~ ~ ~ SWAKOPMUND MUSEUM ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~History~ ~ ~
In
1951 the Municipality of Swakopmund wanted to promote the town as a
holiday resort during the summer season. They invited the public to take
part in a competition. Dr. Alfons Weber, the dentist, submitted a
detailed proposal for a museum about local history. He suggested using
an old shed on is premises for this purpose and won the 1st
prize. A previous Schutztruppen officer in Germany donated the first
memorabilia as well as photos. Old books, photos, magazines, uniforms
and weapons were avidly collected in Swakopmund and Walvis Bay. Dr.
Weber knew a lot of people and previous members of the Schutztruppe in
S.W.A. (South West Africa) whom he had met when traveling around the
country practicing dentistry. They all readily donated old weapons and
other souvenirs.
This
museum was inaugurated on 17 Dec. 1951. Dr. Weber made many new contacts
abroad with a view to expanding the museum, to supply especially
education material for pupils and also to give adults additional
education by means of literature and lectures. His theme focused on the
history of the country and its natural sciences.
The
municipality made available the old customs shed below the lighthouse
for a new museum. It was first named “Cultural Centre” and housed
the public library and a reading room adjoining the museum. The official
opening took place on 5 March 1960.
What
started off as a project to enhance tourism at the town drew
considerable attention from within the country as well as abroad. For
this purpose the “Society for Scientific Development” was founded as
an umbrella organization to finance the developments.
Further progress is highlighted by the following events:
| 1969: | Official opening of the OMEG-house as a guest house for the Society. |
| 1977: | Funding from the Rotary Club, Swakopmund for the acquisition of a collection of 2000 Africana books from the Late Mr. Ferdinand Stich, owner of the Swakopmunder Buchhandlung. Well-known businessman and philanthropist Mr. Sam Cohen of Windhoek donates a building, named after him, to the Society, to serve as a library. |
| 1984 | Rössing Uranium Ltd. funds an additional room at the museum to exhibit their mining process. |
| 1996 | Restoration and opening of the “Otavi-Bahnhof”, which housed an arts- and craft shop as well as the snake park. |
| 1999 | The Swakopmund Municipality enlarges the museum by 215 m2 with the support of the “Niedersächsische Landesmuseum”, Hannover to house a detailed ethnographic exhibition. |
| 2002 | A fire destroys the store room holding irreplaceable items in an annex at the Sam Cohen Library. |
| 2007 | Namibian
Breweries donates historical artifacts and their tavern to the
museum. An extension of the museum is made possible by generous
donations from |
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