Windhoek

Windhoek rests on a gravely inland plateau with dotted areas of acacia and scrub grass surrounded by two desserts, the Namib Desert to the west and the Kalahari to the east. Just outside of Windhoek's city centre are many wildlife reserves, perfect for game viewing tours or day safaris.Windhoek rests on a gravely inland plateau with dotted areas of acacia and scrub grass surrounded by two desserts, the Namib Desert to the west and the Kalahari to the east. Just outside of Windhoek's city centre are many wildlife reserves, perfect for game viewing.

 

Windhoek offers the traveller a variety of shopping centre's, sightseeing opportunities and a wide selection of local or international foods and restaurants. Accommodation choices in Windhoek - Namibia, range from hotels, guesthouses and self catering apartments, through holiday apartments and self catering accommodation for business travellers or tourists.

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Windhoek is often described as a city with a ‘continental’ atmosphere. This can be ascribed to its architecture – historical buildings dating back to German colonial rule – as well as to its cuisine, culture, dress codes and educational institutions. At the same time Windhoek has the color, sounds and tempo of a modern African city.

Pavement displays of African drums and woodcarvings from the north contrast with elegant shops offering sophisticated Swakara garments and Namibian gemstones set in individually designed jewelry. While some shops in Windhoek display clothing, silver and glassware imported from Europe, others stock casual and colorful garments from West Africa.

Post Street Mall, completed shortly after independence, has a large number of shops and boutiques and is a favored venue for street vendors selling rural art, African-style clothing, curios and jewelry. While the new structures blend with Windhoek’s historical German architecture, bright colors such as blue, pink, cerise and purple give them a modern and lively appearance. Windhoek Town Square, an addition to the Mall, offers more dining and shopping opportunities.

The Christuskirche or Evangelical Lutheran Church, is one of Windhoek's most striking landmarks, built from local sandstone and completed in 1910. Its design was influenced by Romanesque, neo-Gothic and Art Nouveau styles, and its stained-glass windows were donated by Kaiser Wilhelm II. To the east of the church is the famous Tintenpalast, meaning Ink Palace. This is Namibia’s original Government Building, completed in 1914 in time for the first session of the Landesrat. Since then it has housed a series of successive administrations and governments. After independence it was renovated to accommodate the current Namibian Parliament. In front of the Tintenpalast is the Parliament Gardens, a great place in Windhoek for relaxing with a book under age-old trees.

The National Botanical Garden of Namibia (NBGN) in the heart of Windhoek is undoubtedly one of the capital’s gems. Situated on the slopes of a hill that forms a natural divide between the city center and the suburb of Klein Windhoek, it was proclaimed a conservation area in 1969. In 1990 the National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI) moved to the site above the garden. Since then the Botanical Garden has become a versatile paradise of greenery and flowers, providing sanctuary to many small creatures and birds. Wandering along the paths you can learn about plants from Namibia’s other regions, identifying them by their nametags, and rest on a bench while enjoying the peace and watching visitors to the birdbaths.

Windhoek has an active and lively community of art and craftspeople. For performing arts enthusiasts, a welcome addition to the arts and entertainment scene is Backstage, an intimate lounge theatre on Andimba Toiva-ya-Toiva Street in the Southern Industrial Area of Windhoek. Here entertainment ranges from solo and ensemble performances of jazz, folk, bluegrass and classical music, to intimate dramas and belly dancing. It is also a popular venue for sundowners, light meals and pizzas.

Gallery exhibitions in Windhoek are held regularly and art can be viewed and purchased are the National Art Gallery of Namibia (NAGN) on the corner of John Meinert Street and Robert Mugabe Avenue, and the Katutura Community Art Centre (KCAC), which houses the John Muafangejo Art Centre (JMAC) and Gallery. KCAC offers courses in basic and advanced printmaking, live drawing and ceramics. The NAGN’s Permanent Collection is well worth viewing.

But any visit to Namibia isn’t complete without strolling through the quaint café culture of Windhoek, visiting Namibia’s summer capital Swakopmund or straying off the beaten path to Luderitz. In every case, Namibia’s wonderful diversity is on full display, as is the German colonial influence. The result is quite different from what many would expect. They are easily some of the finest destination cities in all of Africa.

 

Interesting Facts

Interesting Facts about Windhoek

• The Goreangab Water Reclamation Plant is internationally renowned as the first plant in the world to reclaim domestic sewage for drinking water purposes. After 32 years it continues to be the only plant in the world to do so.
• Windhoek is one of the world’s major centres for the karakul sheep-skin trade.
• Windhoek has two traditional names: Otjomuise and /Ae //Gams.
• Windhoek’s name may be derived from the word "Winterhoek", the the name of the mountains surrounding Tulbagh in South Africa.
• Windhoek was formally established on 18 October 1890.
• The first pharmacy in Windhoek, Luisen Apotheke, was opened in 1910 and still trades under the same name.
• Miss Universe was hosted in the City of Windhoek in 1992.
• Archaeological remains of an elephant kill, dated at between 5 000 and 20 000 years ago, were discovered during construction work in 1961. They can be seen in the Owela Museum on Robert Mugabe Avenue. In addition to the elephant bones, some quartz stone tools such as hammer stones and choppers were also discovered in Zoo Park.
• The first road to be tarred in 1928 was the main street, Kaiser Street (now Independence Avenue).
• The Alte Feste on Robert Mugabe Avenue is the oldest surviving building in Windhoek and houses part of our national museum.
• In Post Street Mall, the Gibeon Meteorite Fountain displays 31 of the original 77 meteorites on steel columns. The Gibeon meteorite shower occurred south-east of Gibeon in southern Namibia, and is the largest known shower of its kind in the world.
• In 2006, Windhoek made an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the "World’s Largest Braai".
• Windhoek has one of the oldest weather bureaus in the world. Established in 1863, it has been in uninterrupted use ever since.

International flights arrive at Windhoek's International Airport, about 40km west of the city. Shuttle buses run between the airport and the bus terminal on Independence Avenue, connecting with all major flights. There is a taxi rank at the airport, but it is much cheaper to use a small company in the city.

Domestic flights and flights from other southern African countries arrive at Eros Airport, about 10km south of town. Buses and taxis connect the airport with the main taxi rank and bus station knows about shuttles to Eros airport.

Why not spending a romantic weekend on Namibia's coast in Swakopmund?