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Alte Feste
A National Heritage Site
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The Alte Feste is situated on a high point overlooking
the central business district of Windhoek . The once Schutztruppe
fortress is now a museum and is well worth a visit. The exhibitions will
walk you through a brief, but informative history of Namibia from the
coming of the Germans in 1884, their occupation of the land and the
subsequent uprisings and struggles by Namibians for independence from
colonial rule.
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Herero Prisoners 1904 |
Herero Prisoners 1904 |
Freedom Fighter Sam Nujoma |
Peoples Liberation Army Of Namibia leadership 1981 |
The above left photographs are of chained Herero prisoners following the
Battle of Waterberg on11 August 1904. The infamous Extermination Order for
the Genocide of the Herero People by German
General L Von Trotha is one of
the darker moments in Namibia's history. Over 50 years later on 10 December
1959 Namibia witnessed another atrocity against its indigenous people being
the 'Shootings at the Old Windhoek Location'. These events caused a young
Sam Nujoma, with the blessing of Herero Chief Hosea Kutako, to leave his
homeland and begin the final Freedom Struggle which saw the Independence of
Namibia on 21 March 1990. The date 10 December is today celebrated as
International Human Rights Day, and in memory of those who were martyred.
Above is a photo of a young Sam Nujoma as Commander in Chief of
the People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN), and the opening of the
PLAN Military Council Meeting at Lubango, Angola in 1981.
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UNTAG vehicle plates |
Party T-shirts |
Queuing to vote |
The counting |
A Toast to Independence |
In 1989 the United Nations Transitional Group (UNTAG) arrived in
Namibia to oversee that free and fair elections would be held. Thousands
of UN troops were able to enjoy a tour of duty that experienced no
incidents of violence or civil unrest. The time had arrived when all
Namibian, regardless of their colour, could express their political
affiliations without fear of repression. To be able to wear one's
political party logo on one's T-Shirt was a new found experience.
There's is also an exhibition of what life was like in the old
colony. For the socialites of the time the latest styles were imported
from Europe, but for the farmer's wife out in the remote areas life was
much harder. The early settlers had limited materials to work with. They
initially lived in tents until they could make their own local bricks
from abandoned termite mounds. Their furniture was built with what
materials were made available to them. It was not uncommon to fashion
used wooden packing cases and some empty petrol cans into a functional
cupboard with drawers.
Namibia is home to some of Africa's most fascinating rock
art including the famous rock painting in Africa, the
White Lady of Brandberg . The museum has an
excellent exhibition of rock art forms along with explanations as to the
meanings of the paintings. Spend dome time reading this and you will
appreciate your later visits to the rock art sites far more.
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 Alte
Feste - Schutztruppe Fort
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On 18 October
1890 Captain Kurt Von Francois with a troop of 32 men raised the flag of
Imperial Germany on the hill and commenced with the erection of a 26 ft
long shed for arms and provisions, and the digging of the foundations
for the stone fortress. A brickworks was built that was capable of
producing 20,000 burnt bricks and 40,000 air dried bricks every three
weeks. A building foreman named Tunschel supervised a team of 14
soldiers, 30 native men and 70 native women on the construction of the
original building that was built to Von Francois' plan. Within two weeks
the building had progressed to where the Germans considered their
position in Windhoek to be secure from attacks from the natives. When
Lt. von Bulow arrived in Windhoek in February 1891 the building, though
incomplete, was serving as a barracks for the soldiers. The fort was
originally 62 meters in length
and 35 meters wide having foundations of quarried stone and the walls of
burnt and air dried brick. Two 9 meter high corner turrets were built at
the corners of the eastern wall and two 6 meter high corner turrets at
the western end. The first
section was completed in 1892 and later alterations and addition
were made.
The Schutztruppe: A tour of duty in German South West Africa
was demanding on both body and mind. The vast areas to be patrolled
presented an amount of danger and the tropical illnesses were often
contracted were debilitating and sometimes the cause of death. The
history of the Schutztruppe's activities in the colony is sparse
owing to the records having been returned to Germany and later lost
in a war fire. It is know that by 1894 the force numbered 15
officers and 500 men, and that by the time of the January 1904
it had risen to 43 officers and 744 men.
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Servicing a machine-gun |
A photo for home |
Christmas 1900 |
Schutztruppe at the Alte Feste 1902 |
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The fort served as
headquarters for the Regional Command and the Schutztruppe and by
the outbreak of World War One there were 14 rooms for NCO's, 5 rooms
for privates, a Court Marshall Hall plus a room for the Court
Marshall Officials. A workshop and an ammunition store. The
south-east turret served as a records room.
Acknowledgements and further reading: H12, M1, P1, P2,
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Of Interest: The Imperial German forces occupied Namibia from
7 August
1884 until 9 July 1915 when, at the Treaty of Khorab, they
surrendered to the Union of South Africa forces of General Louis
Botha. The South African occupation lasted 30 years 11 months and 2 days.
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