Paramaribo

Paramaribo

Paramaribo, formerly known as Dutch Guyana, is Suriname's largest city, capital and main port. It lies 15 kilometers from the Atlantic Ocean on the Suriname River. The city takes its name from the Paramaribo tribe who lived at the mouth of the Suriname River. It is a former Dutch colonial town dating from the 17th and 18th centuries, with a simple and symmetrical architectural style of mainly wooden buildings, which shows a gradual fusion of elements of Dutch and other European architecture, as well as later North American influences and Creole culture, reflecting Suriname's multicultural society. The historic city center, which has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2002, lies on the left bank of the Suriname River, bordered by the Sommelsdijkse Kreek to the north and the Viottekreek to the south. Key elements of the townscape are the Fort Zeelandia, built in 1667, and the large public park behind it known as the Garden of Palms. Other attractions include the wide tree-lined streets and open spaces and the Presidential Palace which is built of stone but with a wooden upper floor, the Ministry of Finance with its monumental brick building with classical portico and clock tower, the Reformed Church in Neoclassical style and the wooden Gothic Revival Roman Catholic Cathedral. Paramaribo's population has always been very diverse. There were many Jews among the first British settlers, and the Neveh Shalom Synagogue, one of the oldest synagogues in the Americas, is located in Paramaribo. Tourism is an increasingly important sector thanks to the many visitors, most of whom come from the Netherlands.