ǁKhauxaǃnas
| ǁKhauxaǃnas | |
|---|---|
Schans Vlakte | |
| near Warmfontein, Namibia | |
View to the South-East, the protection wall is in the background | |
| Site information | |
| Type | Fortress |
| Owner | Private |
| Condition | Ruin |
| Site history | |
| Built | before 1800 |
| Built by | Klaas Afrikaner and his two sons Jager and Titus |
| In use | part of farms Gugunas and Schanzen; until about 1820, and again 1904/05 |
| Materials | red sandstone rock slabs |
| Garrison information | |
| Occupants | Orlam Afrikaners |
ǁKhauxaǃnas (Khoekhoegowab: passively defend people from an enemy, Afrikaans / Dutch name Schans Vlakte: fortified valley) is an uninhabited village with a ruined fortress in south-eastern Namibia, east of the Great Karas Mountains. It is the oldest systematically designed and built structure in Namibia, pre-dating all buildings erected by Europeans. Built at the end of the 18th century, most likely between 1796 and 1798 by Klaas Afrikaner and his two sons Jager and Titus, ǁKhauxaǃnas served as a hidden retreat and a fortress to fend off possible pursuits by Cape authorities. The Orlam Afrikaner tribe left the place in the 1820s but it continued to be inhabited by the Veldschoendragers (ǁHawoben) tribe until the mid-19th century.