Warmbad

The small town of Warmbad is steeped in deep history from as early as 1760. Jacobus Coetzee was the first European documented to cross the Orange River. He established a trading post and the settlement served as a gateway to the rest of the Namibian territory for game hunters. The first mission station was established by Abraham and Christian Albrecht of the London Missionary Society in 1806. The local Orlam communities rebelled against the European presence and burned down the buildings in 1811. The town underwent a transformation from trading post to military base during the German colonial times with the fort completed in 1905. Warmbad, meaning "warm bath", is so named after the nearby |Aixa-aibes hot springs with the first swimming pool being constructed in 1908. As the rest of the country was conquered and modernized, Warmbad lost its image and was reduced to a fledging settlement with a poor community. In recent years however, the tourism value of the town has boosted its importance with the area around the springs being developed into a welcoming site for visitors, the small museum offers insights to the history of the town and old buildings have been renovated. The memorial of Edward Boyle Cook serves as a reminder of the town’s humble beginnings. He served as a missionary to the local Bondelswart communities and baptized 437 people in his lifetime. As a result of the harshness and extreme heat of the environment, he had to travel to Cape Town in 1843 to undergo treatment for medical problems. He would never set foot on Namibian soil again as he died at the Orange River upon his return. The exact location of his burial site is unknown to this day.