World Art Utopia

Kolmanskop — Lüderitz

Desert sand drifted through two doorways into the blue-painted rooms of an abandoned house in the ghost town of Kolmanskop, Namibia
Artwork FileǁKaras, Namibia

Kolmanskop

StandingJan 2026

About 10 km inland from Lüderitz, Namib Desert, Namibia · 1908

Photo: Xenia Ivanoff Erb / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0), cropped, as published on Street Art Utopia.

Kolmanskop is a former diamond-mining town in the Namib Desert, about 10 kilometres inland from Lüderitz. It grew after railway worker Zacharias Lewala found a diamond there in 1908, and was abandoned in 1956. Sand now drifts through its empty houses, and the site is run as a tourist attraction. Source Source Source Source Checked

Standing Jan 2026: A Wikimedia Commons photo taken 29 Jan 2026 shows the sand-filled buildings still in place, and a namibian.org article of 6 Aug 2025 describes the site open to visitors. A search on 10 November 2026 found no newer dated photo. Source Source Checked

More photos

Kolmanskop's long low buildings, including the ballroom, behind a sand dune under a clear blue sky, 2004
2004 The town and ballroom from the dunesPhoto: Harald Süpfle / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.5)
Sand-coloured abandoned houses on a slope of drifting sand with old wooden posts, Kolmanskop, 2018
2018 Houses half-buried in sandPhoto: Johan Jönsson (Julle) / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Empty wooden window frames in a sand-floored room look out over the Namib desert, Kolmanskop, 2026
2026 The desert through old window framesPhoto: Ralf Hüsges / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)

💡 4 things to know

  1. One stone started it
    In 1908 railway worker Zacharias Lewala found a diamond in the area and showed it to his supervisor, railway inspector August Stauch. Source Source Checked
  2. Luxury in the desert
    The town built a hospital, a ballroom, a casino and an ice factory; Wikipedia adds a power station and the first X-ray station in the southern hemisphere. Source Source Checked
  3. Richer diamonds elsewhere
    According to Wikipedia, the richest diamond deposits ever known were found in 1928 on beach terraces 270 km to the south. The town was abandoned in 1956. Source Source Source Reported
  4. A ghost town for visitors
    Namdeb runs the site and visitors need a permit; namibian.org reports about 30,000 visitors a year and a photography gallery opened in July 2024. Source Source Reported

📍 Where it is

Kolmanskop lies about 10 km inland (east) from the port town of Lüderitz in southern Namibia, inside the restricted diamond area (Sperrgebiet). Entry needs a permit; tours run from the site and tickets are sold in Lüderitz. Source Source Source Checked

Open in Maps

🗓️ Sightings

  1. 1908

    Lewala finds a diamond

  2. 1928

    Richer fields found 270 km south

  3. 1956

    Town abandoned

  4. 20042 Sep

    Photo of the town and ballroom (Commons)

  5. 2010

    UCT heritage study of Kolmanskop

  6. 201612 Feb

    Photo of a sand-filled room (Commons)

  7. 201828 Jul

    Photo of houses in the sand (Commons)

  8. 2024

    Photo gallery opens in old soda factory

  9. 20256 Aug

    Report on the site today (namibian.org)

  10. 202629 Jan

    Photo through sand-filled windows (Commons)

Green stamps mark dated photographs; amber stamps mark records or reports; red stamps mark loss. Publication dates are not camera dates.

✅ The facts

Type
Abandoned diamond-mining town Source Source Source Checked
Location
About 10 km inland from Lüderitz, Namibia Source Source Checked
Diamond found
1908, by railway worker Zacharias Lewala Source Source Source Checked
Founded
1908 Source Source Checked
Amenities
Hospital, ballroom, casino, ice factory, power station Source Source Checked
Decline
Richer deposits found 270 km south in 1928 Source Reported
Abandoned
1956 Source Source Source Checked
Run by
Namdeb (Namibian government and De Beers); permit needed Source Reported
Visitors
About 30,000 a year, according to namibian.org (2025) Source Reported

🔗 Related

All sources & image credits

Last checked: 10 November 2026. How we verify art