Thursday, March 13, 2025 - Luderitz, Namibia

The bay where the town of Luderitz is located was first discovered by Europeans when the Portuguese explorer Dias sailed into it in 1487. He named the bay Angra Pequena, which in Portuguese means small bay.  He erected a stone cross on the southern peninsula but  moved on without claiming it for Portugal.  Today, a lighthouse marks the point where Dias first landed on the Namibian coast. In the 18th century Dutch adventurers and scientists explored the area in search of minerals but did not have much success.  Additional exploration expeditions followed in the early 19th century and the vast wildlife in the ocean was discovered.  They set up profitable businesses, including whaling, seal hunting, fishing and guano-harvesting.  Due to these enterprises Luderitz began its life as a trading post.

The town was finally founded in 1884 when the German flag was officially hoisted in Angra Pequena.  when it was purchased on behalf of Adolf Luderitz, who was from Bremen, Germany.  When Luderitz did not return from an expedition in southern Africa in 1886, Angra Pequena was named Luderitzbucht in his honor but was later shortened to Luderitz.

In 1905, German authorities established a concentration camp on nearby Shark Island.  The camp, access to which was very restricted, operated between 1905 and 1907.  Between 1,000 and 3,000 Africans from the Herero and Nama tribes died there as a result of the tragic conditions of forced labor.  Their labor was used for expansion of the city, railway, port and the farms of white settlers.

Diamonds were discovered nearby in 1909 and Luderitz enjoyed a sudden surge of prosperity due to the development of a diamond rush to the area.  By 1912, Luderitz already had 1,100 residents, not counting the indigenous population.  Trade in the harbor town surged, and the adjacent diamond mining settlement of Kolmanskop was built. 

In 1915, after World War I, South Africa took over the administration of German South West Africa.  Many Germans were deported from Luderitz, contributing to its shrinking population numbers.  After 1920, diamond mining was only conducted further south, which led to the loss of Luderitz' importance as a trading center.  Only small fishing businesses such as fishing continued and dock workers and a few carpet weavers remained.

In 1912, a church on Diamond Hill was built.  It was designed in a gothic style and was consecrated in 1912.  After the completion of the railway line in 1904 and the diamond rush of 1908, Luderitz became the permanent home to a significant white population.  As a result, a number of churches were built.  The oldest Lutheran church, Felsenkirche (church of rock) in Namibia is located in Luderitz and has been a national monument since 1978.

Today, Luderitz is an isolated town built on a windswept, rocky hillside beside the bay, and is located on the only part of the Namibian coast with a rocky shore.  A peninsula with numerous coves juts out of the coast to form the bay.  Three small islands, Penguin, Seal and Flamingo, lie within the bay.  Shark Island was also once located within the bay, but the new harbor development now joins it to the mainland. 

The scorched desert that surrounds Luderitz means the city's collection of German art nouveau architecture couldn't look more unusually placed along the Namibian coastline.  This architecture gives the town a distinct European (German and Dutch) feel.  This quirkiness is what gives the town its charm.  There are groups of playful penguins skipping across the waves, pink flamingos wading by the coast and dolphins leaping into the air near the adjacent islands.  

Although Bob and I have visited the West Coast of Africa a few times, we have never stopped at this small town. Usually we pass it in favor of stopping at Walvis Bay, so having the opportunity to visit Luderitz was a treat for us.  When the Shore Manager gave the lecture which prepared us for our visit, she was careful to remind us to remove all of our jewelry and to expect very, very basic facilities and transportation.  As always, the cruise line arranged the best experiences and transportation that is available in a port, but sometimes it's a struggle!  Luderitz is a very small town and there is not many tourist sites in the surrounding area.  Unfortunately, the only one which sounded interesting necessitated an extensive amount of walking so I was unable to do it, but Bob took the tour and will share his information.  He was only on tour for a little over two hours so there really wasn't such to see!  

Our "city" tour:

Once Bob returned to the ship we talked about it and decided that we would take the ship's shuttle and visit the small town. Since we haven't been here before, we needed to buy a magnet!!!  So, off we went to see the town.  

