NB01-23
Kolmanskop, Namibia
Kolmanskop (Afrikaans for Coleman's hill, German: Kolmannskuppe) is a ghost town in the Namib desert in southern Namibia, a few kilometres inland from the port town of Lüderitz. It was a small mining village and is now a popular tourist destination run by the joint firm NamDeb (Namibia-De Beers).
It developed after the discovery of diamonds in the area in 1908, to provide shelter for workers from the harsh environment of the Namib Desert. The name originates from a transport driver named Johnny Coleman who during a sand storm abandoned his ox wagon on a small incline opposite the settlement.
Driven by the enormous wealth of the first diamond miners the village was built like a German town, with facilities like a hospital, ballroom, power station, school, skittle-alley, theater and sport-hall, casino, ice factory and the first x-ray-station in the southern hemisphere as well as the first tram in Africa. It had a railway link to Lüderitz.
The town declined after World War I as diamond prices crashed, and operations moved to Oranjemund. It was abandoned in 1956 but has since been partly restored. The geological forces of the desert mean that tourists can now walk through houses knee-deep in sand. Kolmanskop is popular with photographers for its scenic settings of the desert sands reclaiming this once thriving town. Due to its location within the restricted area (Sperrgebiet) of the Namib desert, a permit is necessary to enter the town.
Armin Leitner 25/01/2010 0:11
..gone with the wind !Superbe view.
Pascal Viyer 27/11/2009 2:50
Terrific composition !amitié
p^v
Comy 15/11/2009 7:07
great series...mike snead 05/11/2009 4:46
terrific image.great light,too.
m
Majid mehraban 22/10/2009 22:37
nice colors,great compositionmajid
decay 22/10/2009 12:43
WOW, was für ein tolles Bild!ich hoffe noch mehr davon zu sehen,
wirklich eine klasse Arbeit!
Weiter so!
lg
Flighty Furrow 21/10/2009 18:35
A former mining village?Gabi Anna 21/10/2009 12:17
great cinema!!!!
greetings
gabi anna
Matthias Moritz 20/10/2009 18:45
I love this one ...Abdul Khaliq 19/10/2009 11:46
Again a great combination.Ruined colors conveys the story of the place.
† wovo 18/10/2009 21:46
+ + +Daniela Friedrich 18/10/2009 21:33
for me the best. Great colors and contrast. I like the deepness in this pic.