Nieuw-Amsterdam (Suriname)
Nieuw -Amsterdam on the map of Suriname
Nieuw- Amsterdam ( Sranan Tongo: njunfoto, new fort ) is the main town in the district and divisional Commewijne and a former fortification in the Republic of Suriname.
- 2.1 Open-Air Museum
Fortification
Nieuw -Amsterdam was originally a pure fortification at the confluence of the Suriname and the Commewijne. The scale than pentagon with five bastions fort was built in the period 1734-1747. The construction was deemed necessary because the Fort Zeelandia was too far inland and thus offered no protection from enemy attacks for the planned plantations along the Commewijneflusses.
The fort stood at the beginning mostly under the command of an artillery officer and 50 soldiers. For the maintenance of the plant you had Sociëteit's - slaves.
Prison
From 1873 here is a prison was established, which was only abandoned in the 60s of the last century.
1875 began with the award of the Government of arable land around the fort to former plantation workers. In 1873, the ten-year government supervision and work requirement of 1863 freed slaves had expired. In 1907, the fort was abandoned as a defensive structure. It had lost the view of the defense any military value.
Village community
On February 1, 1907 Nieuw -Amsterdam was the administrative center of the district and the seat of the district Commewijne Commissioner, who took his entry in the house of the former commander of the fort. The newly created land development area in 1943 was declared a village community.
Today the population consists mainly of Surinamese Javanese and Indian origin. The town has 5489 inhabitants and has a police station, a clinic and a primary and secondary school. There is a ferry service between Nieuw- Amsterdam and the opposite, lying on the left bank of the Suriname place Leonberg. With the construction of the first bridge over the Suriname in the capital Paramaribo in 2000 Nieuw -Amsterdam and the entire easternmost area is supplied directly.
Open-air museum
From the old fortification in 1968 an open air museum and the old fort offers a beautiful view of the confluence of the Suriname and Commewijne towards the ocean. With the establishment of the Foundation Open Air Museum Fort Nieuw- Amsterdam ( Sofna ) on 25 January 2008 began a comprehensive restoration of the museum. The Zuiderzee Museum in the Netherlands supported the project with an amount of 2.5 million euros.
On the bank since 1962, was a modern sculpture by Erwin de Vries with a presentation by Alonso de Ojeda, one of the European explorers of the coast of Suriname. The bronze statue was stolen in September 2011.
- Gallery Nieuw -Amsterdam
The location of the forts and other defenses in Suriname, map from 1801
Estate of the District Commissioner, 2006
Jetty in Nieuw -Amsterdam, last pit stop towards the mouth of Suriname, February 2003