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On arrival
in Germany the Padrão was placed
on display at the Naval Academy ay Keil, and the Kaiser ordered that a
similar stone cross be carved, but including the depiction of the
Kaiser's Crest and the announcment "Erected at the
command of the German Kaiser and King of Prussia Wilhelm ll 1894 on the site of the original which was
weathered by the years". This command was fulfilled on 27 January 1895 by
Capt. Reinecke of the Naval Cruiser SMS Sperba, but the stone cross was placed 15 meters south east of the 5m high wooden cross.
The
'Kaiser's Padrão then stood a solitary watch until 1980 when the
National Monuments Council of Namibia commissioned an exact replica of
the Diogo Cão Padrão to be carved from Namibia Dolerite and be erected
on the exact, original site of the Diogo Cão Padrão. This was unveiled
on 12th October 1980 by the Administrator General. Thus the reason for
the two crosses that can be seen on the site to this day.
The Location of the original Padrão in Germany.
In Germany the Diogo Cão Padrão was again moved from Kiel to the Oceanographical
Museum in Berlin, which was later destroyed by allied bombing in 1944.
It has since been relocated and now stands in the New Hall - Deutsches
Technikmuseum, Berlin.
The Technical details of the Padrão
The Padroes comprise of two parts, as did the
original. The upright pillar sections have a hole drilled down the
centre from the top face. At the time of erecting the Padrão, the
crucifix section was positioned into the hole and
molten lead was poured in to secure it in place.
The 'Kaiser' Padrão: is
2.6m in height, and is made from black granite
The Namibia Padrão: is
3.5m in height, and is made from Dolerite
The Diogo
Cao Padrão: Dimensions are shown on the left. Approx weight
360kg
Cape Cross is situated 115km north of Swakopmund You need to
budget 4-5 hours from the return journey. The site is managed by the Namibia Ministry
of Environment and Tourism; Office hours 10:00 to 17:00
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