A place with no sign, but full of history…
There are desert excursions around Swakopmund where you pass by an old, barely visible burial site. It is easy to miss, but historically significant. I clearly remember a lecture during my guide training, given by Dr Friedhelm von Ludwiger. He spoke about this place, known as the “horse graveyard,” and why more than 1,500 horse skeletons are scattered across the desert in that area.
Although I have lived in Swakopmund for many years, I honestly no longer remembered exactly where this place was located.
Not long ago, the internet was down, nothing was working at the office, so I spontaneously took the opportunity to go for a long walk into the dunes with my dogs. I had no coordinates, just a vague memory of the general direction.
What I did not expect: I ended up walking more than 9 kilometers, up and down over endless dunes, thinking at one point that I would never find it again. And then, suddenly, out of nowhere, this long, pale reef of bones appeared in front of me, in a completely different spot than I had remembered.
It annoyed me to see vehicle tracks nearby, even though this area is supposed to be protected for nesting Damara terns. But of course, the thick wire rope marking the boundary had rusted away, so people just drive through again… as if it was never there for a reason. My son would have called me the Grumble-Mump again, but I honestly would have liked to remind a few people more clearly about respecting nature.
How it came to be…
In 1914, when the South African Union forces received orders from the British Crown to invade what was then German South West Africa, there was internal resistance. Part of the Union forces consisted of Boer soldiers, many of whom sympathized with the Germans. The German Kaiser was well regarded among them. A short but serious rebellion broke out in South Africa, which first had to be put down before the campaign in Namibia could begin.
Once mobilization was complete, more than 30,000 horses were shipped via Walvis Bay and Swakopmund into German South West Africa. The Union army was mounted, the strategy being fast mobility to outmaneuver the much smaller German Schutztruppe. And it worked. The German forces retreated, eventually surrendering in July 1915 near Khorab in the north of the country.
But around the Swakopmund area, something else happened. Many of the imported horses became ill. The diagnosis: glanders, caused by the bacterium Burkholderia mallei. It is highly contagious, dangerous to humans as well, and considered so serious that it is a notifiable disease and even classified as a potential biological weapon.
The arrival of the requested military veterinarian was delayed by about ten days due to a shipwreck. That was too long. The disease spread uncontrollably and immediate action had to be taken.
To contain the outbreak, 1,695 horses and 944 mules were killed to stop the spread of infection. An official telegram from the South African Ministry of Defence dated 15 May 1916 confirms both the numbers and the background to this drastic measure. No legend, documented colonial history, right here in the Namib.
The animals were taken into the dunes south of the Swakop River mouth, about four to six kilometers from town, though honestly, I have no idea from which point that distance is measured. They were shot on site, bullet holes still to be seen in numerous sculls today. It is said they chose spots where the ground was soft enough to dig shallow graves. Whether that is true, I cannot say. I suspect they were simply laid out in long rows and left there.
What you still see today…
Many of the skulls still show clear bullet holes. Among the bones, you can still find rusted horseshoes and, now and then, even bits of halters, relics from a time when horses were part of an army that may have won the campaign, but whose animals paid the ultimate price.
The wind-blown dunes shift slowly across the site, sometimes covering the remains, then revealing them again.
It is a quiet place. No signpost, no monument. But anyone who stands there feels something – or is it just my imagination…?
Last Updated on 23. September 2025 by Albert Voigts von Schütz
