Editing Windhoek (section)

===Colonial era===
[[File:Windhuk.jpg|thumb|Windhoek before 1908]]
[[File:Windhuk stamp.jpg|thumbnail|170px|German South West Africa stamp postmarked ''Windhuk'']]
[[File:Sanderburg.jpg|thumb|Sanderburg, one of the three castles of Windhoek]]
A request by merchants from [[Lüderitzbucht]] resulted in the declaration in 1884 of a German [[protectorate]] over what was called [[German South West Africa]] (''Deutsch-Südwestafrika''), now Namibia. The borders of the German colony were determined in 1890 and Germany sent a protective corps, the ''[[Imperial Schutztruppe for German South West Africa|Schutztruppe]]'' under Major [[Curt von&nbsp;François]], to maintain order.<ref>Roman Adrian Cybriwsky, ''Capital Cities around the World: An Encyclopedia of Geography, History, and Culture'', ABC-CLIO, USA, 2013, p. 338</ref> Von&nbsp;François stationed his garrison at Windhoek, which was strategically situated as a buffer between the warring [[Nama people|Nama]] and [[Herero people|Herero]] peoples.<ref>{{cite news |title=Verona, the last grandchild of Von&nbsp;François |last1=Mbathera |first1=Ester |last2=Pinehas |first2=Tutaleni |newspaper=[[The Namibian]] |date=17 November 2021 |page=6 |url=https://www.namibian.com.na/107420/read/Verona-the-last-grandchild-of-Von-Fran%C3%A7ois |access-date=17 November 2021 |archive-date=17 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211117143749/https://www.namibian.com.na/107420/read/Verona-the-last-grandchild-of-Von-Fran%C3%A7ois |url-status=live}}</ref> The twelve strong springs provided water for the cultivation of produce and grains.

Colonial Windhoek was founded on 18 October 1890, when von&nbsp;François fixed the foundation stone of the fort, which is now known as the [[Alte Feste]] (Old Fortress).<ref name="DierkbioV">{{cite web |url=http://www.klausdierks.com/Biographies/Biographies_V.htm |last=Dierks |first=Klaus |author-link=Klaus Dierks |title=Biographies of Namibian Personalities, V (entry for Curt von&nbsp;François) |publisher=klausdiers.com |access-date=1 October 2011 |archive-date=24 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190224104612/http://klausdierks.com/Biographies/Biographies_V.htm |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="curtfarewell">{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-63728105 |language=en-GB |publisher=[[BBC News]] |date=23 November 2022 |access-date=2022-11-23 |last=Chothia |first=Farouk |title=Namibia pulls down German colonial officer's statue in Windhoek |archive-date=23 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221123142819/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-63728105 |url-status=live}}</ref> After 1907, development accelerated as indigenous people migrated from the countryside to the growing town to seek work. More European settlers arrived from Germany and South Africa. Businesses were erected on Kaiser Street (presently [[Independence Avenue (Windhoek)|Independence Avenue]]), and along the dominant mountain ridge over the city. At this time, Windhoek's three castles, [[Heinitzburg]], [[Sanderburg]], and [[Schwerinsburg]], were built.