Grootfontein is a city in Otjozondjupa Region,
NamibiaNamibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in Southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana and Zimbabwe to the east, and South Africa to the south and east...
. It lies on the
B8The B8 road often known as the Golden Highway is one of the national highways of Namibia. It leads from the capital Windhoek to the Caprivi Strip, in the Otavi triangle....
, a Namibian National Road that leads from
WindhoekWindhoek is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Namibia. It is located in the central Khomas Region, and had a population of 306,093 in the 2009 calculations, believed to be over 296,000 in 2008.- Geography :...
to the
Caprivi StripCaprivi, sometimes called the Caprivi Strip or the Okavango Strip and formally known as Itenge, is a narrow protrusion of Namibia eastwards about 450 km , between Botswana on the south, Angola and Zambia to the north, and Okavango Region to the west. Caprivi is bordered by the Okavango,...
, in the Otavi triangle. In
AfrikaansAfrikaans is an Indo-European language derived from Dutch and thus classified as Low Franconian West Germanic. It is mainly spoken in South Africa and Namibia, with smaller numbers of speakers living in Botswana, Angola, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Zambia, Australia, New Zealand, the United...
, its name means "Big Spring" - there is indeed a large
hot springA hot spring is a spring that is produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater from the Earth's crust. There are hot springs all over the earth, on every continent and even under the oceans and seas.-Definitions:...
near the town.
In 1885, 40
BoerBoer is the Dutch word for farmer which came to denote the descendants of the proto Afrikaans-speaking pastoralists of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 18th century as well as those who left the Cape Colony during the 19th century to settle in the Orange Free State,...
families from the north-west of
South AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa, with a coastline on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. To the north lie Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland, while Lesotho is an independent country surrounded by South Africa.Modern...
settled at Grootfontein. Part of the Dorslandtrekker, they were heading towards
AngolaAngola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean. The exclave province of Cabinda has a border with the Republic of the...
. When that territory fell under
PortuguesePortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east...
control, they turned back and tried to establish the "Republic Upingtonia" at Grootfontein.
Grootfontein is a city in Otjozondjupa Region,
NamibiaNamibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in Southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana and Zimbabwe to the east, and South Africa to the south and east...
. It lies on the
B8The B8 road often known as the Golden Highway is one of the national highways of Namibia. It leads from the capital Windhoek to the Caprivi Strip, in the Otavi triangle....
, a Namibian National Road that leads from
WindhoekWindhoek is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Namibia. It is located in the central Khomas Region, and had a population of 306,093 in the 2009 calculations, believed to be over 296,000 in 2008.- Geography :...
to the
Caprivi StripCaprivi, sometimes called the Caprivi Strip or the Okavango Strip and formally known as Itenge, is a narrow protrusion of Namibia eastwards about 450 km , between Botswana on the south, Angola and Zambia to the north, and Okavango Region to the west. Caprivi is bordered by the Okavango,...
, in the Otavi triangle. In
AfrikaansAfrikaans is an Indo-European language derived from Dutch and thus classified as Low Franconian West Germanic. It is mainly spoken in South Africa and Namibia, with smaller numbers of speakers living in Botswana, Angola, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Zambia, Australia, New Zealand, the United...
, its name means "Big Spring" - there is indeed a large
hot springA hot spring is a spring that is produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater from the Earth's crust. There are hot springs all over the earth, on every continent and even under the oceans and seas.-Definitions:...
near the town.
Overview
In 1885, 40
BoerBoer is the Dutch word for farmer which came to denote the descendants of the proto Afrikaans-speaking pastoralists of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 18th century as well as those who left the Cape Colony during the 19th century to settle in the Orange Free State,...
families from the north-west of
South AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa, with a coastline on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. To the north lie Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland, while Lesotho is an independent country surrounded by South Africa.Modern...
settled at Grootfontein. Part of the Dorslandtrekker, they were heading towards
AngolaAngola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean. The exclave province of Cabinda has a border with the Republic of the...
. When that territory fell under
PortuguesePortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east...
control, they turned back and tried to establish the "Republic Upingtonia" at Grootfontein. Abandoned by 1887, it became the headquarters of the South West Africa Company in 1893.
