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Kolmanskop: the abandoned ghost town swallowed by sand

How a booming diamond town was consumed by the dunes
Diamond rush
Boom town
The diamond field
Idyllic oasis
Shopping street
The butcher's shop
The shopkeeper's house
Remnants from an earlier time
Modern hospital
Curious prescriptions
Ghosts of the past
New name
Boarding house
Lost house
Leisure complex
Skittle alley
Much needed entertainment
Opulent amenities
Millionaires' row
Restored mansion
Architect's house
Submerged in sand
Desert life
A strange way of life
Bookkeeper's residence
Missing roof
Schoolmaster's residence
Fighting a losing battle
Consumed by the dunes
Quartermaster's house
Original features
Kolmanskop's decline
Desert life
Tourist attraction
Succumbing to the sands of time
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vimpro / Shutterstock

How a booming diamond town was consumed by the dunes

The long-forsaken mining settlement of Kolmanskop produced 11.7% of the world's diamonds in its heyday and was among the richest communities in the world, boasting everything from fine mansions to a hospital, an ice factory and even the first X-ray machine in the southern hemisphere.

Click or scroll on to explore this eerie ghost town in the Namib Desert and discover how it succumbed to the sands of time...

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Daniel Coughlin

06 August 2024

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