Paramaribo

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ParamariboTemplate:Efn is the capital and largest city of Suriname, located on the banks of the Suriname River in the Paramaribo District. Paramaribo has a population of roughly 241,000 people (2012 census), almost half of Suriname's population.[1] The historic inner city of Paramaribo has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2002.[2]

Name

The city is named for the Paramaribo tribe living at the mouth of the Suriname River; the name is from Tupi–Guarani para "large river" + maribo "inhabitants".[3]

History

File:Tropenmuseum Royal Tropical Institute Objectnumber 3728-375 Litho voorstellende een marktgezicht.jpg
1830s lithograph of the market

The name Paramaribo is probably a corruption of the name of a native village, spelled Parmurbo in the earliest Dutch sources.[4] This was the location of the first Dutch settlement, a trading post established by Nicolaes Baliestel and Dirck Claeszoon van Sanen in 1613.[4] English and French traders also tried to establish settlements in Suriname, including a French post established in 1644 near present-day Paramaribo.

All earlier settlements were abandoned some time before the arrival of English settlers in 1650 to found Surinam. They were sent by the English governor of Barbados, Lord Francis Willoughby, 5th Baron Willoughby of Parham, and established a town on the site of Paramaribo (though probably south of the current town center). The town was protected by a fort, called Fort Willoughby. In 1662, Governor Willoughby was granted the settlement and surrounding lands (extending into Suriname's interior) by King Charles II. Around 1665 the village of Paramaribo was expanded and quickly outranked the earlier settlement of Torarica.[5]

In 1667, during the Second Anglo-Dutch War, Paramaribo was conquered by a squadron of ships under Abraham Crijnssen. The Treaty of Breda in 1667 confirmed Paramaribo as the leading town of the now Dutch colony of Suriname. The fort protecting Paramaribo was renamed Fort Zeelandia in honor of the Dutch province that had financed Crijnssen's fleet. (The town was also renamed New Middelburg but the name did not catch on with the inhabitants).

File:Vente d'esclaves au Suriname en 1831.jpg
Slave auction in Paramaribo, in 1831

The population of Paramaribo has always been very diverse. Among the first British settlers were many Jews[6] and one of the oldest synagogues in the Americas, the Neveh Shalom Synagogue, is found in Paramaribo.[7] The population of the town was greatly increased after 1873, when former enslaved people (who had been freed in 1863) were allowed to stop working for their former masters and leave the sugar plantations.

Paramaribo has remained the capital of Suriname, from its colonial days through the independence of Suriname in 1975 to the present day. The old town has suffered many devastating fires over the years, notably in January 1821 (which destroyed over 400 buildings) and September 1832 (which destroyed nearly 50 buildings).[8] The slaves Kodjo, Mentor, and Present were found guilty of arson, and burnt alive.[9]

In May 1972, the Paramaribo Zoo opened.[10] In 1987, an administrative reorganization took place in Suriname and the city was divided into 12 administrative resorts (jurisdictions).

Geography

File:Paramaribo, Suriname.JPG
View of Paramaribo from space

The city is located on the Suriname River, approximately Template:Convert inland from the Atlantic Ocean, in the Paramaribo district.

Climate

Paramaribo features a tropical rainforest climate (Af), under the Köppen climate classification. Because Paramaribo is more subject to the Intertropical Convergence Zone than the trade winds and sees no tropical cyclones, its climate is classified as equatorial. The city has no true dry season; all 12 months of the year average more than Template:Convert of rainfall, but the city does experience noticeably wetter and drier periods during the year. The Northern Hemisphere "autumn" (September through November) is the driest period of the year in Paramaribo, and the heaviest rainfall occurs from April to July. Common to many cities with this climate, temperatures are relatively consistent throughout the course of the year, with average high temperatures of 30 degrees Celsius and average low temperatures of 24 degrees Celsius. Paramaribo on average receives roughly Template:Convert of rainfall each year.

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Demographics

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Paramaribo has a population of 240,924 people (2012 census). While the population number is stagnating in recent years, many towns in the surrounding Wanica District are increasing in population.[1]

The city is famed for its diverse ethnic makeup with 27% identifying as Creoles (African or mixed African-European descent), 23% as East Indian, 18% as Multiracial, 16% as Maroons (descendants of escaped enslaved Africans), 10% as Javanese, 2% as Indigenous, 1.5% as Chinese, and smaller numbers of Europeans (primarily of Dutch and Portuguese descent), Lebanese and Jews. In the past decades a significant number of Brazilians, Guyanese and new Chinese immigrants have settled in Paramaribo.

