Scharloo ( pap, Skálo) is a neighbourhood and former suburb of

Willemstad Willemstad ( , ; ; en, William Town, italic=yes) is the capital city of Curaçao, an island in the southern Caribbean Sea that forms a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It was the capital of the Netherlands Antilles pr ...

Curaçao Curaçao ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrsou), is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about north of the Venezuela coa ...

. Scharloo started as a plantation, but became a wealthy neighbourhood of Willemstad. Scharloo has been designated a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

History

Scharloo started in 1634 as a plantation of the

Dutch West Indies Company The Dutch West India Company ( nl, Geoctrooieerde Westindische Compagnie, ''WIC'' or ''GWC''; ; en, Chartered West India Company) was a chartered company of Dutch merchants as well as foreign investors. Among its founders was Willem Usselincx ( ...

. The ground turned out to be infertile, and the plantation was soon abandoned. In 1694, the first wharf was built on Scharloo. In 1753, some houses had been built in Scharloo, however the government considered the area important for defence and did not allow new construction. Curaçao - Mansions in Scharloo (3901003032)

Curaçao - Mansions in Scharloo (3901003032)

From 1850 onwards, Scharloo started to develop. In 1861, the city walls were demolished, and a bridge was built in 1881 connecting Scharloo with

Pietermaai Pietermaai is a neighbourhood and former suburb of Willemstad, Curaçao. Pietermaai was founded in 1675, and has been designated a Unesco World Heritage Site. History Willemstad, the capital of Curaçao was constructed as a walled city. It soon de ...

. From 1870 onwards, wealthy Jewish merchants started to built villas in Scharloo. The hurricane of 1877 which destroyed a large part of Pietermaai, accelerated the growth of the neighbourhood. and Scharloo quickly became the wealthiest part of the city. During the 1960s, Scharloo started to decline with many of its inhabitants moving to the suburbs. In 1999, Scharloo was designated a

Unesco The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

and part of the historic centre of Willemstad. The neighbourhood was renovated in the early 21st century, and many of the villas are now in use as offices or governmental agencies. Scharloo is home to the which is located in a building from 1729, and offers an overview of the maritime history of Curaçao which spans 500 years.

Scharlooweg

Scharlooweg is the main street of the neighbourhood, and has the largest and most luxurious villas of Scharloo. The buildings have been constructed in Spanish style around a

patio A patio (, from es, patio ; "courtyard", "forecourt", "yard", "little garden") is an outdoor space generally used for dining or recreation that adjoins a structure and is typically paved. In Australia the term is expanded to include roofed stru ...

with often a fountain in the middle. Bolo di Batrei (Wedding Cake) on Scharlooweg 77 is the most famous building of the street. Elias Salomon Levy Maduro was the son of the founder of S.E.L. Maduro. When Deborah Rebecca, his 18-year old daughter, got married, the original building was torn down and replaced by a new building with elaborate painted ceilings. On 6 June 1917, the day of the wedding, Bolo di Batrei was given to the newly weds as a present. Nowadays, the building is home to the National Archive of Curaçao.

References

Bibliography

* * {{authority control Populated places in Curaçao Willemstad