Gottlieb Viehe

Who was Gottlieb Viehe?

Friedrich Wilhelm Gottlieb Viehe was a German missionary of the Rheinische Missionsgesellschaft and an early settler in present-day Namibia. He was born in Mennighöffen,.

His first exposure to missionary work in Africa was in 1867 at the settlement of Otjimbingwe where here worked with the Ovaherero. In 1870 he moved to Omaruru and established a small school for children of European settlers. In 1872, he built a mission house in Omaruru, and soon after translated the New Testament into the Otjiherero language.

In 1885, Viehe constructed the first meteorological station in the newly formed colony of German Southwest Africa at Omaruru. In 1890, he moved to Okahandja, where he was head of the Augustineum. It was here he had a confrontation with Theodor Leutwein, commandant of the Schutztruppe, who accused Viehe of "mild treatment" in regards to his relations with indigenous Africans.