Built by a German colonial master, Duwisib Castle in southern Namibia is an eternal salute of European fortifications to the African steppe of Namibia.
The whimsical Duwisib Castle is located in the south of Namibia and is probably the most unusual sight in the entire country. A museum tells the curious story of this imposing fortress, which is now considered a national monument of Namibia and is one of our top 10 sights of Namibia.
Duwisib Castle was built by a German colonial ruler and does not seem to fit at all into the wild landscape of Namibia. About 70 kilometers southwest of Maltahöhe in Namibia, the fortified towers and battlements of a rust-red castle that seems to have sprung from Europe in the Middle Ages suddenly appear under the African sun.
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PICTURES: Duwisib Castle
Photo gallery: Duwisib Castle on the Malta Heights
Visit to Duwisib Castle
Those who may have stocked up on fuel and food at Maltahöhe, or stayed overnight, may consider a side trip to Duwisib Castle. Inhabited for only 5 years, the castle is still partially furnished with original furniture and utensils from the early 20th century. The shady courtyard of the whimsical African castle is an inviting place to rest. However, there is an entrance fee.
Since the 1970s, Duwisib Castle has belonged to the state of Namibia, which had it generously renovated and converted into a museum in the early 1990s. The history of Duwisib Castle can now be traced in the 22 rooms of the imposing castle.
History of Duwisib Castle
The Saxon artillery officer Hansheinrich von Wolf fulfilled a lifelong dream with this unusual building. After getting to know the landscape of southwest Africa during the Herero War, he settled in 1908 with his wife Miss Jayta Humphreys, the wealthy stepdaughter of a U.S. consul, in what is now southern Namibia to establish a horse breeding farm.
He had the farm Duwisib, which he had acquired for this purpose, rebuilt into a medieval castle by the well-known fort architect Wilhelm Sander, who had also built several forts in Windhoek. The material for this was imported from Germany and worked on by stonemasons from Italy, Sweden and Ireland.
Horse breeding was extremely successful and many magnificent thoroughbreds saw the light of day at Duwisib Castle. However, the happiness lasted only five years, because in the First World War, it was over with the African idyll.
Von Wolf and his wife were en route to Europe when their ship was diverted to Rio de Janeiro. Allegedly disguised as a woman, von Wolf managed to escape to Germany, where, however, he re-enlisted for military service and was killed in France in the Battle of the Somme in 1916.
His wife did not want to return to Duwisib Castle without him, and instead moved to Switzerland and sold the castle in the middle of the savannah to a Swedish family. However, this family let Duwisib Castle fall into disrepair and thus the theory arose that the legendary desert horses between Aus and Garub descended from this horse breeding.