Like all the towns in the Otavi triangle, Grootfontein is very green in summer but drier in winter. In spring,
jacarandaJacaranda is a genus of 49 species of flowering plants in the family Bignoniaceae, native to tropical and subtropical regions of South and Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean. The genus name is also used as the common name....
and
flamboyant treesDelonix regia is a species of flowering plant from the Fabaceae family, noted for its fern-like leaves and flamboyant display of flowers. Often grown as an ornamental tree and given the name Royal Poinciana or Flamboyant, it is also known as Krishnachura, Gulmohar, Peacock Flower, Flame of the...
bloom in profusion. The town has an old German
SchutztruppeThe Schutztruppe was the African colonial armed force of Imperial Germany from the late 1800s to 1918, when Germany lost its colonies. Similar to other colonial forces, the Schutztruppe consisted of volunteer European commissioned and non-commissioned officers, medical and veterinary officers...
fortress from the year 1896, which today houses a
museumA museum is a building or institution which houses a collection of artifacts.Museums collect and care for objects of scientific, artistic, or historical importance and make them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary...
that expounds on the local history. The economic mainspring of the area were for many decades the Berg Aukas and Abenab mines to the north east of the town. These produced
zincZinc , also known as spelter, is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...
and
vanadiumVanadium is the chemical element with the symbol V and atomic number 23. It is a soft, silvery grey, ductile transition metal. The formation of an oxide layer stabilizes the metal against oxidation. Andrés Manuel del Río discovered vanadium in 1801 by analyzing the mineral vanadinite, and named it...
but have since closed. This is
dolomiteDolomite is the name of a sedimentary carbonate rock and a mineral, both composed of calcium magnesium carbonate CaMg
2 found in crystals....
country and the
carbonateIn chemistry, a carbonate is a salt or ester of carbonic acid, characterized by the presence of the carbonate ion, or a carbonate functional group O=C2....
deposits in the upper parts of the mine have yielded interesting
fossilFossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals, plants, and other organisms from the remote past. The totality of fossils, both discovered and undiscovered, and their placement in fossiliferous rock formations and sedimentary layers is known as the fossil record...
s of
simianThe simians are the "higher primates" familiar to most people: the Old World monkeys and apes, including humans, , and the New World monkeys or platyrrhines. Simians tend to be larger than the "lower primates" or prosimians.- Classification and evolution :The simians are split into three groups...
or pongoid creatures that lived millions of years before modern humans evolved.
Twenty four kilometres west of Grootfontein lies the huge
Hoba meteoriteHoba is a meteorite that lies on the farm "Hoba West", not far from Grootfontein, in the Otjozondjupa Region of Namibia. It has been uncovered but, because of its large mass, has never been moved from where it fell...
. At over 60 tons, it is the largest known
meteoriteA meteorite is a natural object originating in outer space that survives an impact with the Earth's surface. Most meteorites derive from small astronomical objects called meteoroids, but they are also sometimes produced by impacts of asteroids...
on Earth, as well as being the largest naturally occurring mass of iron known to exist on the planet's surface.
Transport
Grootfontein is a
railhead-Over view:A railhead is a terminus of a railway line that interfaces with another transport mode, such as shipping or a train ferry.-Also see:* Stourbridge Town railway station, Greater Birmingham, in the U.K.....
on
TransNamibTransNamib is the railway parastatal of Namibia. Organised as a holding company, it provides freight by rail and road as well as passenger services. Its administration is located in Windhoek.-History:...
, the national railway and transport system. Grootfontein also has a military base which housed several units of the now departed
South African Defence ForceThe South African Defence Force was the South African armed forces from 1957 until 1994. The former Union Defence Force was renamed to the South African Defence Force in the Defence Act of 1957...
. It has an airfield that can handle large transport carriers such as the Hercules C130, as well as commercial passenger aircraft.
Famous Residents
- Behati Prinsloo
Behati Prinsloo is a Namibian model. She is perhaps known for her work as spokesmodel for the Victoria's Secret sub-brand Pink.-Biography and career:...
- supermodelThe term supermodel refers to a highly-paid élite fashion model who usually has a worldwide reputation and often a background in haute couture and commercial modeling. The term was elevated to prominence in the popular culture of the 1990s. Supermodels usually work for top fashion designers and...
, best known for her works with Victoria's SecretVictoria's Secret is an American retailer of women's wear, lingerie and beauty products. It is the largest segment of publicly-traded Limited Brands with sales surpassing US$5 billion and an operating income of $1 billion in 2006...
PINK
External links
- http://www.altefortmuseum.de - Website of the Alte Fort Museum in the former German Schutztruppe fortress