The Goerke House, Lüderitz

THE FAMILIAR PHRASE has a person in difficult circumstances being “between a rock and a hard place”. The Namibian town of Lüderitz is stuck between the dry sands of the desert and salt water of the South Atlantic — this is the only country whose drinking water is 100% recycled. Life in this almost-pleasant German colonial outpost on the most inhospitable coast in the world has always been something of a difficulty, but the allure of diamonds has at least made it profitable. One such adventurer who came from afar and made his fortune in this outer limit of the Teutonic domains was one Hans Goerke.

Goerke was born in Germany in 1874 and came to Deutsche-Südwestafrika (as Namibia was then called) in 1904 with the Schutztruppe, the Germans’ colonial fighting force. By 1907 he was provisions inspector for the German forces and after the discovery of diamonds at Kolmannskuppe (now Kolmanskop), he resigned from the army and sought his fortune in diamond prospecting. Goerke was quite successful, ultimately working for three different mining concerns, and, to make use of his luchre, he decided to build the loveliest house in all of Lüderitz.

Goerke chose a splendid site at the end of Zeppelin Street on Diamentberg, with a splendid view of the town and the bay. Work on the house began in October 1909 and was completed by September of the next year. The design is believed to be the work of Otto Ertl, an architect who was quite active in the colony and is responsible for many of the most prominent buildings in Lüderitz and Swakopmund.

Grüss Gott tritt ein bring Glück herein more or less means “Saying hello brings happiness in”, and Goerke had this German saying carved on either side of the front door of his house.

The entrance hall has some delightful detailing on the vaulted ceiling, and a further note of welcome painted onto the wall.

Wer guter Meinung kommt herein soll lieb hier und willkommen sein … “Those who feel well, come and enter to be loved and welcomed here”.

The Goerke House is noted for its widespread use of jugendstil designs and motifs. While the architect’s take on art nouveau was obviously German, it freely integrated African themes to mark the building’s location.

The round arches of the rundbogenstil often survived into the jugendstil.

A stained-glass window fills the stair-hall with visions of pink flamingoes.

From a window in the Goerke House, the visitor can see the Felsenkirche perched on the very top of Diamentberg. One can also see, from the state of the window, how the wind and sand lash the buildings of Lüderitz.

Some restored jugendstil detailing in a bathroom of the house.

Somewhat sadly, Hans Goerke only inhabited his house at the end of Zeppelin Street for two years. He left Südwestafrika in 1912. In 1915, the South African generals Smuts & Botha invaded Deutsche-Südwestafrika and permanently ended Germany’s overlordship of the colony. The Treaty of Versailles declared the land to be a League of Nations mandate territory of the Union of South Africa, and from then until independence it was known as Suidwes-Afrika, or South West Africa.

The house was purchased by Consolidated Diamond Mines (CDM) in 1920, who sold it on to the government of SWA in 1944. It became the official residence of the landdrost, or magistrate, and so became known as the Drostdy. In 1981, there was so little crime in little Lüderitz that the government decided to remove the landdrost to Keetmanshoop, and CDM bought the building back to use as a corporate guest house.

Since that time, CDM has become Namdeb, the joint operation of the Namibian government and the De Beers corporation, and Namdeb has worked to restore the house to its original appearance as best it can. Most of the original furniture is gone, but appropriate contemporary items have been placed around the house, and the company has made use of the ample photographs from the early days to bring the Goerke House back to its former glory.

Instagram: @andcusack

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