Founding
capital of the Republic of Namibia
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Windhoek (; Afrikaans: [ˈvəntɦuk] ⓘ; German: [ˈvɪnthʊk] ⓘ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia on the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around 1,700 m (5,600 ft) above sea level in the geographical centre of the country. The population was 486,186 in 2023, and growing, due to migration from other regions in Namibia.
Windhoek is the economic, political, and cultural centre of the country where most Namibian enterprises, governmental bodies, educational and cultural institutions are located.
The city developed at the site of a hot spring known to the local pastoral tribes. It developed after Jonker Afrikaner, Captain of the Orlam, settled there in 1840 and built a stone church for his community. In the decades following, multiple wars and armed conflicts resulted in the neglect and destruction of the settlement. Windhoek was founded a second time in 1890 by Imperial German Army Major Curt von François, when the territory was colonised by the German Empire.
Theories vary on how the city got its modern name of Windhoek. Most believe it is derived from the Afrikaans words wind 'wind' and hoek 'corner'. Another theory suggests that Captain Jonker Afrikaner named Windhoek after the Winterhoek Mountains at Tulbagh in South Africa, where his ancestors had lived. The first known mention of the name Windhoek was in a letter from Jonker Afrikaner to Joseph Tindall, dated 12 August 1844.
In 1840 Jonker Afrikaner established an Orlam settlement at Windhoek. He and his followers stayed near one of the main hot springs, located in the present-day Klein Windhoek suburb. He built a stone church that held 500 people; it was also used as a school. Two Rhenish missionaries, Carl Hugo Hahn and Franz Heinrich Kleinschmidt, started working there in late 1842. Two years later they were driven out by two Methodist Wesleyans, Richard Haddy and Joseph Tindall. Gardens were laid out and for a while Windhoek prospered. A series of wars between the Nama and Herero tribes eventually destroyed the settlement. After a long absence, Hahn visited Windhoek again in 1873 and was dismayed to see that nothing remained of the town's former prosperity. In June 1885, a Swiss botanist found only jackals and starving guinea fowl amongst neglected fruit trees.
A request by merchants from Lüderitzbucht resulted in the declaration in 1884 of a German protectorate over what was called German South West Africa (Deutsch-Südwestafrika), now Namibia. The borders of the German colony were determined in 1890 and Germany sent a protective corps, the Schutztruppe under Major Curt von François, to maintain order. Von François stationed his garrison at Windhoek, which was strategically situated as a buffer between the warring Nama and Herero peoples. The twelve strong springs provided water for the cultivation of produce and grains.
Colonial Windhoek was founded on 18 October 1890, when von François fixed the foundation stone of the fort, which is now known as the Alte Feste (Old Fortress). After 1907, development accelerated as indigenous people migrated from the countryside to the growing town to seek work. More European settlers arrived from Germany and South Africa. Businesses were erected on Kaiser Street (presently Independence Avenue), and along the dominant mountain ridge over the city. At this time, Windhoek's three castles, Heinitzburg, Sanderburg, and Schwerinsburg, were built.
The German colonial era ceased after the end of World War I; but South West Africa, and with it Windhoek, had already fallen in 1915. Until the end of the war, the city was administered by a South African military government, and there was no further development. In 1920, after the Treaty of Versailles, the territory was placed under a League of Nations Class C mandate and again administered by South Africa.
After World War II, more capital became available to improve the area's economy. After 1955, large public projects were undertaken, such as the building of new schools and hospitals, tarring of the city's roads (a project begun in 1928 with Kaiser Street), and the building of dams and pipelines to stabilise the water supply. The city introduced the world's first potable reuse facility in 1958, treating recycled sewage and sending the reclaimed water directly into the town's water supply. On 1 October 1966, the then Administrator of South West Africa granted Windhoek the coat of arms, which was registered on 2 October 1970 with the South African Bureau of Heraldry. Initially a stylized aloe was the principal emblem, but this was amended to a natural aloe (Aloe littoralis) on 15 September 1972. The coat of arms is blazoned (described) as "A Windhoek aloe with a raceme of three flowers on an island. Crest: A mural crown Or. Motto: SUUM CUIQUE (To each their own)".
Windhoek formally received its town privileges on 18 October 1965 on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the second foundation of the town by von François.
In 1971, the Namibian general contract workers strike started from Windhoek with the goal of abolishing the contract labour system, opposing apartheid, and promoting Namibia's independence.
Since independence in 1990, Windhoek has remained the national capital, as well as the provincial capital of the central Khomas Region. Since independence and the end of warfare, the city has had accelerated growth and development.
The city is the administrative, commercial, and industrial centre of Namibia. A 1992/93 study estimated that Windhoek provides over half of Namibia's non-agricultural employment, with its national share of employment in utilities being 96%, in transport and communication 94%, finance and business services 82%. Due to its relative size Windhoek is, even more than many other national capital cities, the social, economic, and cultural centre of the country. The University of Namibia is based in the city, as well as nearly every national enterprise, including the country's only theatre, all ministry head offices, and all major media and financial entities. The governmental budget of the city of Windhoek nearly equals those of all other Namibian local authorities combined. Of the 3,300 US$-millionaires in Namibia, 1,400 live in Windhoek.
