Парамарибо: История и современность столицы Суринама

Capital and largest city of Suriname

The city is named for the Paramaribo tribe living at the mouth of the Suriname River; the name is from Tupi–Guarani para "large river" + maribo "inhabitants".

The name Paramaribo is probably a corruption of the name of a native village, spelled Parmurbo in the earliest Dutch sources. This was the location of the first Dutch settlement, a trading post established by Nicolaes Baliestel and Dirck Claeszoon van Sanen in 1613. In 1667, during the Second Anglo Dutch War, Paramaribo was conquered by a squadron of ships under Abraham Crijnssen. The Treaty of Breda in 1667 confirmed Paramaribo as the leading town of the now Dutch colony of Suriname. The fort protecting Paramaribo was renamed Fort Zeelandia in honor of the Dutch province that had financed Crijnssen's fleet. (The town was also renamed New Middelburg but the name did not catch on with the inhabitants). The population of Paramaribo has always been very diverse. Among the first British settlers were many Jews and one of the oldest synagogues in the Americas, the Neveh Shalom Synagogue, is found in Paramaribo. The population of the town was greatly increased after 1873, when former enslaved people (who had been freed in 1863) were allowed to stop working for their former masters and leave the sugar plantations. Paramaribo has remained the capital of Suriname, from its colonial days through the independence of Suriname in 1975 to the present day. The old town has suffered many devastating fires over the years, notably in January 1821 (which destroyed over 400 buildings) and September 1832 (which destroyed nearly 50 buildings). The slaves Kodjo, Mentor, and Present were found guilty of arson, and burnt alive. In May 1972, the Paramaribo Zoo opened. In 1987, an administrative reorganization took place in Suriname and the city was divided into 12 administrative resorts (jurisdictions).

The city is located on the Suriname River, approximately inland from the Atlantic Ocean, in the Paramaribo district.

Paramaribo features a tropical rainforest climate (Af), under the Köppen climate classification. Because Paramaribo is more subject to the Intertropical Convergence Zone than the trade winds and sees no tropical cyclones, its climate is classified as equatorial. The city has no true dry season; all 12 months of the year average more than of rainfall, but the city does experience noticeably wetter and drier periods during the year. The northern hemisphere "autumn" (September through November) is the driest period of the year in Paramaribo, and the heaviest rainfall occurs from April to July. Common to many cities with this climate, temperatures are relatively consistent throughout the course of the year, with average high temperatures of 30 degrees Celsius and average low temperatures of 24 degrees Celsius. Paramaribo on average receives roughly of rainfall each year.

Paramaribo has a population of 240,924 people (2012 census). While the population number is stagnating in recent years, many towns in the surrounding Wanica District are increasing in population.

Paramaribo's institution of higher learning is Anton de Kom University of Suriname, the country's only university.

Paramaribo is home to four hospitals, the Academic Hospital Paramaribo, 's Lands Hospitaal, Sint Vincentius Hospital and Diakonessenhuis.

The Dutch colonial town established in 17th and 18th centuries was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2002. The historic inner city is located along the left bank of the Suriname River. The original architecture of buildings and street plan has largely remained intact and preserved.