Amazing Farms Turn Deserted

In the fifteenth century Iceland was ravaged by two epidemics which usually have been identified as plague. It is shown here that these epidemics were no less lethal than the Black Death in Europe. The first one probably killed half the population or more and persisted in the country for at least a year and a half. Since, for several reasons, it can safely be assumed that Iceland was not populated by rats at this time, this may offer the strongest available proof that an epidemic like the Black Death was not dependent on rats for its dissemination.

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The Ultimate Ghost Town Buried In The Sand

In the early 1900’s, things seemed very different, At the beginning of the 20th century diamonds were discovered in the desert area just outside Lüderitz. Sometimes these diamonds lay fully exposed on top of the sand. This caused a diamond rush from all over the world and the once desolated lonely desert was engulfed with the influx of fortune seekers.

Out of this desert grew the elegant town of Kolmanskop, which included facilities like a casino, theatre, skittle alley, butchery, bakery, soda water and lemonade plant, swimming pool and a hospital with the first x-ray machine in the Southern Hemisphere.

Some 700 families lived in the town, including about 300 German adults, 40 children and 800 Owambo contract workers.

Each morning the ice – vendor came down the streets, which were even then smothered with sand, to deliver the daily ration of ice blocks and cold drinks to each household. Wages were good and virtually everything was free, including company houses, milk deliveries and other fringe benefits.

Shortly after the drop in diamond sales after the First World War and the discovery of richer deposits further south at Oranjemund, the beginning of the end started.

So within 40 years the town was born, flourished and then died. One day Kolmanskop’s sand-clearing squad failed to turn up, the ice-man stayed away, the school bell rang no more. During the 1950's the town was deserted and the dunes began to reclaim what was always theirs.

Soon the metal screens collapsed and the pretty gardens and tidy streets were buried under the sand. Doors and windows creaked on their hinges, cracked window panes stared sightlessly across the desert. A new ghost town had been born.

A couple of old buildings are still standing and some interiors like the theatre is still in very good condition, but the rest are crumbling ruins demolished from grandeur to ghost houses. One can explore the whole area within the fences and it creates the perfect set up for good photographic opportunities.

It is important to buy special permits before visiting the town. Permits can be bought from the travel agency next to Pension Zum Sperrgebiet in Lüderitz.

The area is still mined and it is part of the ‘Sperrgebiet’ (Restricted Area). Visitors who apply for a permit must prove that they have no criminal record.

Tourists must provide their own transport from the town. To get to Kolmanskop, drive east on the B4 from Lüderitz for some 10 km and turn south on a well sign posted road.
The other ghost town in the Namib Desert is Elizabeth Bay, but tourists are not allowed to visit it.

In short : Kolmanskop is a ghost town in southern Namibia, a few kilometres inland from the port of Lüderitz. In 1908, Luederitz was plunged into diamond fever and people rushed into the Namib desert hoping to make an easy fortune. Within two years, a town, complete with a casino, school, hospital and exclusive residential buildings, was established in the barren sandy desert.

But shortly after the drop in diamond sales after the First World War, the beginning of the end started. During the 1950’s the town was deserted and the dunes began to reclaim what was always theirs.

Note: Check out another most scary ghost town at HERE

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World's Most Scary Ghost Town

A Ghost Town is a town or community that at one time had a commercial or population center, and is either wholly abandoned or faded greatly from its peak, and now is just a shadow of its former self.

Barber Chair, 1996. Bannack, Montana


Barber Shop, 1990. Nevada City, Montana


Broken Roof, 1996. Gilmore, Idaho


Chair and Stove, 1990. Shakespeare, New Mexico


Chairs, 1996. Shakespeare, New Mexico


Fence and Buildings, 1997. Bannack, Montana
 

Graveyard, 1978. Hornitos, California


Headboards and Cross, 1991. Belmont, Nevada


Hotel Interior, 1991. Bannack, Montana


Interior, Gilmore, 1996. Gilmore, Idaho


Noose, 1991. Shakespeare, New Mexico


Old Mail Station, 1990. Shakespeare, New Mexico


Porch, Heller House, 1996. Cabezon, New Mexico


Wagon Wheel, Front Porch, 1993. Mogollon, New Mexico

New Mexico has over 400 ghost towns and many more camps and other smaller historical locations. New Mexico's ghost towns are located in just about every are of the state of New Mexico. The most famous of the New Mexico ghost towns are the semi-ghost tourist locations like Shakespeare and steins. New Mexico also has many very desolate ghost town sites where there is little left. Unfortunately, New Mexico has one of the worst records in the preservation of ghost towns. Many states actively protect their ghost towns and keep vandalism to a minimum, but such is not the case New Mexico. For that reason and also due to New Mexico's harsh climate, the majority of New Mexico's ghost towns are nothing more than a few foundations and some occasional mining equipment. But, that doesn't stop the avid ghosttowner from enjoying what is left of New Mexico's ghost towns.

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