NAMIBIA’s Kolmanskop was created after a startling discovery occurred along the railway, about 7 miles southwest from Luderitz.
Kolmanskop, situated only 15 km east of the harbour town of Luderitz used to be a small railway station in 1908, when the railway between Lüderitz and Keetmanshoop was built.
In 1908, the railway worker, Zacharias Lewala found a shiny stone and took it to the Chief Railway Foreman, August Stauch. Stauch had been assigned at the station with the instruction to keep the railway line clear of sand. He was a hobby mineralogist and had advised his workers to bring any unique stone they might find to him.
He immediately assumed the find of Lewala to be a diamond, which was later confirmed, after his friend and partner, Sohnke Nissen, a mining engineer. Stauch and Nissen did not disclose this finding but instead quit their jobs and secured claims of 75 km² at Kolmanskop. They successfully continued their search for diamonds.
Nevertheless, the occurrence of diamonds did not stay a secret for long and soon a real “diamond fever” developed as a large number of diamond seekers and adventurers settled in the area. Within two years at a rapid speed, an unparalleled town development took place.
Within few years, Kolmanskop became one of the richest towns worldwide. The developed infrastructure was unmatched at the time.
From 1911, the town had electric power, luxurious stone houses, a casino, a school, a hospital, an ice factory to produce ice for fridges, a theatre, a ballroom, a sport hall, a bowling alley, a salt-water swimming pool among others. Although, less than 400 people lived here.
It is important to note that the hospital had the first X-ray apparatus in Southern Africa installed.
In 1908, government did not grant any more claims and the Southern coastal strip was declared a “Restricted Diamond Area.”
Diamond mining was industrialised and the diamond-yielding gravel was sifted and washed in huge factories. From 10 tons of sand, only 1 to 2 carats of diamonds can be mined.
With this process, 1 ton of diamond was mined until World War I. With the outbreak of the war in 1914, the production was nearly zero and with the loss of the German colony, the German era of diamond mining came to an end and was taken over by South Africa.
After a while, the town was left to its own devices and the desert claimed its lost territory back. The last inhabitants left Kolmanskop between 1956 and 1960.
In 1980, while Luderitz underwent an economic boom, De Beers Mining Company restored and transformed the touristic potential of the ghost town into a museum, opened to the public and visitors.
Today, interesting and very informative guided tours in English, German and Afrikaans are offered. There are two guided tours starting 9:30am and 11:00am from Mondays till Saturday. On Sundays and public holidays, there is only one guided tour at 10am. Unguided tours can also be done. Kolmanskop is closed after 1pm.
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