Magistrate's Residence, National monument in Lüderitz, Namibia
The Magistrate's Residence is a two-story building in Lüderitz featuring decorated ceilings with impressionistic paintings and art nouveau elements throughout its interior. The tower and various rooms showcase detailed craftsmanship and ornamental designs.
Otto Ertl designed the house, built between October 1909 and September 1910 as the residence of Lieutenant Hans Goerke, who had arrived with the German Schutztruppe in 1904 and became head of the Emiliental diamond company in Lüderitz in late 1909. Goerke returned to Germany in 1912. The Consolidated Diamond Mines bought the building in 1920, sold it in 1944 to the South African mandate administration, which housed the local magistrate there until the office moved to Keetmanshoop in 1981. CDM, now NAMDEB, repurchased and restored it in 1983.
The building shows a mix of German colonial style and art nouveau details visible throughout its interior. The colored window panes with flamingo designs and Egyptian-inspired columns give the rooms a distinctive appearance.
The house stands on the Diamantberg hill just below the Felsenkirche, a short climb above the town centre of Lüderitz. It has served as a guesthouse since its 1983 restoration by CDM, so the interior is seen as a paying overnight guest rather than on a public tour.
The tower carries a sundial, and the interior has art nouveau leaded-glass windows with flamingo motifs. The oak furniture now in the house is not original. Since 1983 the building has served as a guesthouse, after the diamond company CDM bought it back and restored it.
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