“Historic Alte Feste building to undergo major facelift

By Namibia Press Agency

28 November 2025

The German embassy in Windhoek on Friday officially announced the financial support of over N$4 million for the major repair and rehabilitation of the historic Alte Feste building in Windhoek.

The initiative is being led through a joint partnership between the Ministry of Education, Innovation, Youth, Sport, Arts and Culture and the Namibia Art, Craft and Design Centre.

Making the announcement, minister counsellor and deputy head of mission of the German embassy, Florian Seitz, said Germany is pleased to support the project, adding that the renovations can facilitate the discussion about Germany’s historic legacy in Namibia among future generations.

[…]

Constructed in 1890 under German colonial rule, Alte Feste is the oldest historical building in Windhoek.

[…]

The Namibia Art, Craft and Design Centre is receiving N$4.2 million for the 2025/26 implementation period, funded through the German Federal Foreign Office’s Cultural Preservation Programme.

Once completed, the building is expected to serve as the new home of the Namibia Craft Centre and the future National Genocide Museum.

[…].”

Editor’s note:

The German Embassy had already announced financial support of N$3.2 million in February 2025.

As it informed ‘Dialogue-on-Namibias-Past’ upon request, the German Federal Foreign Office has increased its grant from its cultural preservation programme for this year and next year from €160,000 to €210,000 (approximately N$4.2 million).

This is also a response to the withdrawal of the USA from the project. The U.S. Ambassador’s Cultural Preservation Fund had pledged US$250,000 in April 2024.

The Alte Feste (Old Fort) is being transformed into a meeting place and tourist center – with craft workshops, an art gallery, a genocide museum, and a café-restaurant.

• Full report “Historic Alte Feste building to undergo major facelift” on the website of the Namibian (last checked in November 2025).

• See also the German Embassy’s media releases “Germany supports Alte Feste renovation in Windhoek with N$ 4.2 million in 2025/2026” of 28 November 2025 and “Germany supports renovation of the Alte Feste building in Windhoek” of 11 February 2025 in the ‘Primary Sources’ section of this website.

• See also the reports “Alte Feste gears up for a new look” of 11 April 2024 by the Windhoek Express and “Trump’s Unesco exit ripples into Alte Feste renovation project” of 30 September 2025 by the Windhoek Observer in the ‘Media Reports’ section of this website.