Omaruru, Namibia

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Omaruru is a town and constituency in the Erongo Region of Namibia. Its official population is 6,792, although local estimates range between 6,000 and 12,000. The town is situated by the Erongo Mountains, on the usually dry Omaruru River. It is located on the main paved road from Swakopmund to Otjiwarongo.

The town grew around a mission built in 1872 by Gottlieb Viehe, now a museum, and was attacked in 1904 during the Herero and Namaqua Genocide. Captain Franke's Tower was built in this period to defend the settlement.

The town is known for its annual festival, its winery and for the dinosaur footprints at nearby Otjihaenamparero.

[edit] Legacy of von Trotha

The descendants of Lothar von Trotha and the von Trotha family traveled to Omaruru in October 2007 by invitation of the royal Herero chiefs and publicly apologised for his role in the Herero Genocide. Member of the family Wolf-Thilo von Trotha: "We, the von Trotha family, are deeply ashamed of the terrible events that took place 100 years ago. Human rights were grossly abused that time," BBC News.