Von Francis Fort, monument in Namibia

Von Francis Fort is the ruin of a military camp built from rubble stone on a low rise above the Heusis River, about 56 km west of Windhoek on the C28. Its roughly 8 by 10 metre plan holds three rooms and a small entrance passage, and the roof is gone. A large kraal for horses and freight-wagon oxen stood nearby.

The small fort was laid out by the first Schutztruppe under Curt von François and named after him. It guarded the trade route between Swakopmund and Windhoek in German South-West Africa. Tradition holds that soldiers who had drunk too deeply in Windhoek were posted here, earning it the joking name 'Trockenposten' (dry post).

The fort stands on a slight rise above the Heusis River, right beside today's C28 main road about 56 km west of Windhoek's centre. The ruin has no roof and no modern facilities, and it is freely open to the public. Look for the turn-off on the road; a large livestock kraal once lay close by.

The fort earned the nickname 'dry station' because it served as a place where soldiers struggling with alcohol could spend time sobering up. This unusual role shows the practical and sometimes unexpected ways military stations were used in the frontier region.