Swakopmund (becomes outdated also: ) is an international seaside resort in the south Atlantic, as well as capital and administrative seat of the constituency of the same name (44.697 km and the region Erongo in Namibia. The city is center of the deutschnamibischen population and has approximately 25,000 inhabitants (conditions: 2005). Swakopmund is between sea dunes and on the north side of the delta of the drying river Swakop, which only occasionally water into the Atlantic leads. The mild coastal climate makes the city a desired local recreation unf for a trip goal of many Namibier (particularly around Christmas and the turn of the year, because it can very warmly become then in the interior), although the coastal seam usually in the morning is fog-imposed, a subsequent effect of the cold Benguela river coming from Antarctic waters.

History

Historical meaning had the city as main port of the German colonial administration in the protected area at that time German southwest Africa and as main port for immigrants from Germany. The actually more suitable Naturhafen of whale bay stood under English administration and the Naturhafen of load-cuts lay off the main access roads into the interior.

• 1793 Dutch sailors anchor for the first time briefly at the delta of the Swakop
• 1862 hisste the crew of the German gunboat wolf as indication of the occupation of the country the German flag at the delta of the Swakop.
• 1892 on 4 August 1892 marked the German gunboat S.M.S. by means of two bars the possible landing place for ships north the delta of the Swakop and demonstrated thereby before the Englishmen in whale bay the sovereignty-legal act of the appropriation of this coastal part for the building of a port by the German Reich. On 12 September 1892 created the realm commissioner and commander at that time of the colonial force, Hptm Curt of Francois, the place and put thereby the foundation-stone for the settlement of military and civilian mechanisms.
• 1893 landed here for the first time under adventurous, because lethal circumstances - 225 soldiers as reinforcement for the colonial force. The Germans began to put on under high costs an artificial port in order to be able to transport from lake the supply for the interior.
• 1894 those Hamburg shipping company Woermann takes up a regular freight traffic. In the coming years everything that was needed by the German colony German southwest Africa, was introduced over Swakopmund.
• 1899 on 13 April 1899 were opened the first telegraph service place in the international service. From there on the building of extensive telegraph lines in the colony began.
• 1902 were begun with the building of a jetty. First it was established from wood, in order to become newly built then 1912 from iron. The popular bridge is called by the Swakopmundern Jetty.
• To 20 June and 1 July 1902 was opened the first GermanSouth West African railway from Swakopmund to Windhuk by those there 100 to km broad sand desert (Namib). (382 km long; up to 1.637 m M. rising). The railway construction including the building of the stations in Swakopmund and Windhuk had been begun by railway troops from the German Reich.
• The municipal law receives 1909 Swakopmund.
• 1912 the coastal radio station one activates on 4 February 1912.
• 1914 23 September, 24 September and 30 October 1914: Bombardment of Swakopmund by English auxiliary cruisers.

Economics

Swakopmund is a tourist place and has particularly during the winter months an active main season. The tourism sector and the associated trade are the probably most important branch of the Swakopmunder economics - fed not only by the numerous tourists particularly made of Europe, but also by the innernamibischen tourism and the circumstance that Swakopmund is owing to its favorable climatic conditions a preferential Refugium for many namibische or South African A large-scale project concerning town construction (the "“Waterfront"”) is in the next years revaluations and with a golf course and further beach plants an attractive tourism magnet become additional to let the dockland.

Traffic route

Swakopmund is by a well removed tar route, beginning the here and until, connected to Mozambique of prominent Trans Kalahari Highway with Windhuk and the nearby port whale bay.

From the Swakopmunder airfield exists a daily, connection maintained by the air Namibia after Windhuk with smaller propeller-driven aircraft. In irregular distances there are flights after load-continues to cut and after Capetown.

Since 1902 the coastal town is connected with whale bay and Windhuk by a narrow trace railway, on which still once on the day a goods train operates. In irregular distances the Shongolo express, a serving Pullman train drives to mainly routistic purposes, into the capital.

Population

Most citizens of the city live outside of the city centre, in the suburbs Kramersdorf, Vineta, Tamariskia and Mondesa. Kramersdorf is a mansion quarter with to a large extent white Namibiern, in Vineta lives both well-off knowing and black Namibier. Tamariskia is the colored quarter and Mondesa originally the 1960 as apartheid reservation created quarter for black Namibier. Up to the time the black ones had lived in the midst of the city.

Although only about 20 per cent of the inhabitants of German descent are, their influence on the city life is not to be misjudged. Swakopmund applies for city of Namibia until today as "“deutscheste"”, that also renaming the originally German street names in "“contemporarily African"” really something did not change. Swakopmund make the probably singular mixture from German North Sea bath, African population and wildful environment a ever more popularly becoming tourist goal for group travelers and individual tourists from all world. Of it witnesses not least the extraordinarily active building activity, which let Swakopmund grow in few years by several kilometers northward.

Articles in category "Swakopmund"

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