Fun things to do in Omaruru

Omaruru was a German garrison town from the late nineteenth century onwards, so it came as little surprise that was attacked by the Hereroes during the German-Herero War. In January 1904, the town was besieged and the town was finally relieved by Captain Victor Franke and his cavalry. The impressively disciplined Captain Franke - who was, after all, German - marched his troops 900km north in only 20 days. Frankly (if you'll excuse the pun), it's a miracle that they had the energy to stand up once they reached Omaruru, let alone fight after haring across country at this pace in high summer!

By way of context, the German-Herero war were triggered by a Herero uprising against German colonial rule in 1904, and the resultant loss of life was horrific. There were relatively small numbers of casualties in formal conflict, but most of those who fled into the desert died of thirst and starvation. There are reports of wells being poisoned as part of a systematic programme of extermination, as well as medical experiments being conducted on Herero prisoners in internment camps.

Estimates of the Herero death toll range between 24,000 and 100,000. Later in the same year, the Nama people also revolted, and met a similar fate - resulting in an estimated 10,000 Nama deaths. This must have been a staggering proportion of the indigenous population at the time (given that Namibia only has a population of just over 2 million over a century later).

In 1994, the German government formally apologised for this genocide.

The Franke Tower was erected in the valiant Captain's honour in 1908, and was declared a national monument in 1968.

The tower is usually locked, but you used to be able to borrow the key from the Central Hotel. I'm not sure if this is still the case: if you do visit, please let me know, and I'll amend this tip accordingly.