Dr. Robert Koch’s Mansion
Dr. Robert Koch’s Mansion
Dr. Robert Koch’s Mansion (Temple Street, Mwanza) – German national Dr. Robert Koch, the Nobel Prize winner in Medicine in 1905 (for inventing the cure for tuberculosis), once lived in Tanzania during the German occupation of the country from the late 1800s until the end of World War I. Dr. Koch was also recognized as one of the founders of medical microbiology.
Dr. Robert Koch’s house in Mwanza was built by the German colonial administration, at that time, for medical research. It really looks like a German castle of the past. Through a winding staircase, one can enter the interior large room and stand on the veranda with a nice view of the city of Mwanza and nearby lake.
This imposing house was actually never used for medical research, but the British and Tanzanian governments used it for administration. At present it’s empty. Massai watchmen use it for sleeping quarters and demand a little money from visitors who come there. Dr. Koch died in 1910, four years before the start of World War I.