Oranjemund

Die Geschichte der Stadt Oranjemund basiert auf einer der weltgrößten Fundstelle von Diamanten, am Oranje oder Orange Fluss, der die Grenze zwischen Namibia und Südafrika bildet und hier in den Atlantik mündet. In alten Zeiten zogen hier große Herden von Wildtieren durch die Fluss- und Sumpflandschaften. Durch die Minentätigkeit sind Spuren dieses Wildreichtums entdeckt und dokumentiert worden, viele Fossilien sind heute im kleinen, aber feinen Museum der Stadt ausgestellt.
Einst als Arbeitercamp im Jahre 1928 gegründet, spiegelt sich die Geschichte des Ortes und der Diamanten Namibias, der ehemaligen Kolonie Deutsch-Südwestafrika, in den Exponaten des Museums wieder, darunter Fundstücke und Dokumente aus Kolmanskuppe, Pomona und Bogenfels. Geschichte und Geschichte aus Lüderitz, Kolmannskuppe und eine Geistergeschichte vom Hohenfels runden ein lesenswertes Buch mit vielen wunderbaren Fotos ab.

The history of Oranjemund is based on one of the world's richest diamond areas, where the Oranje River flows into the Atlantic Ocean. In ancient times, huge herds of wild animals roamed the area. Due to the mining activities within the years, lots of prehistoric fossils have been discovered and documented. Diamond fields around Kolmanskuppe, Pomona, Bogenfels and others burgeoned and sunk at the beginning of the 20th Century. Men dreaming of getting rich and powerful due to the stones, which were often compared to the stars in the skies, gave their best years to dig for them in the hot desert, in sandstorms and icy cold nights. People lied, killed and stole for their dreams, but only a few of them could keep their riches, before the ever-present sand covered again what had been built in years. They just left ghost towns behind.

Only Oranjemund stayed and grew from a diamond worker's camp to a town, in the middle of the Sperrgebiet - the forbidden territory. A town, like no other in the whole of Namibia, documents the history of diamonds, prehistoric and current times, and the people living on diamonds, in the Oranjemund "Sperrgebiet Museum" which was built as the first mine manager's house. Digging and household equipment from the beginning of the diamond fever, photographs and hand-drawn maps, machinery, and one of the first fieldbooks of Mr Georg Klinghardt, who worked for the Deutsche Diamanten-Gesellschaft in German South-West Africa, dated 1910, can be found amongst the treasures in the museum at the town center. Certainly, the book also discovers lots of stories around diamonds. Come and enjoy a different look at history and modern times!