There are only a few buildings to be visited in town.  There is a museum which has displays of the local flora, history, and information on local indigenous groups.  There is also the Goerke Haus, which is a grand residence or "diamond palace" built in 1909 and restored to its former glory and furnished with period pieces. The palace was originally the home of a mine inspector for the German diamond-mining company.  It was one of the town's most expensive properties.  

Another notable building is the German Evangelical Lutheran Church built in 1912.  The stained-glass windows and the woodwork inside the church are impressive.  The Vertical Gothic-style was popular in the Victorian era.  The exquisite side windows were donated by members of the aristocracy in Germany, while the altar window was a gift from the German Emperor.  The church was claimed a national monument in 1978.

Lastly, we visited the local souvenir store and delicatessen.  We needed to find our magnet and we were told the "Desert Deli" was the best place to shop.  We found our magnet and thought about getting a drink and/or snack but decided against it, since we had been warned about drinking the water.  We decided to be safe and get our refreshments on the ship. Once this task was completed we walked back through town and took the shuttle back to the ship.  

Now, here's Bob's report on his tour of the local ghost town (Kolmanskop):

Kolmanskop is Namibia's most well-known "ghost town", situated in the Spergebiet (forbidden territory), just a few miles (20 minutes) inland from Luderitz.  It is designated as a national park and is located out in the Namib desert.

In 1908, the railway worker, Zacharias Lewala, found a sparkling stone among the sand while he was working in a railway maintenance team near Kolmanskop.  His supervisor was convinced it was a diamond and after this was confirmed, the news spread like wildfire.  The stones were gathered on top of the ground, rather than in deep mines, typical for other areas in Africa.  Collection of the stones was achieved by having 100's of workers, lined up on the ground, who then crawled forward on their bellies, picked up the stones and put them into cans attached to their bodies.  Stones were found on top of the ground due to the ocean covering this area millions of years ago.  When the water receded, the diamonds were left on the top of the ground.

Smuggling became an issue so procedures were put in place to identify workers who attempted to smuggle the stones for their own use.  Various means were used to smuggle including hiding stones in shoes, placing them in arrow tips and shooting the arrow outside the area for later collection, swallowing the stones (x-rays were used to identify such smugglers), hiding the stones in watches or electronics, or other ingenious means.  A small museum is located in the casino and includes sample of the various means that were used to smuggle stones out of the working areas.

Kolmanskop soon became a bustling center providing workers with shelter from the harsh environment of the Namib Desert.  Large, elegant houses were built and it soon resembled a German town, complete with an impressive array of amenities including a hospital, power station, school, two-lane skittle alley, theater and sports hall, casino, ice factory, butchery, bakery and the first x-ray station in the southern hemisphere.  All the existing building are deteriorating due to the high winds with accompanying sand blast destruction.  The national park attempts to maintain some integrity to the deteriorating structures but the environment will win out eventually, in my opinion.  

The development of Kolmanskop reached its peak in the 1920's, with approximately 300 German adults, 40 children and 800 Ovambo contract workers living in the town.  The drop in diamond sales after World War I, as well as the discovery of richer deposits further south, resulted in the decline of Kolmanskop,  Within a span of 20 years, the town flourished and died.

Today the ghost town's crumbling ruins bear little resemblance to its former glory.  The stately homes have been  nearly demolished by the wind, and are gradually becoming enveloped by encroaching sand dunes.  The area creates the perfect backdrop for good photographic opportunities, and film enthusiasts may be interested to know, that in 2000, the film, The King is Alive, was filmed in Kolmanskop, with the town being utilized as the film's main setting.  The town was also used as one of the locations in the 1993 film, Dust Devils.

During our walking tour, we were given a short introduction about the history of this iconic ghost town as well as the diamond industry today.  Many of the guests were observed with their head's down during their walk around exploring the ground for undiscovered diamond droppings.

Our visit to the small, colorful and unique town of Luderitz and the adjacent ghost town of Kolmanskop has been very interesting.  This tiny town, which sets on the Atlantic Ocean coastline where it meets the Namib Desert has weathered the frenzy of a diamond rush and the rise and fall of many fortunes over the years but has kept its sleepy old world atmosphere on this cool and often foggy Atlantic coast.  Our visit is quite brief, since we are leaving tonight and sailing to Walvis Bay, which we have visited a few times in the past.