Fort Zeelandia

Fort Zeelandia stands on the bend of the Suriname river where Paramaribo begins, a five-pointed fort that three flags built in turn, and the whole city grid was laid out on an axis running northwest from it. It now holds the Surinaams Museum, with the colonial and archaeological collections in the casemates and officers' quarters. It is named in the UNESCO inscription. The French put up the first work here in 1640, the English rebuilt it in 1651 as Fort Willoughby, and the Dutch took it in 1667 and renamed it Zeelandia; the brick buildings that stand today, with their green shutters and red tiles, went up in 1784.

History

The French built a wooden fort here in 1640; in 1650 Major Anthony Rowse founded a small English colony for the governor of Barbados, Francis Willoughby, and in 1651 the English strengthened the abandoned French fort as Fort Willoughby. In 1667 the Dutch admiral Abraham Crijnssen took it in a battle of only three hours, once the defenders' munitions ran out, and renamed it Fort Zeelandia, founding the Dutch colony of Surinam; it slowly lost its military value, and in 1772 there were even plans to pull it down. Under the military government of the 1980s it was the scene of the December murders of 1982 and was used to hold and torture political prisoners, and today it houses the Surinamese Museum, with the Nola Hatterman Art Academy in the former commander's house (Wikipedia, Fort Zeelandia (Paramaribo)).

What to look for

• The five-pointed plan - the star fort on its river bend, in brick of 1784.
• The city axis - the grid Paramaribo was laid out along from the fort.
• The Surinaams Museum - collections held in the casemates and quarters.
• The river frontage - the Suriname running past the walls.

When to go

Year round. The museum keeps set hours and closes on some days. Mornings are cooler for walking the walls.

What to expect

The museum displays are dated and labelling is largely in Dutch. Parts of the complex are closed at times. Two hours covers it.

Nearby

The Palmentuin is behind it, and the cathedral is northwest.

Key facts