Must see attractions in Swakopmund

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In 1905 the need for a good cargo- and passenger-landing site led Swakopmund’s founders to construct the original wooden pier. In the years that followed,…

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This recently overhauled waterfront aquarium provides an excellent introduction to the cold offshore world in the South Atlantic Ocean. Most impressive is…

If you're on a quest to see welwitschias, continue east along the Welwitschia Drive to the Moon Landscape, a vista across eroded hills and valleys carved…

This ornate railway station, built in 1901 as the terminal for the Kaiserliche Eisenbahn Verwaltung (Imperial Railway Authority), connected Swakopmund to…

When ill winds blow, head for this museum at the foot of the lighthouse, where you can hole up and learn about the town's history. The museum occupies the…

From the shore, the delightful German-style Woermannhaus stands out above surrounding buildings. Built in 1905 as the main offices of the Damara & Namaqua…

If you're on a quest to see weltwitschias, continue east along the Weltwitschia Drive to the Moon Landscape, a vista across eroded hills and valleys…

Often known by its German name, Marine Denkmal, this memorial was commissioned in 1907 by the Marine Infantry in Kiel, Germany, and designed by sculptor…

This rather stately building was constructed in 1902 to serve as the district magistrates’ court. It was extended in 1905, and again in 1945 when a tower…

This architecturally astute gallery features some of the planet’s most incredible crystal formations, including the largest quartz crystal that has ever…

This impressive 1909 structure, on Nordring St, was built as a prison, but if you didn’t know this, you’d swear it was either an early train station or a…

This imposing baroque-style building was constructed in 1906 to serve as a hotel. Its rather outlandish decor is crowned by a fibreglass cast of Atlas…

Swakopmund brims with numerous historic examples of traditional German architecture. The handsome neo-classical Deutsche-Afrika Bank Building was opened…

It's worth having a quick wander past the historical cemeteries beside the Swakop River. The neatly manicured Old German Cemetery dates from the colonial…

In 1899, architect FW Ortloff’s sea wall (better known as the Mole) was intended to enhance Swakopmund’s poor harbour and create a mooring place for large…

This gabled building, on the corner of Garnison and Bahnhof Sts, was constructed in 1908 as a private school. When the funds ran out, the government took…

The single-storey Prinzessin Rupprecht Heim, on Lazarett St, was constructed in 1902 as a military hospital. In 1914 it was transferred to the Bavarian…

In 1855, the Berlin printer Litfass came up with the notion of erecting advertising pillars on German street corners. For the citizens of early Swakopmund…

Thanks to the narrow-gauge railway to the coast, the colonial company Otavi Minen und Eisenbahn Gesellschaft (OMEG), which oversaw the rich Otavi and…

This park houses an array of serpentine sorts. The owner knows everything you’d ever want to know – or not know – about snakes, scorpions, spiders and…