Buiten-Sociëteit Het Park is a park and former club located on

Onafhankelijkheidsplein The Onafhankelijkheidsplein (, Independence Square) is a town square in Paramaribo, the capital of Suriname. The square is situated in the historical inner city, near the Suriname River and the Presidential Palace of Suriname. Before the indepen ...

in Paramaribo,

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

. 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.

History

The square which is nowadays called

(Independence Square) used to be a training ground for soldiers stationed at Fort Zeelandia. In 1872, Captain van Landsberge had a meeting with governor , and it was decided to turn the grounds into a military park. The park would be maintained by the army, but it was accessible to the public. The army constructed a buffet, a bandstand, and a bowling alley on the park. In 1877, the park became the property of the Buiten-Sociëteit ‘Het Park’, a private club. 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. 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. The park house was extended in 1960. In 1968, a new building was constructed at the site. After the

1980 Surinamese coup d'état The 1980 Surinamese coup d'état, usually referred to as the Sergeants' Coup (), was a military coup in Suriname which occurred on 25 February 1980, when a group of 16 sergeants () of the Surinamese Armed Forces (SKM) led by Dési Bouterse ...

, the park house was confiscated by the military regime. The club moved to Combé. 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. 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.

References

External links

{{commons category, position=left Buildings and structures in Paramaribo Seats of national legislatures