page_title: Swakopmund
section_title: Until World War I
hierarchical_section_title: Swakopmund / History / Until World War I
caption_attribution_description: Afrikaans: Uitsig oor Swakopmund op die sentrale kus van Namibië, met die Swakoprivier en Namibwoestyn daarnaas, en pier in die vlakwater. Deutsch: Seebrücke (Jetty) Swakopmund, Namibia English: Jetty Swakopmund, Namibia
context_page_description: Swakopmund is a city on the coast of western Namibia, 352 km west of the Namibian capital Windhoek via the B2 main road. It is the capital of the Erongo administrative district. The town has 44,725 inhabitants and covers 196 square kilometres of land. The city is situated in the Namib Desert and is the fourth largest population centre in Namibia.
  Swakopmund is a beach resort and an example of German colonial architecture. It was founded in 1892 as the main harbour for German South West Africa. 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. A 2008 New York Times article describes the town as having "the dislocating feel of a Baltic Sea resort set in the tropics."
  Buildings in the city include the Altes Gefängnis prison, designed by Heinrich Bause in 1909. The Woermannhaus, built in 1906 with a prominent tower, is now a public library. Attractions in Swakopmund include a Swakopmund Museum, the National Marine Aquarium, a crystal gallery, and spectacular sand dunes near Langstrand south of the Swakop River.
context_section_description: 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 its availability of fresh water and a relatively easy connection into the centre of the South West African territory, particularly the 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.
  The Swakop site did, however, not offer any natural protection to ships lying off the coast, a geographical feature not often found 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.
  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 government offices 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; approximately 2,000 Herero died.
  Soon, the harbour created by the "Mole" (breakwater) silted up, and in 1905 work was started on a wooden jetty, but in the long run this was inadequate. In 1914 construction of a steel jetty was therefore commenced. Trading and shipping companies founded branches in Swakopmund.
caption: Aerial view of Swakopmund Jetty (2017)
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