CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
Menu
Research dossier · Places & Architecture

Brandberg Mountain

Namibian mountain

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 6, 2026
Entity authorityQ897834 ↗
Source-derived summary

The Brandberg (Damara: Dâures; Otjiherero: Omukuruvaro) is Namibia's highest mountain.

Location and extent

Brandberg Mountain is located in former Damaraland, now Erongo, in the northwestern Namib Desert, near the coast, and covers an area of approximately 650 km2. With its highest point, the Königstein (German for 'King's Stone'), standing at 2,573 m (8,442 ft) above sea level and located on the flat Namib gravel plains, on a clear day the Brandberg can be seen from a great distance. There are various routes to the summit, the easiest (also steepest) being up the Ga'aseb river valley. Other routes include the Hungurob and Tsisab river valleys. The nearest settlement is Uis, roughly 30 km from the mountain.

The core area of 450 square kilometres (170 sq mi) was declared a National Monument in 1951.

Origin of name

The name Brandberg is Afrikaans, Dutch, and German for Burning Mountain. It refers to its glowing colour, which is sometimes seen in the setting sun. The Damara name for the mountain is Dâures, which means 'burning mountain', while the Herero name, Omukuruvaro, means 'mountain of the Gods'.

Editorial summary

“Brandberg Mountain” enters the record as namibian mountain. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Brandberg, Mountain and Namibian can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewA strong orientation record where physical form, institutional use and historical geography need to be read together. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1951—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its strongest next move is a source search built around Brandberg, Mountain and Namibian.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“Brandberg Mountain” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Brandberg, Mountain and Namibian provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 6, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q897834. VIAF identifies the subject as 19145067004866630069. The Library of Congress control number is sh2002004510. Authority coordinates are -21.149, 14.578. 1 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1951.

Critical limits

Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Brandberg Mountain”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Brandberg Mountain primary sources, Brandberg Mountain archive and Brandberg research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Brandberg Mountain”?
  2. What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
  3. Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Brandberg Mountain” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.