Swakopmund, is a city on the coast of western Namibia, 352 km (219 mi) west of the Namibian capital Windhoek via the B2 main road. It is the capital of the Erongo administrative district. As of 2011, the town had 44,725 inhabitants and 196 km2 (76 sq mi) of land. In 2023, the population had increased to 75,921 people.
Swakopmund in 2017
Swakopmund
The Deutsche Evangelisch-Lutherische Church in the centre of Swakopmund, Namibia.
Mission Church and building of the Rheinische Missionsgesellschaft in 1938 near a visible Nazi flag.
The Swakop River is a major river in western central Namibia. Its source is in the Khomas Highland. From there it flows westwards through the town of Okahandja, the historic mission station at Gross Barmen, and the settlement of Otjimbingwe. It then crosses the Namib desert and reaches the Atlantic Ocean at Swakopmund. The Swakop is an ephemeral river; its run-off is roughly 40 million cubic metres per annum.
The landscape of the Swakop River Valley near Richthofen
The Swakop River flooding 20 km outside Swakopmund on 15 February 2008.
Where the Swakop meets the Atlantic Ocean (2017). Poles of the old railway bridge seen in the foreground.
Aerial view of Swakop River (2017).