Namibia's Luderitz

     Luderitz is a slightly sleepy and maybe also bizarre place, which forms the basis of its appeal. The founding settlement of Namibia today consists of some 20 000 citizens. It was built on the bare granite rocks at the fringe of the Namib Desert and is openly exposed to the frequent Atlantic winds. Heavy sea fogs and sand storms contribute to the rough weather conditions of Luderitz.

     Nostalgic Luderitz presents itself to the visitor as a very colourful town, due to the numerous lovingly maintained buildings in the Wilhelmian Art Deco (the German equivalent to the Victorian style) from the times of German colonialism. Above the town towers the Lutheran "Felsenkirche" built in 1911. The people of Luderitz make a living from tourism and diamond mining and, mainly, from fishing. The cold Benguela current brings in huge amounts of seaweed and so provides for an abundance of fish in the coastal waters. Because the water is very clean, even oysters are being bred here. So far, lobster catching was very lucrative. In the last years the waters were overfished, though, and the quota had to be reduced.