Windhoek Namibia Information


Windhoek Namibia's Beautiful Capital City Possibly the most attractive capital city on the African continent. Clean and orderly.

Reiter Denkmal und Alte Fest Windhoek is fully geared up to meet the demands of the business and tourist. The city is one of Africa's most popular international conference centres. The road system is well signed and easy to navigate, and the traffic is quite orderly. You'll find clean streets, groomed gardens, bistro cafes, modern shopping malls, good restaurants, and accommodation to suite your budget. The official language of the country is English, but Afrikaans remains the 'Lingua Franca' plus you'll find German spoken by many.

	Khomas Region
	22º34'S - 17º05'E
	population: 240,000

The city nestles in a valley having the Eros Mountains to the North and East, while the Auas Mountains forms the borderline of the South and Western side of the city. The altitude of 1650 meters is comparable to that of Johannesburg. Temperatures in the summer can approach 40°c and most people can be seen drifting into any of the large modern air-conditioned shopping malls. During the winter months night-time temperatures can drop below zero, and the air at this altitude is very dry. You may want to apply lip-balm and use a skin moisturizer after showering.

Windhoek has a pleasant mixture of the city's historical buildings alongside modern high-rise office complexes. You'll find old German-style building having steep snow-roofs alongside modern high-rise office complexes. The city has plenty of modern shopping malls and sensible controls regarding street traders. The African curio market area in The Post Street Mall is orderly and tourist friendly and well worth a stroll through. Have some fun. You'll enjoy the bargaining spirit of the local vendors. It's usually courteous and often entertaining.

There are quite a few points of interest which can be seen lower down on the page with links to detailed descriptions.

Old Governor's House

Christus Kirche

Wecke & Voigts Store

The Old & The New

Sanlam Building

What's in a name?

Until about 50 years ago when the demand on drinking water was much less than today, the underground water at Windhoek was tapped by artesian wells and came out of the ground at temperatures so hot that it was channeled through a series of coolers before being distributed into the city's piped system. The demands from an expanding population lowered the water table, and in modern times Windhoek's water is mainly supplied from the S. Von Bach Dam situated at Okahandja.

Before the white man came to Namibia. the Nama people referred to the area as Ai-Gams which means "fire water". The Herero poeple called the area Otjimuise, meaning "place of smoke" referring to the steam that rose form the hot springs.

When the Oorlam Warlord Jonker Afrikaner, who originated from the Klaver district of the Western Cape Province of South Africa settled here in 1840 he named the area Windhoek. There was a larger settlement in what is now Windhoek proper, and a smaller settlement in what is now referred to as Klein (small) Windhoek.

The Germans renamed the area Windhuk in 1903 and at the time they also referred to the two areas as being separate and know as Grosse and Klein WIndhuk.

Following the 1st World War the South Africans, who were given the mandate over the territory, renamed the area Windhoek in 1919 and it has remained so until today.

As with most cities worldwide, Windhoek also has a minority criminal element that tends to prey on visitors, so before proceeding with your journey please read the following ►Your Awareness and Safety

Local Area Attractions

The Alte Feste is located on Robert Mugabe Avenue and overlooks the city. This old German Fort now houses the Namibia National Museum. Highly recommended and you should budget about 1 hour for your visit. The exhibits include archive photos from the Herero Uprising of 1907, the history of the final liberation struggle, the United Nations Transitional Period (1989-1990), Namibia's first democratic election. Time budget 1hr ►►

The Geological Survey Museum is located in the Ministry of Mines and Energy building situated in Aviation Rd. This is near Eros Suburban Airport and directly opposite the Safari Hotel Complex. The museum is not well advertised or known of, but is well worth a visit. Here you can see a fascinating display of Namibia's Geological wonders, including the remainder of the Gibeon Meteorites. The exhibition of dinosaur fossils and Massospondylus seen at the left. Time budget 1 hr ►►

In the Post Street shopping mall, right in the centre of town is where you can see the display of 32 of the Gibeon Meteorites. This is the largest shower of extra terrestrial bodies known to have landed on the earth. The meteorites have a high nickel content and one has been sliced in half, so you can see the shiny stainless-steel like interior Time budget 10min ►►

Heroes' Acre is a National Heritage Site and is located about 5km south of Windhoek on the B1. Namibia was under occupation by foreign colonial forces from 1884 to 1990 and this is our National Memorial to the Heroes and Heroines who struggled and fought for our Independence, which was finally achieved on 21 March 1990. The guided tours are most informative, and a visit here will give you a better appreciation of beautiful Namibia and its people. Time budget 2hr ►►

Cape Town	Johannesburg	Ariamsvlei	Buitepos	Noordoever	Ngoma
1500 / 932	1801 / 1119	798 / 456	320 / 199	786 / 477	1278 / 794

Namibia Towns:
Aus | Gobabis | Grootfontein | Grunau | Henties-Bay | Kamanjab | Karibib | Karasburg | Katima Mulilo | Keetmanshoop Khorixas | Luderitz | Maltahohe | Mariental | Noordoewer | Okahandja | Omaruru | Ondangwa | Oshakati | Otavi Otjiwarongo | Outjo | Rehoboth | Ruacana | Rundu | Solitaire | Swakopmund | Terrace-Bay | Tsumeb | Uis | Usakos | Walvis-Bay | Windhoek