Picture of the Day : the Ghost Town of Kolmanskop
11 years, 2 months ago - February 18, 2013
In this fantastic shot by Chris Gray, we see insides of an abandoned house in Kolmanskop, Namibia overtaken by sand.
Kolmanskop is a ghost town in the Namib desert in southern Namibia, a few kilometres inland from the port town of Lüderitz. It was once a small but very rich mining village that is now a popular tourist destination. Driven by the enormous wealth of the first German diamond miners, the residents built the village in the architectural style of a German town, with amenities and institutions including 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.
The town declined after World War I when the diamond-field slowly exhausted and was ultimately abandoned in 1954. For those wanting to visit, a permit is required to enter the town as it is located within a restricted area of the Namib desert.
