Suriname Presidential Palace

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The former governor's and now presidential palace is located on Onafhankelijkheidsplein (Independence Square) in Paramaribo , Suriname .

Photo of the palace, 2012
Photo from 1955

The governors of the Suriname Society resided here, and from 1795 until Suriname gained independence on November 25, 1975, the governors appointed by the colonial power of the Netherlands .

Governor's house

Detail, gable with the old coat of arms
Detail, gable with the new coat of arms

The first governor's house on this site was probably built from wood at the end of the 17th century. A first floor plan was made by engineer Tourton in 1712. The building with elongated rear buildings is marked on this. According to the specified scale, the governor's house was around 14.20 x 14.20 meters and probably consisted of two floors.

Around 1730, Governor Carel Emilius Henry de Cheusses had the house completely rebuilt on a brick base and probably expanded to its current width.

The building is shown in detail on a painting by Frederik Jägerschiöld from 1772. With its gray paintwork and around 10 small windows on the first floor, it did not yet have the shine of a governor's residence.

Around 1787/88 the front of the building was expanded. An archway consisting of two layers was added. The middle part was crowned with a triangular gable with the coat of arms of the Suriname Society.

In 1834, there was another significant internal and external change by adding an open gallery to the rear of the building. Apart from other minor changes, it now had its current form.

On the side of the square, a large terrace was built over the entrance area on the first floor of the projection in 1911, which also resulted in an access roof.

Presidential Palace

All presidents of the Republic of Suriname resided here until 1987. Today it is used by the President for representative purposes, receptions, honors and celebrations.

The coat of arms of the Society of Suriname in the gable triangle - see photo - has been removed. On July 1, 2015, the holiday for the abolition of slavery in Suriname on July 1, 1863, the new coat of arms of Suriname was unveiled.

See also

literature

  • C. Temminck-Groll and Arthur Tjin-A-Djie: De architectuur van Suriname 1667–1930 , Walburg Pers, Zutphen 1973, ISBN 90-6011-451-5 , p. 41 ff.

Web links

Commons : Gouvernementshuis, Paramaribo  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Rijksmuseum Amsterdam , accessed on April 18, 2015
  2. ↑ StarNieuws, July 1, 2015 Dutch, accessed July 2, 2015

Coordinates: 5 ° 49 '36.5 "  N , 55 ° 9' 4.6"  W.