87 mi) inland. Fog that originates offshore from the collision of the cold Benguela Current and warm air from theHadley Cellcreates a fog belt that frequently envelops parts of the Namib desert. Coastal regions can experience more than 180 days of thick fog a year.While this has proved a major hazard to ships – more than one thousand wrecks litter theSkeleton Coast– it is a vital source of moisture for desert life. The fauna and flora of the area have adapted to this phenomenon and now rely upon the fog as a source of moisture. The climate is cold for its latitude, which is just northern of Southern Tropics, and summer months (Dec, Jan, Feb) are even colder than 20 degrees Celsius. This means summer in Swakopmund is colder than winter in Southern Florida (for example Miami), although Swakopmund is closer to the equator.
Swakopmund was the filming location forMad Max: Fury Road.In August 2008, filming commenced in Swakopmund on theAMCtelevision seriesThe PrisonerstarringJim CaviezelandSir Ian McKellen.  In 2002, the city appeared onThe Amazing Race 2and was visited again inThe Amazing Race 26.In 2019, MTV'sThe Challenge: War of the Worldswas filmed in Swakopmund, including the dunes of theNamib Desertand Swakopmund's coast.
22°41′S14°32′E﻿ / ﻿22.683°S 14.533°E﻿ /-22.683; 14.533