NamibWeb.com - The online guide to Namibia: Kolmanskop

Kolmanskop

The former diamond boom town of Kolmanskop, finally deserted in 1956, is now a ghost and lies crumbling in the desert 15 km inland from Luderitz (drive 10 km inland on the B4, turn right and then follow signs; it is clearly visible from the road), gradually being weathered by the wind and buried by the sand. It is a fascinating place to visit, offering as it does a glimpse into an exciting part of Namibia's history. In 1908, Zacharias Lewala, a worker on the Luderitz-Aus railway line, presented a shiny stone to his superior August Stauch, who was intelligent enough to obtain a prospecting license before having it officially verified and thereby starting the diamond rush around the site of Kolmanskop. In the early days, in the nearby Itadel Valley, stones were so accessible that prospectors with no mining equipment would crawl on their hands and knees in full moonlight collecting the glittering stone. In September 1908, the Colonial Government declared a Sperrgebiet or 'forbidden zone' extending 360 km northward from the Orange River and 100 km inland from the coast in order to control the mining of the diamonds, and in February 1909, a central diamond market was established.

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