Swakopmund

Swakopmund (English: "Mouth of the Swakop") is a city on the coast of western Namibia, 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 of land. The city is situated at the edge of the Namib Desert and is the fourth largest population centre in Namibia. Swakopmund is a beach resort and characterized by German colonial architecture. The city was founded in 1892 as the main harbour for German South West Africa. Buildings in the city include the Altes 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, the National Marine Aquarium of Namibia, the Crystal Gallery. Activities like quad biking, camel rides, paragliding and desert day trips are offered in the spectacular 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. Nearby is a farm that offers camel rides to tourists and the Martin Luther steam locomotive, dating from 1896 and abandoned in the desert. The town is named after the Swakop River. The German settlers rendered it Swachaub, and when in 1896 the district was officially proclaimed, the version Swakopmund (German: Mouth of the Swakop) was introduced. The Herero called the place Otjozondjii 'place of seashells'. 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 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.