Buiten-Sociëteit Het Park
Park House (1900s)
Buiten-Sociëteit Het Park is located in Paramaribo
Buiten-Sociëteit Het Park
Location within Paramaribo
General information
Town or cityParamaribo
CountrySuriname Suriname
Coordinates5°49′31″N 55°09′02″W / 5.82524°N 55.15068°W / 5.82524; -55.15068
Construction started1877 (original)
1968 (current)[1]

Buiten-Sociëteit Het Park is a park and former club located on Onafhankelijkheidsplein in Paramaribo, Suriname. On 1 August 1996, the building which housed the National Assembly of Suriname burned down, and the National Assembly moved to the former park house.[2][3]

History

The square which is nowadays called Onafhankelijkheidsplein (Independence Square) used to be a training ground for soldiers stationed at Fort Zeelandia.[4] In 1872, Captain van Landsberge had a meeting with governor van Sypesteyn, and it was decided to turn the grounds into a military park.[5] The park would be maintained by the army, but it was accessible to the public.[1] The army constructed a buffet, a bandstand,[6] and a bowling alley on the park.[7]

In 1877, the park became the property of the Buiten-Sociëteit ‘Het Park’, a private club.[5] The club used to gather at the plantation house of plantation Dordrecht. The plantation house was disassembled, and rebuilt on the square as the club house.[8] There were popular protests against removing access to the bandstand. On 17 May 1885, the bandstand was moved to the square. Until the beginning of the 20th century, there was a musical performance every Sunday afternoon.[7]

1968 building housing the National Assembly

The park house was extended in 1960. In 1968, a new building was constructed at the site.[1] After the 1980 Surinamese coup d'état, the park house was confiscated by the military regime. The club moved to Combé.[8][5]

On 1 August 1996, the building which housed the National Assembly of Suriname burned down, and the National Assembly moved to the former park house.[2] In 2015, a commission was established to construct a new building for the parliament, however as of 2021, the National Assembly remains in the park house.[9]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Oude foto's serie 1". Suriname.nu (in Dutch). Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Autoriteiten in Paramaribo zien geen verband tussen brand en politiek". De Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  3. ↑ "Geschiedenis DNA". National Assembly of Suriname (in Dutch). Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  4. ↑ "Fort Zeelandia". City of Paramaribo (in Dutch). Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 "Lodewijk Stumpf, oprichter van Buiten-Sociëteit 'Het Park'". Werkgroep Caraibische Letteren (in Dutch). Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  6. ↑ "DE BUITENSOCIËTEIT "HET PARK" 1". Suriname.nu (in Dutch). Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  7. 1 2 "DE BUITENSOCIËTEIT "HET PARK" 3". Suriname.nu (in Dutch). Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  8. 1 2 "Terrein Buiten-Societeit "Het Park"". Het Geheugen (in Dutch). Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  9. ↑ "Commissie Nieuwbouw DNA" (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 2020-01-03. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
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