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| Panoramic view of Windhoek from the top of the Independence Monument built by the North Koreans |
Windhoek may not be a well-known capital but it is the only large city in Namibia. It has a population of about 326,000 inhabitants in a huge mostly arid country of less than 3M.
It is a rather new city as it was first founded by a Nama leader in 1840 but abandoned after a while. It was founded a second time by the German Army Major Curt von François when the country had become a German colony.
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| The Clock on Independence Ave. |
Interestingly enough, Windhoek offers some unusual characteristics, which are totally unexpected for an African community. It is located in a large valley, surrounded by hills in the Khomas Highland plateau at an altitude of about 1,700m. Consequently, it is the 4thhighest capital of the continent and is placed nº12 on the list of the highest capitals in the world. As a result, due also to its latitude, it has a rather mild climate, bright & sunny at daytime but much cooler at night. While I was there in late April, the temperature was about 24ºC during the day, but went down to 11ºC at night! This has the effect of creating a sort of morning mist hovering above the valley in the early morning. As a matter of fact, this might be at the origin of the Afrikaans word 'windhuk' meaning 'a place of steam', although there is another theory that refers to the hot springs that used to be found in the valley. The town center has kept some marks of its German past in some of its landmarks and monuments. Yet, it is a modern city whose cleanliness is striking and is totally hooked to all the current world amenities. There are cafés, shops, shopping malls and even a long pedestrian street that give the city its sense of modern prosperity. My only regret is that there are too many fast-food eateries and very few nice places to sit for a proper lunch or dinner.
Population wise, there is a large community of white people, mostly living on the surrounding hills, but there is a large community of black people coming from all the corners of Namibia and living in townships. The largest township is Katutura, where roughly 60% of Windhoek inhabitants live, some in huge shantytowns.
The longest and main street downtown is Independence Avenue. Most of the department-stores are
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| At the Hilton sky bar |
there as well as many souvenir shops or cafés. One of my favorite hangout places, while being in Windhoek, was a modern café called Deli, not far from the Hilton. And by the way, the Windhoek-Hilton has a wonderful sky-bar, which makes it a great place to watch the sunset over the hills in the evening!
There are many examples of beautiful German colonial buildings in town. For example, the Railway Station or the former National Theater building (they have now built a bigger and more modern one). However, the best known German landmark is the Christuskirche, the old Lutheran church dating back to 1910 and built-in local brownstones. The Alte Fest ('Old Fortress') dates back to 1890 and the nearby Tintenpalast ('Ink Palace') built in the years 1912-13 is still serving as the Parliament of Namibia.
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| The Independence Monument |
Between the Church of Christ and Independence Avenue, there is a nice city garden called the Zoo Park, where there are a pleasant Internet café and restaurant, where you can sit on a shaded terrace outside.
As mentioned previously, there are a few souvenir shops on Independence Avenue. Yet, the best place to go for African crafts is the Namibia Craft Centre located in the Old Brewery Building on 40 Tal Street in downtown Windhoek. It also has a wonderful Craft Café and for geologic collectors like myself some samples of Namibian minerals as well as the Diamond Works Institute that offers a free tour in its amazing showroom.
On top of the hill, past the Hilton Hotel, there is a way to the Botanical Garden. If you like the natural environment and are interested to know more about the specific Namibian trees or plants, this is definitively the place to go. Entrance is free. You simply need to register, grab a map of the garden, and follow the signs. It took me about 90 minutes of walking to go up and downhill to discover all the various botanical wonders of the country that include the quiver tree, the bottle tree or the euphorbia.
Another interesting walk is to go to Heinitzburg Strasse, a residential hill street known as 'Castle
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| One of the 19th c castles |
Street' because. at the turn of the 19thcentury, the German architect Willhem Sander built several mansions there.
On the outskirt area of Katutura Township, there is an artificial lake called Goreangab Reservoir, where there are an interesting resort and place called Penduka Village. “It is a self-sustaining non-profit NGO training low income and disabled Namibian women to support themselves”.
So, Windhoek has many interesting sights to see. It is also a good place to stay in order to do a few day trips out in the bush like the Daan Viljoen Game Reservoir the Düsternbrook Farm Safari.
Christian Sorand
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