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Places of Interest In Suriname
 

Suriname is a dream location for the outdoor enthusiast with large parts of the country being dedicated to nature reserves. There are also several places that would be of interest to any visitor to the country and on this page we will feature several of these places of interest.

 

bullet Cathedral of Saint Peter and Paul
bulletSuriname Rumhuis

 

Cathedral of Saint Peter and Paul

Located on Henck Aaron Street in Paramibo is the Saint Peter and Paul Cathedral, which is the largest wooden structure in the Western Hemisphere. There is often speculation as to whether Guyana or Suriname has the largest wooden structure, however at 44 metres in the bell tower, the Saint Peter and Paul Cathedral is half a metre taller than the Anglican St George's Cathedral on Church Street in Georgetown, Guyana. From the exterior it is certainly an impressive structure and it has an interesting history.

 

The Cathedral is constructed on the site of a former Dutch Jewish theatre, De Verrezene Phoenix, which had been built in 1809 and had been bought by the Catholic community for use as a church. In 1882 the Catholic diocese decided to build a cathedral as the congregation had outgrown the theatre. For the design they turned to Frans Hermes who had designed many of the churches in Suriname. Construction of the cathedral began January 30, 1883 and it was consecrated in 1885. The original building did not include the towers which were added in 1901. The church was constructed of wood because lumber was readily available from the Amazon rainforest that covers much of Suriname whereas brick and stone was not easily available at the time.The exterior of the church was built using greenheart lumber.

In the west tower there are three bells.The name of the smallest bell is Alfhonsus and it weighs 222 kg. The biggest bell is named John and it weighs 827 kg. The middle one is named Rosa, and it weighs 413 kg.

 

The interior of the church is constructed on unpainted cedar. Throughout the interior are numerous carvings in the wood. It is said that these carvings were done by the Maroons (runaway slaves). During the days of slavery, the Dutch did not allow the slaves to convert to Christianity. At the time of the Cathedral's construction, slavery had been abolished 19 years previously and so to attract the former slaves to the church, Maroons were contracted to do the wood carvings.

Another feature of the interior is that the columns are not constructed of cedar but rather enclosed by cedar panels. The columns are actually made of basralocus wood as they needed to be strong. The basralocus was the only local tree strong and tall enough to support the 52-foot-high structure, but it is very thin so for cosmetic reasons the pillars were enclosed in cedar wood planks to create an impression of heavy columns.

There are one hour guided tours of the Cathedral, twice per week on Tuesdays and Saturdays. The tours are usually done in Dutch but can be given in English upon request.

 

Suriname Rumhuis

Life in the Caribbean and South America has for centuries been linked to the cultivation of sugar cane and this sweet grass is linked to that delicious nectar known as rum. But how is rum produced and are all rums the same? The answers to these and other rum questions can be found in Surinam at the Surinam Rum House.

Set back from the road at 18 Cornelis Jongbawstraat in central Paramaribo and on the banks of the Suriname River, this multipurpose facility combines a tropical garden and terraces with a conference room, cocktail bar, tasting room and rum museum. The Suriname Rum House is part of Suriname Alcoholic Beverages N.V. (SAB), the producer of renowned Surinamese rums and is adjacent to the distillery.

At the Suriname Rumhuis, as they describe it "you can experience the story from ‘sugar cane to liquid gold’”. Not only do you learn about how rum is produced but you can see artifacts of the rum history at the rum museum. You learn about the master blender who combines the elements of the secret recipes, the coopers who assemble the oakwood barrels and the other elements to go into producing rum. Open Monday to Friday from 9.30 am to 14.30, tours are available in English and Dutch and also French (on request). Tours must however be booked in advance. You can also request a tour of the rum distillery.




As this is a facility dedicated to rum, it would not be complete without the opportunity to taste the delicious rums. So each tour include a rum tasting where you can smell, taste and enjoy the best rums of Suriname.





Do you want to learn how to make rum cocktails? Well at the Surinaamsch Rumhuis you can register for a cocktail workshop and learn how to layer, stir and shake to produce delightful cocktails.

 

 

To learn more about Suriname, see our other Suriname Pages

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An Introduction to Suriname

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Other Attractions in Suriname

 

To learn about the other islands in the Caribbean, visit our Island Adventures Page

 

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Last modified: March 18, 2019