The Windhoek Correctional Facility is the largest of Namibia's seven major prisons.
Windhoek's three main access roads from Rehoboth, Gobabis, and Okahandja are paved, and are designed to be able to withstand the largest possible flood to be expected in fifty years. Sealed roads can carry traffic moving at 120 km/h (75 mph) and should last for 20 years.
In 1928, Kaiserstraße, now Independence Avenue, was the first paved road in Windhoek. Ten years later the next one, Gobabis road, now Sam Nujoma Drive, was also paved. Today, out of approximately 40,000 km (25,000 mi) of Namibia's total road network, about 5,000 km (3,100 mi) is sealed.
In 2014, The Roads Authority planned to upgrade the Windhoek-Okahandja road to a dual carriageway. It would cost about N$1 billion and was expected to be completed in 2021. Later on, they also planned to upgrade the Windhoek and Hosea Kutako International Airport to a dual carriageway. This was expected to be completed in 2022.
As everywhere in Namibia, public transport is scarce and transportation across town is largely done by taxi; there were 6,492 registered taxis in 2013.
Windhoek has two airports;
Hosea Kutako International Airport handles over 800,000 passengers a year. The other international airport is located in Walvis Bay, with domestic airports at Lüderitz, Oranjemund, and Ondangwa.
Eros Airport is the busiest airport in Namibia in terms of takeoffs and landings. This city airport handles approximately 150 to 200 movements per day, amounting to roughly 50,000 per year. In 2004, the airport served 141,605 passengers, the majority of whom travelled on light aircraft. Primarily, limitations such as runway length, noise, and air space congestion have kept Eros from developing into a larger airport. Most of Namibia's charter operators have Eros as their base.
Windhoek is connected by rail to:
In southern, eastern and western directions, Windhoek is surrounded by rocky, mountainous areas, which make land development costly and challenging. Furthermore, the southern side is not suitable for industrial development because of the presence of underground aquifers. This leaves the vast Brakwater area north of town the only feasible place for Windhoek's expansion.
Windhoek's land area was dramatically expanded in 2011, when the Ministry of Regional and Local Government, Housing and Rural Development approved shifting the city's boundaries outwards by at least 50 km (31 mi) in each direction. The town lands now cover 5,133.4 km2 (1,982.0 sq mi), making Windhoek the largest city in Africa by land area, as well as the third-largest city in the world, after Tianjin and Istanbul. Its population density, though, is only 63 inhabitants per square kilometre.
The 2011 town land expansion also meant that Hosea Kutako International Airport and settlements relatively far away now belong to the capital, among them:
These settlements, previously under the administration of the Khomas Regional Council, have not immediately been incorporated into the administration of the City of Windhoek. Groot Aub for instance was only included in 2017.
Windhoek is subdivided into the following suburbs and townships:
In many of Windhoek's townships residents live in shacks. In 2020 the city had a total of 41,900 of these informal housing structures, accommodating close to 100,000 inhabitants.
Windhoek has over 300 sunny days per year. It experiences a hot semi-arid climate (BSh) according to Köppen climate classification as the annual average temperature is above 18 °C (64 °F). The temperature throughout the year would be called mild, due to altitude influence. The annual average high and low temperature range is 14.3 °C (25.7 °F). The coldest month is July, with an average temperature of 13.7 °C (56.7 °F), while the hottest month is December, with average temperature 24.1 °C (75.4 °F). Due to its location near the Kalahari Desert, the city receives 3,490 hours of sunshine. Precipitation is abundant during the summer season, and minimal during the winter season. The average annual precipitation is 377.8 mm (14.87 in), with lows of 106.7 mm (4.20 in) in the 2018/19 rainy season, and 97 mm (3.8 in) in 1929/30. The wettest month on average is February receiving 96.4 mm (3.80 in), while the driest is July averaging no measurable precipitation. The highest temperature ever recorded in Windhoek was 37.6 °C (99.7 °F) on February 2, 2013 and the record lowest of −3.2 °C (26.2 °F) on July 12, 1965.
At the start of World War I in 1915, Windhoek had 13,000 inhabitants, 3,000 of which were white. In 1971, there were roughly 26,000 white people living in Windhoek, outnumbering the black population of 24,000. About one third of white residents at the time, at least 9,000 individuals, were German speakers.
In 2010 the population stood at over 325,858 (65% black; 18% other; 17% white), and has been growing 4% annually in part due to informal settlements that have even higher growth rates of nearly 10% a year.
In public life, Afrikaans, and to a lesser extent German, are still used as lingua francas even though the government only uses English.
Windhoek is the only self-governed settlement in Khomas Region. It is governed by a multi-party municipal council that has fifteen seats. The council meets monthly; its decisions are taken collectively.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Windhoek”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.