Kolmanskop (

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...

for “Coleman's head”, german: Kolmannskuppe) is a

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * ''Ghost Town'' (1956 film), an American Western film by All ...

in the

Namib The Namib ( ; pt, Namibe) is a coastal desert in Southern Africa. The name is of Khoekhoegowab origin and means "vast place". According to the broadest definition, the Namib stretches for more than along the Atlantic coasts of Angola, Nami ...

in southern

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

, ten kilometres inland from the port town of

Lüderitz Lüderitz is a town in the ǁKaras Region of southern Namibia. It lies on one of the least hospitable coasts in Africa. It is a port developed around Robert Harbour and Shark Island. The town is known for its colonial architecture, includ ...

. It was named after a transport driver named Johnny Coleman who, during a sand storm, abandoned his ox wagon on a small incline opposite the settlement. Once a small but very rich mining village, it is now a tourist destination run by the joint firm Namibia- De Beers.

History

Foundation and peak

In 1908, in what was then

German South-West Africa German South West Africa (german: Deutsch-Südwestafrika) was a colony of the German Empire from 1884 until 1915, though Germany did not officially recognise its loss of this territory until the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. With a total area of ...

, the worker

Zacharias Lewala Zacharias Lewala ( fl. 1908) was a Namibian worker, considered to have started a diamond rush in the area of Lüderitz in the former colony of German South West Africa, now Namibia, with his discovery of a diamond on 14 April 1908. Life Lewala came ...

found a diamond while working in this area and showed it to his supervisor, the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

railway inspector

August Stauch :''This article has been translated from the German Wikipedia article.'' August Stauch (15 January 1878 – 6 May 1947) was a German prospector who discovered a diamond deposits near Lüderitz, in German South West Africa (now Namibia). August St ...

. Realizing the area was rich in diamonds, German miners began settlement, and soon after the German Empire declared a large area as a "'' Sperrgebiet''", starting to exploit the diamond field. Driven by the enormous wealth of the first diamond miners, the residents built the village in the architectural style of a

town, with amenities and institutions including a hospital, ballroom,

power station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many ...

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes comp ...

, skittle-alley,

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

and sport-hall,

casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

ice Ice is water frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 degrees Celsius or Depending on the presence of impurities such as particles of soil or bubbles of air, it can appear transparent or a more or less opaqu ...

factory and the first

x-ray An X-ray, or, much less commonly, X-radiation, is a penetrating form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 10 picometers to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30&nb ...

-station in the southern hemisphere, as well as the first

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

in Africa. It had a railway link to

Decline

The town started to decline during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

when the diamond-field slowly started to deplete. By the early 1920s, the area was in a severe decline. Hastening the town’s demise was the discovery in 1928 of the richest diamond-bearing deposits ever known, on the beach terraces 270 km south of Kolmanskop, near the Orange River. Many of the town’s inhabitants joined the rush to the south, leaving their homes and possessions behind. The new diamond find merely required scouting the beaches as opposed to more difficult mining. The town was ultimately abandoned in 1956. The geological forces of the desert mean that tourists now walk through houses knee-deep in sand. Kolmanskop is popular with photographers for its settings of the desert sands' reclaiming this once-thriving town, and the arid climate preserving the traditional Edwardian architecture in the area. Due to its location within the restricted area ('' Sperrgebiet'') of the Namib desert, tourists need a permit to enter the town.

In popular culture

*Kolmanskop was featured on the series ''Mysteries of the Abandoned'' episode entitled "Animal Uprising", that first aired October 18, 2020 on the Animal Planet Channel. *Kolmanskop was used as the location for the South African TV movie '' The Mantis Project'' (1987). Directed by Manie van Rensburg, produced by Paul Kemp, written by

John Cundill John Cundill (1936–2016) was a South African born television scriptwriter, playwright, journalist and actor. He is best known in South Africa as the television scriptwriter for ''The Villagers'' and ''Westgate'' series. He would later write se ...

, and starred

Marius Weyers Marius Weyers (born 3 February 1945, in Johannesburg) is a South African actor. He lives with his wife Yvette, an artist in her own right, in Rooi-Els in the Western Cape. He received international attention playing Andrew Steyn, a bumbling s ...

and

Sandra Prinsloo Sandra Prinsloo (born 15 September 1947), also known as Sandra Prinzlow, is a South African actress best known internationally for her role as Kate Thompson in the 1980 film '' The Gods Must Be Crazy''. Prinsloo has also appeared in numerous So ...

. *The town was used as one of the locations in the 1993 film ''

Dust Devil A dust devil is a strong, well-formed, and relatively short-lived whirlwind. Its size ranges from small (half a metre wide and a few metres tall) to large (more than 10 m wide and more than 1 km tall). The primary vertical motion is u ...

