Ink Palace

Ink Palace Parliament Building
Ink Palace
Data
place	Windhoek , NamibiaNamibia
architect	Gottlieb Redecker
Client	German imperial government
Architectural style	German colonial architecture
Construction year	1912-1913
Floor space	approx. 7800 m²
Coordinates	22 ° 33 '59.8 " S , 17 ° 5' 21.6" E Coordinates: 22 ° 33 '59.8 " S , 17 ° 5' 21.6" E-22.566602 17.089346

Ink palace with parliament garden in front

Ink palace on the Namibia dollar banknotes

The Ink Palace in Windhoek is the seat of the Lower House of the Parliament of Namibia , the National Assembly .

The National Council sits in a modern new building, the so-called National Council Building, east of the Ink Palace.

Building history

The building, located in Windhoek-Central , above Robert Mugabe Avenue , was designed by the architect Gottlieb Redecker and built from local materials from 1912–1913 by the Sander & Kock company as an administrative building for the German government . Forced laborers were also used. The building was inaugurated on November 1, 1913.

The Ink Palace is a typical example of independent German colonial architecture. In allusion to "the numerous scribes and their high ink consumption", the German population mockingly called the building "Ink Palace". The palace is surrounded by a large park - the so-called Parliament Gardens - which is very popular with the city's population.

Garden area

The construction of the Ink Palace Garden (today: Parliament Garden ) began in 1931. George Kerby and Karl Zirkler were commissioned for this. Construction began in 1934 with the planting of olive trees , which are no longer on the site today. Today it is a popular park and a green oasis in the city.

At the eastern end of the park towards the Ink Palace are three statues of important Namibian personalities: Hosea Kutako in the middle, Hendrik Samuel Witbooi on the left and Theophilus Hamuntubangela on the right .