Fort Zoutman

Fort Zoutman was built by the Dutch in 1798 on what was then the waterfront of Oranjestad, a small square fort against pirates and privateers, and it is the oldest surviving building on Aruba. In 1868 the Willem III Tower was added to it as a lighthouse and clock tower, and the two together make the most recognisable historic structure in the capital. Land reclamation has since put the sea some distance away. The fort holds the historical museum, with material on the Caquetío period, the Dutch settlement, the gold and aloe eras and the oil years, and the Bon Bini folklore evening is held in the courtyard.

History

The Dutch first settled Paardenbaai as a harbour between Curaçao and Venezuela, and in 1796 a military committee under acting governor Johann Rudolf Lauffer was set up to fortify Aruba, Curaçao and Bonaire against pirates; the fort, built by enslaved Africans with materials supplied by Amerindians under forced labour and named after Rear Admiral Johan Arnold Zoutman, who never visited the island, was finished in 1798 on the shoreline with four cannons, and Oranjestad grew around it. It was renovated from 1826, left without a garrison in 1830-1834 and given prison cells in 1859, and the Willem III Tower, a lighthouse and town bell tower, was lit on the king's birthday, 19 February 1868; restored from 1974 to 1980, the fort reopened as the Historical Museum of Aruba on 15 September 1983 (Wikipedia, Fort Zoutman).

The main sights

• The 1798 fort - the oldest building on the island.
• The Willem III Tower - the 1868 clock tower and former lighthouse.
• The historical museum - the island's story from Caquetío to oil.
• The Bon Bini Festival - the weekly folklore evening in the courtyard.

When to go

Year-round; the museum keeps weekday hours. The Bon Bini Festival runs on Tuesday evenings in the courtyard with folk music, dance and craft stalls. Cruise days fill central Oranjestad.

Practical notes

It is small and takes under an hour. The museum has had periods of closure and its displays are modest. Land reclamation has left the fort inland from the water it was built to guard, which weakens the setting. The Bon Bini Festival is a tourist-facing folklore evening rather than a community event.

Nearby

Oranjestad's centre is around it; the cruise berth is a short walk.

Key facts