''. *The 2000 film '' The King Is Alive'' was filmed in Kolmanskop, with the town used as the film's main setting. *The town was featured in a 2010 episode of ''

Life After People ''Life After People'' is a television series on which scientists, mechanical engineers, and other experts speculate about what might become of planet Earth if humanity suddenly disappeared. The featured experts also talk about the impact of hu ...

''. The episode focused on the effects of wind and sand upon the various run-down buildings and displayed rooms that were filled with sand. *The town was used as one of the locations in the 1994 film '' Lunarcop''. *The town was used in the first episode of the BBC series ''

Wonders of the Universe ''Wonders of the Universe'' is a 2011 television series produced by the BBC, Discovery Channel, and Science Channel, hosted by physicist Professor Brian Cox. ''Wonders of the Universe'' was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two from ...

'' to help explain

entropy Entropy is a scientific concept, as well as a measurable physical property, that is most commonly associated with a state of disorder, randomness, or uncertainty. The term and the concept are used in diverse fields, from classical thermodynam ...

and its effect on time. *The television series ''

Destination Truth ''Destination Truth'' is an American paranormal reality television series that premiered on June 6, 2007, on Syfy. Produced by Mandt Bros. Productions and Ping Pong Productions, the program follows paranormal researcher Josh Gates around the wor ...

'' in one of its episodes investigated Kolmanskop, rumored to be haunted. *Tim Walker photographed

Agyness Deyn Agyness Deyn (; born Laura Michelle Hollins; 16 February 1983) is an English model and actress. She is best known for her successful modelling career in the 2000s, and has been called one of the decade's top models. Since her retirement from mod ...

in Kolmanskop, Namibia for ''

Vogue UK British ''Vogue'' is a British fashion magazine published based in London since autumn 1916. It is the British edition of the American magazine ''Vogue'' and is owned and distributed by Condé Montrose Nast. British ''Vogue'' editor in 2012 c ...

'' in May 2011. *The 2011 non-narrative film '' Samsara'' features shots filmed in Kolmanskop. *Featured in 2011 on Season 1, Episode 2 Namibia/Bodie of the television show ''Forgotten Planet''. *The cover of

Tame Impala Tame Impala is the psychedelic music project of Australian multi-instrumentalist Kevin Parker. In the recording studio, Parker writes, records, performs, and produces all of the project's music. As a touring act, Tame Impala consists of Parke ...

's fourth album, ''

The Slow Rush ''The Slow Rush'' is the fourth studio album by Australian musical project Tame Impala, released on 14 February 2020. It follows the 2015 album ''Currents'' and the 2019 singles "Patience" and " Borderline", with the latter serving as the first ...

'' and its singles were photographed at Kolmanskop by Neil Krug. *The music video for George Watsky's ''Undermine'' from the ''Placement'' album was filmed in Kolmanskop.

Literature

* Noli, Gino: ''Desert Diamonds''. Gino Noli, Plettenberg Bay 2010, .

Gallery

Abandoned building, Kolmannskuppe, Namibia.jpg, An Abandoned building File:Abandonded house in Kolmanskop.png, alt=Interior of abandoned house in Kolmanskop, Namibia, Interior of abandoned house File:01Kolmannskuppe.jpg, The town sign of ''Kolmannskuppe''. File:Kolmannskuppe 02.jpg, Abandoned houses in Kolmanskop. File:Kolmanskop.jpg, Abandoned houses. File:Kolmanskop sand.jpg, After the depopulation, sand invaded the houses. File:Minenverwalter Kolmannskuppe.jpg, House of the former mine manager. File:Kolmanskop, Namibia (2813283661).jpg, Main view of ''Kolmannskuppe''. File:Kolmanskop Ghost Town Buildings.jpg, An aerial view of Kolmanskop. File:Kolmannskuppe Eisfabrik.jpg, Ice factory File:Kolmannskuppe Schlafzimmer.jpg, Bedroom File:Kolmannskuppe Haus des Lehrers.jpg, House of the teacher File:Kolmannskuppe stamp 1912.jpg, 10

Pfennig The 'pfennig' (; . 'pfennigs' or ; symbol pf or ₰) or penny is a former German coin or note, which was the official currency from the 9th century until the introduction of the euro in 2002. While a valuable coin during the Middle Ages, ...

stamp with postmark ''Kolmannskuppe 19. 1. 12'' File:Kolmanskop, Namibia (3147308849).jpg, Inside Kolmanskop ballroom File:Kolmanskop near Lüderitz, Namibia (2017).jpg, Aerial view of Kolmanskop (2017) File:Kolmanskop hospital, Lüderitz (Namibia).jpg, Hospital of Kolmanskop

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control Former populated places in Namibia Ghost towns in Africa History of Namibia Lüderitz Diamond industry