Economy

File:DSC 2783 De Surinaamsche Bank Henck Arronstraat Paramaribo.jpg
De Surinaamsche Bank building in Paramaribo
File:Paramaribo market (33557504165).jpg
Central market in Paramaribo

Script error: No such module "labelled list hatnote". Paramaribo is the business and financial centre of Suriname. Even though the capital city does not produce significant goods itself, almost all revenues from the country's main export products gold, oil, bauxite, rice, and tropical wood are channeled through its institutions. All banks, insurance corporations and other financial and commercial companies are headquartered in Paramaribo. Around 75 percent of Suriname's GDP is consumed in Paramaribo.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

Tourism is an increasingly important sector, with most visitors coming from the Netherlands.[11]

Government

File:Resorts in Paramaribo, Suriname - 20061227.png
Ressorten of the Paramaribo district.

Administratively, Paramaribo forms its own district in Suriname. The resorts of Paramaribo district therefore correspond to boroughs of the city. There are twelve resorts in the Paramaribo district:[1]

Ressort/jurisdiction Area in square km Population density Population (2012)[1]
Blauwgrond 43 661.3 31,483
Rainville 31 930.7 22,747
Munder 14 1146.4 17,234
Centrum 9 3252.7 20,631
Beekhuizen 6 3297.2 17,185
Weg naar Zee 41 321.3 16,037
Welgelegen 7 3387.0 19,304
Tammenga 6 2385.5 15,819
Flora 4 3836.5 19,538
Latour 6 4358.0 29,526
Pontbuiten 6 3246.2 23,211
Livorno 9 931.8 8,209

Transport

File:JAP Airport, 2022 - 1.jpg
Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport
File:Small Ferry (14126214570).jpg
Small ferries take passengers across the Suriname River from Paramaribo to the Commewijne District
File:Zorg En Hoop Airport.jpg
Zorg en Hoop Airport is one of Suriname's two international airports

Paramaribo is served by the Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport and Zorg en Hoop Airport for local flights. The Jules Wijdenbosch Bridge, which is part of the East-West Link, connects Paramaribo with Meerzorg on the other side of the Suriname River.

The Jules Sedney Harbour is the main harbour for cargo.[12] The former harbour of Waterkant is used by ferries.[13]

Most airlines like Gum Air and Blue Wing Airlines have their head offices on the grounds of Zorg en Hoop Airport in Paramaribo.

Education

Paramaribo's institution of higher learning is Anton de Kom University of Suriname, the country's only university.

Teachers academy (Insituut voor de Opleiding van Leraren), the country's teachers academy to prepare teachers for secondary education levels.

AlphaMax Academy is a private international school established on September 1, 1998, in Paramaribo, Republic of Suriname. The school is run by the Directors of the AlphaMax Foundation.

Healthcare

File:Vincentius Zkh.jpg
Sint Vincentius Hospital in Paramaribo

Paramaribo is home to four hospitals, the Academic Hospital Paramaribo, 's Lands Hospitaal, Sint Vincentius Hospital and Diakonessenhuis.

Historic inner city of Paramaribo

Template:Infobox UNESCO World Heritage Site

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". The Dutch colonial town established in 17th and 18th centuries was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2002.[14] The historic inner city is located along the left bank of the Suriname River. The original architecture of buildings and street plan has largely remained intact and preserved.

Notable landmarks

File:Wiki Loves Monuments 2022 Presidentieel Paleis in Suriname (cropped).jpg
Presidential Palace of Suriname
File:Pumpkin (17544887994).jpg
Arya Diwaker temple
File:Neve Shalom.jpg
Paramaribo's Neveh Shalom Synagogue
File:Paramaribo, Helstone Monument.JPG
Helstone Monument
File:AssembleeSurinaam.jpg
The National Assembly of Suriname

Notable people

Twin towns – sister cities

Paramaribo is twinned with:

See also

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Notes

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References

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External links

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  1. ↑ a b c d Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  3. ↑ E. M. Pospelov, Geograficheskie nazvaniya mira (Moscow: Russkie slovari, 1998), p. 322.
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  20. ↑ Willemstad World Heritage City Template:Webarchive. Curacaomonuments.org. Retrieved on 2012-05-19.
  21. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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