Once home to hundreds of German miners, seeking their fortune in the Namib desert, today Kolmanskop is slowly vanishing in the desert sands.
In the 1900s workers found diamonds while working in the area and this caused an influx of German miners. And it wasn’t long before the village was born. Kolmanskop had a theater, casino, school, bowling alley and even an ice factory.
In 1954 the miners slowly started to abandon the town as the diamonds in the area were exhausted. Ever since, the desert sands are reclaiming the town. The houses built in traditional German architecture are filled with sand that lies feet deep in places.
Photographer Álvaro Sánchez-Montañés captured the loneliness of this abandoned town in his photographic series Indoor Desert. Álvaro’s stunning photographs reminds us of the immense power of nature, as we see how the strong winds and sands are overtaking the town.
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