Lelydorp is the capital city of Wanica District, located in

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 ...

. With a population of 18,663 (2012), it is the second largest city in

, after

Paramaribo Paramaribo (; ; nicknamed Par'bo) is the capital and largest city of Suriname, located on the banks of the Suriname River in the Paramaribo District. Paramaribo has a population of roughly 241,000 people (2012 census), almost half of Suriname's ...

History

Pad van Wanica

For centuries the Pad van Wanica (path of Wanica) has been the only road that leads from Paramaribo to the south. How this road came to be is unknown. It is speculated that the original inhabitants established the path. Be that as it may, a road was built there, and on either side of the road parcels were issued away. The oldest part of this road is the northern part of it, which is closest to Paramaribo. The land issued there date from the early 18th century, with plantation names such as: Hermitage, Zorg en Hoop, Flora, Duisburg, Onverwacht, Goede Verwachting, Ephraimszegen, Nieuw Weergevonden, etc. Around 1790, a new series of land grants followed ending in the south of the path, starting with ''Braamshoop'' and ending with ''Halfhideslust'' followed by ''Klein Nieuwzorg''. These new grounds were used almost exclusively as timber grounds.

Kofi Djompo

Lelydorp was originally called ''Kofi Djompo'' but was renamed by

Cornelis Lely Cornelis Lely (; 23 September 1854 – 22 January 1929) was a Dutch politician of the Liberal Union (LU) and civil engineer. He oversaw the passage of an act of parliament authorising construction of the Zuiderzee Works, a huge project – desi ...

(the Dutch

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of Suriname in 1905) and since then it is known as ''Lelydorp''. Lely was responsible for many large water construction projects in the Netherlands. The original name ''Kofi Djompo'' is said to refer to a

maroon Maroon ( US/ UK , Australia ) is a brownish crimson color that takes its name from the French word ''marron'', or chestnut. "Marron" is also one of the French translations for "brown". According to multiple dictionaries, there are var ...

rebel leader called Kofi, who escaped by jumping over creek. Kofi means "born on Friday" ( Kofi Annan, for example, was born on a Friday). Djompo means "jump". The hamlet started to grow when the

Lawa Railway The Lawa Railway (Dutch language, Dutch: ''Lawaspoorweg'' or later ''Landsspoorweg'') was a single-track metre gauge railway in Suriname. It was built during the gold rush in the early 20th century, from the harbour town Paramaribo to Dam at the ...

was constructed, but was mainly dependent on agriculture with

cassave ''Manihot esculenta'', commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively cultivated ...

and asparagus beans as the main crops.

Modern day Lelydorp

Lelydorp is considered a big village instead of a city. Wanica has a population of about 118,000 and an area of about 440 km². With a population of this size, Wanica is one of Suriname's most populated and most urbanised districts. Lelydorp is the main resort of the district with many shops,

office An office is a space where an Organization, organization's employees perform Business administration, administrative Work (human activity), work in order to support and realize objects and Goals, plans, action theory, goals of the organizati ...

s, and businesses, but still needs a clear city structure and has many agricultural areas close to the centre and neighbourhoods. Lelydorp is also the most important halfway stopping point between Paramaribo and Zanderij, where the Johan Adolf Pengel Airport is located. Its population consists of a mixture of Javanese, East Indian, Creoles, and

Europeans Europeans are the focus of European ethnology, the field of anthropology related to the various ethnic groups that reside in the states of Europe. Groups may be defined by common genetic ancestry, common language, or both. Pan and Pfeil (2004) ...

. Between 1890-1939 many people from

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...

settled into the area. Names of roads and streets in Lelydorp, like Sumatraweg, Celebesweg and Tawangsarieweg, are typical original names from

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. The Saramacca River divides Lelydorp from Saramacca. Lelydorp is home to the "Caribbean Centre", a conference center founded by Bhai. On 16 July 2010, the Neotropical Butterfly Park opened. On 7 February 2020, the

Regional Hospital Wanica Regional Hospital Wanica (Dutch: ''Regionaal Ziekenhuis Wanica'') is a hospital in Lelydorp, Suriname. The hospital opened on 7 February 2020 in its initial stage, and serves the Wanica District. With 180 beds and 9 ICU beds, it will be a full-se ...

opened in Lelydorp.

Notable people

Chan Santokhi Chandrikapersad "Chan" Santokhi ( Sarnami: चान संतोखी; ; born 3 February 1959) is a Surinamese politician and former police officer who is the 9th president of Suriname, since 2020. After winning the 2020 elections, Santokhi ...

(1959),

President of Suriname The president of the Republic of Suriname ( nl, President van de Republiek Suriname) is, in accordance with the Constitution of 1987, the head of state and head of government of Suriname, and commander-in-chief of the Suriname National Army (S ...

, politician and former chief of police.

Twin city

Lelydorp maintains

international relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such as ...

with the twin city of

Lelystad Lelystad () is a municipality and a city in the centre of the Netherlands, and it is the capital of the province of Flevoland. The city, built on reclaimed land, was founded in 1967 and was named after Cornelis Lely, who engineered the Afsluitdi ...

References

External links

{{Resorts of Suriname Resorts of Suriname Populated places in Wanica District