[1] Once a small but very rich mining village, it is now a popular tourist destination run by Namdeb, a joint firm owned by the Namibian government and De Beers.

[2] Driven by the enormous wealth of the first diamond miners, the residents built the village in the architectural style of a German town, with amenities and institutions including a hospital, ballroom, power station, school, skittle-alley, theatre and sport-hall, casino, ice factory and the first x-ray-station in the southern hemisphere, as well as the first tram in Africa.

Hastening the town's demise was the discovery in 1928 of the richest diamond-bearing deposits ever known, on the beach terraces 270 kilometres (170 mi) south of Kolmanskop, near the Orange River.

Kolmanskop is popular with photographers for its settings of the desert sands reclaiming this once-thriving town, and the arid climate preserving the traditional Edwardian architecture in the area.

Due to its location within the restricted area (Sperrgebiet) of the Namib desert, tourists need a permit to enter the town.