Wlotzkasbaken

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Wlotzkasbaken (2014)

Wlotzkasbaken , usually just Wlotzka for short , is a small settlement in Namibia . Wlotzkasbaken is located in the Namib directly on the Atlantic Ocean , 33 kilometers north of Swakopmund and 37 kilometers south of Henties Bay .

Wlotzkasbaken is currently (as of 2010) permanently inhabited by only six residents, as Wlotzkasbaken is a typical holiday resort. There are a total of 106 private houses (as of 2010). The settlement is managed by the Wlotzkasbaken Home Owners Association .

history

Wlotzkasbaken was named after Paul Hermann Wlotzka (* 1870 in Allenstein , † 1942 in Swakopmund), a Prussian coachman . Wlotzka was a member of a reconnaissance party. After the surrender of the German troops stationed in what was then German South West Africa in the course of the First World War , this reconnaissance team was to survey the coastal strip north of Walvis Bay in 1915 .

Wlotzka was already well acquainted with this region, so that he was employed as a route guide and charioteer of a horse cart, on which the equipment and provisions of the South African surveyors were carried.

In the following years, Wlotzka rose to become a successful businessman by supplying the various surveying stations between Walvis Bay and Cape Cross with food and other goods they needed.

To make work easier, Wlotzka built a small clay barn in place of today's Wlotzkasbaken at one of the survey beacons between Swakopmund and the mouth of the Omaruru district (today's Hentiesbaai) , in which water and hay for horses were stored.

Wlotzka, who has always been a passionate fisherman , soon recognized the abundance of fish in the ocean in the area around today's Wlotzkasbaken. He therefore soon started selling some of the fish caught in the region in Swakopmund. Curiosity soon drove other fishermen to the place by the sea, which Wlotzka praised. Later, for the first time, campers settled down at the beacon chosen by Wlotzka for their vacation . An initially provisional settlement was created , initially only for the holiday season, which was called Wlotzkasbaken by its temporary residents.

The tents and barracks of that time have become permanent houses made of wood or cement.

Current developments

The Namibian government intends to transform Wlotzkasbaken into a city through ongoing housing construction and by encouraging the influx of mainly colored Namibians. The tourist value of the region should be preserved. In September 2014, the previous residents were granted a right of first refusal for the land at a square meter price of 122.42 Namibia dollars .

Economy and Infrastructure

As a typical holiday resort, tourism is of vital importance for the continued existence of Wlotzkasbaken. Outside the holiday season, Wlotzkasbaken looks like a ghost town , as there are hardly any people to be found there. Wlotzkasbaken is still not connected to the state electricity supply of Namibia, so that the few permanent as well as the temporary residents cover their electricity needs with the help of generators and solar cells . The water supply is carried out up to now, among other things by tanker truck , though now a nearby desalination plant was put into operation.

Wlotzkasbaken is located in the Erongo region . Swakopmund and Henties Bay can be reached via the Namibian trunk road C-34. Windhoek , the Namibian capital , is around 270 kilometers away. All of these regional or supraregional centers can be reached via paved roads.

In 2010, the first seawater desalination plant in sub-Saharan Africa was put into operation in Wlotzkasbaken , primarily to ensure the water supply to a uranium mine in the desert ("Trekkopje Mine"), which is to be operated in the future by the French Areva Group . The plant is to produce 20 million cubic meters of drinking water per year. The "Trekkopje Mine" is said to consume around 65% of the drinking water produced, while the remainder is sold to the national water utility Namwater . In October 2012 Areva announced that the start of the Trekkopje mine would have to be postponed until the beginning of 2014 due to current loss-making deals and a uranium price that is currently falling. The Wlotzkasbaken seawater desalination plant is still to be operated at full capacity until further notice. The desalination plant became the property of Namibia in 2015.

In August 2012, the Namibian government provided a 700 hectare area between Wlotzkasbaken and Swakopmund for the construction of an industrial park planned by the Gecko Namibia Group since April 2011 . A chemical plant was to be built there, which would then supply the region's mining industry with chemicals . In addition, another seawater desalination plant and a small power plant to supply electricity to the mining industry are to be built. Because Gecko Namibia is also planning to mine phosphate from the seabed in the future , critical voices regarding the planned industrial park have accumulated.

Culture and sights

Every year between Christmas and New Year, the “Marterpfahl” festival takes place in Wlotzkasbaken , including a fishing competition and enduro , and it always attracts thousands of visitors. Wlotzkasbaken is considered an angler's paradise in Namibia and beyond.

Two high water towers for drinking water storage can be seen as Wlotzkasbakens landmark, visible from afar . Almost all the houses in the settlement are painted in bright colors, which is another attraction for passing tourists.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Wlotzkasbaken - a rustic holiday complex with a special charm. In: Allgemeine Zeitung. July 1, 2010, accessed March 17, 2015 .
  2. ↑ a b Wlotzkasbaken on Kuestenblog.de
  3. ↑ Paul Wlotzka and the beacon. Namib Times, June 6, 2017.
  4. ↑ a b Wlotzkasbaken in sight. Erongo governor sets himself many goals and wants to expand BEE policy. In: Allgemeine Zeitung. January 18, 2011, accessed March 17, 2015 .
  5. ↑ Luxury price for land: tenants in Wlotzkasbaken have the right of first refusal for land: N $ 122.42 per m2 “unrealistic”. In: Allgemeine Zeitung. September 5, 2014, accessed March 17, 2015 .
  6. ↑ a b torture stake party and enduro race at Wlotzkasbaken. (PDF; 1.3 MB) In: Allgemeine Zeitung . December 28, 2010, archived from the original on September 23, 2015 ; accessed on March 17, 2015 .
  7. ↑ a b Namibia opens first desalination plant in sub-saharan Africa ( Memento from April 2, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) (English) on Terradaily.com
  8. ↑ At least one year break: Trekkopje mine will not start before 2014. In: Allgemeine Zeitung. October 5, 2012, accessed March 17, 2015 .
  9. ↑ EIA will decide the future: Gecko has to write an extensive study, otherwise there will be "tough opposition". In: Allgemeine Zeitung. August 23, 2012, accessed March 17, 2015 .

Coordinates: 22 ° 25 ′  S , 14 ° 27 ′  E