Swakopmund on the coast of western Namibia, west of the capital Windhoek. It is the capital of the Erongo administrative district. The town has 44,725 inhabitants and covers 196 square kilometres of land. The city is situated in the Namib Desert and is the fourth largest population centre in Namibia.
Swakopmund is a beach resort and was founded in 1892 as the main harbour for German South West Africa. From the 1970s, German influences remained evident, including German street names, a German daily newspaper, and the German language being spoken by some residents.
Buildings in the city include the Altes Gefängness prison, designed by Heinrich Bause in 1909. The Woermannhaus, built in 1906 with a prominent tower (the Damara tower), is now a public library.
A nearby farm offers camel rides to tourists and the Matin Luther steam locomotive, dating from 1896, lies abandoned in the desert. The city has scattered coffee shops, night clubs, bars, and hotels. Some of the activities in the area include balloon rides, skydiving, quad biking, and small marine cruises.
