Kolmanskop, the desert ghost town
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History
Kolmanskop (in German: Kolmanskop) is an abandoned settlement in Namibia, formerly German South-West Africa. The town is located circa ten kilometers east of the harbor town of Lüderitz and owes its existence to the diamond boom Namibia around 1905. It is the most famous ghost town of Namibia, which can be visited even today. The place was by Jonny Coleman, who with his team tranzportierte goods between Keetmanshoop and Lüderitz back and forth, named. In 1905, he was caught in a sandstorm, at the point enstand later, the future town of Kolmanskop. Jonny Coleman was saved, but his oxcart he had to be back in the sand. A veterinarian and your begleider, both located in the area were also covered by the Sandstrum and thirst. Their mummified bodies were later found and excavated by diamond seekers. The Lüderitz Railway reached the place also in 1905 on their way to the corner. On April 14, 1908, the railway employees Zacharias Lewala took place on lands adjoining the railway station "grass-plot" happened to be the first diamond. Lewala became the eighth of his superior, August Stauch, the very Mineralogy interesierte since his arrival in the German colony, urged on special stones. Zacharias Lewala knew he had encountered in the construction of the railway line between Keetmanshoop and Lüderitz on a big find and handed the diamonds August Stauch, who immediately recognized the value of the find. To check he is said to have carved the diamond with its clock glass. A geologist in Aus later confirmed the authenticity of the Diamantens.August Stauch, who came because of his asthma after German South-West Africa, 1907, secured with two other mining rights in the area. As a web master, it was for him a 9 km long section of the railway line from Lüderitz to Aus kept free of sand drifts. The first diamond hunters crawled first simply through the sand, they have found a variety of precious stones. In September 1908, the German government declared a zone of 360 km north of the Orange River, and 100 km inland and inside a restricted area. In order for the uncontrolled Abbbau the diamond should be prevented. North of Kolmanskop Diamonds are later found, but as they do, despite the good quality were very small, this area turned out to be not very productive. The discovery of diamonds gave the region a better delivery upswing. The resulting induced boom caused a rapid growth of this initially as a diamond-Camp imaginary settlement on the northern border of the diamond restricted area. The wealth of the inhabitants was founded on diamonds created a place where all the luxury that was to get time for money was available. In an environment where there is no water, no rain, no earth in could grow something and did not Infastruktur, but only sand, regular fierce sandstorms and relentless heat and drought. Despite the hostile and desolate around Namib, lived in Kolmankop up to 400 people in stately stone houses on the German model. The accommodation of the workers were separated by married and bachelor. There were administrative and service buildings. To Infastruktur a power station, a hospital with the first X-ray station Africa and around the southern hemisphere, an ice factory for the production of block ice for residents, a mom-and-pop store, a butcher, a ballroom were called building with Thaeter, gym and large kitchen , a bowling alley and a school. Add to that a salt-water pool and a small narrow gauge railway. This was used for the Tranzport of goods and people within the village. The lemonade factory made sure that every household daily lemonade and received drinking water. Each Kolmanskop residents were daily to 20 liters of drinking water, this was free ready made and everything that was necessary for daily life, had to be herantranzportiert from the 1000 km entfernden Cape Town. Half an ice rod was then pay for this myself a day to each family households had longer needed. The milk was provided free of charge. The building material for houses whose inner orientations machines and everything then known in Europe under luxury, came from Germany and was mostly landed in Lüderitz. The X-ray machine at the local hospital was used not only to diagnose broken bones, also were workers with suspected diamond theft, backlit. The hospital had two good doctors and a wine cellar. Dr. Paul Kränzle recommended to drink every day a glass of wine each patient. The key to health after long, the opinion of Dr. von Lossow are (the other doctor of a good surgeon and bone expert was) raw onions and garlic. He himself lived by this motto. For ordinary miners another hospital was built. The drinking water managed from Cape Town by ship from Lüderitz and from there into the emerging Kolmanskop. For saltwater freshwater recovered was in the places Bogenfels and Lüderitz. The residents of Kolmanskop lived for a time in very good Verhälnissen. For the wealthy residents of Kolmanskop huge sand villas were available, wonderful gardens, despite the drought, were created. Most objects in Kolmanskop belonged to the newly rich August Stauch. The building designed-known architects from Germany, in the Namib desert emerged as a progressive and modern place. The top bosses lived in villas on the hills and the normal people in simple wooden houses in the city. Simple barracks outside the city there was for the 800 black laborers. Kolmanskop was considered the richest city in Africa, which may on the basis of Weigen residents vote and yet everything was only for a short time. To Kolmanskop diamonds were found in the amount of five million carats in the first five years. The residents have assumed the diamond deposits would you still long bescherren a wonderful life. But as the obvious Diamentenfelder were soon removed, the diamond mining shifted further south in the direction of Elizabeth Bay, Pomona, Charlottehthal and the sheet rock. 1930, the diamond mining in Kolmanskop was stopped and the inhabitants left the place gradually, leaving Kolmanskop the desert. At the mouth of the Orange River it was met with diamond reserves the Kolmanskops diamonds übertraffen us so many fortune seekers went to the next refill. 1956 left the last family Kolmans microscope. Also, the hospital was closed in this ahr. Many home furnishings, sports equipment of the school were not at first taken. The desert picked up over the last few decades back everything. The houses fell watching. Now the city was dominated more and more by vandalism, the interiors were destroyed or taken away. Or was in Lüderitz building a new house, the builders drove to Kolmanskop and withdrawals the abandoned houses everything Useful, windows, doors and even flooring. Also in the area and built by iron was collected. Kolmanskop was now a ghost town with gutted ruins. A little later a first tentative Privatinitativ beruhender Museum traffic brought back some life back into the Örtschen. 1983 the government decided to put an end to onlookers expiration translated. As Lüderitz experienced an economic boom, we also devoted Kolmanskopwieder more attention. Some of the dilapidated houses have been restored and from the former ghost town was an open air museum. Were Repaired the old casino, ballroom, the gym and the ice factory. There is also a museum of Kolmanskop and his moving story. August Stauch, who had made the stones found in the sand many millions died in 1947 in his native Thuringia in the arm of his youngest daughter Käthe of stomach cancer in the hospital. He died a poor man, what inflation, wars and the Great Depression helped.
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