Staff Reporter
THE Alte Feste, constructed in 1890 as the headquarters of the German Schutztruppe and Windhoek’s oldest historical building, will see new life breathed into it after the German Embassy in Windhoek announced that it would allocate N$3.2 million to repair the building.
The German Embassy in Windhoek explained that, after an initial contribution in 2020, it will support extensive repair and rehabilitation work on the Alte Feste building in Windhoek as part of a joint initiative by the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture and Namibia Art, Craft, and Design (Craft Centre).
For this, Namibia Art, Craft, and Design will receive N$3.2 million (160,000 euros) for 2025–2026 through the Federal Foreign Office’s Cultural Preservation Programme.
The German Ambassador to Namibia, Dr. Thorsten Hutter, explained that the aim of this joint initiative is to repair the building, which will serve as a new location for the Namibia Craft Centre and the National Genocide Museum.
Dr. Hutter said: “The renovations of the building can facilitate discussions about the colonial legacy among future generations and help us learn from history. We applaud our Namibian and international partners for this initiative to turn the Alte Feste into a place of cultural exchange and remembrance.”
The Alte Feste, constructed in 1890 as the headquarters of the German Schutztruppe, stands as Windhoek’s oldest historical building. Following World War I, the building became the headquarters for South African Union troops, serving as a military headquarters until 1915 and then as a hostel for Windhoek High School until 1935. After Namibia’s independence in 1990, it became the National Museum. However, by 2014, the Alte Feste was closed to the public. The German Foreign Office supported emergency measures at the Alte Feste in 2020.
Dr. Hutter concluded that by repurposing and upgrading the Alte Feste into a National Genocide Museum and an Arts, Crafts, and Heritage Centre of Excellence, the joint initiative aims to transform a relic of the German colonial era into a vibrant and accessible space that holds socio-economic and cultural relevance for all communities in contemporary Namibia.
