Nieuw Nickerie. Retrieved 17 November 2009. is the third largest city in Suriname with a population estimated at . It is the

capital city A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city that physically encompasses t ...

of the

Nickerie district Nickerie is a district of Suriname, on the north-west coast. Nickerie's capital city is Nieuw-Nickerie. Another town is Wageningen. The district borders the Atlantic Ocean to the north, the Surinamese district of Coronie to the east, the Suriname ...

, and the terminus of the East-West Link. Nieuw Nickerie lies on the mouth of the

Nickerie river The Nickerie River is a river in the northwestern part of Suriname. The river originates in the Bakhuis Mountains and then flows to the North where it forms part of the border between the Coronie and Nickerie districts. The river then turns Wes ...

on the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

coast, opposite the mouth of the

Corantijn river The Courantyne/Corentyne/Corantijn River is a river in northern South America in Suriname and Guyana. It is the longest river in the country and creates the border between Suriname and the East Berbice-Corentyne region of Guyana. Its tributarie ...

(Courantyne) and the Guyanese town of

Corriverton Corriverton is the most easterly town in Guyana. It lies at the mouth of the Corentyne River, opposite Nieuw Nickerie, Suriname, to which it is linked by ferry from South Drain. Corriverton is located about 195 mi/313 km from George ...

(Springlands), to which a ferry service operates. A bridge between Suriname and Guyana is still being planned. Major Henk Fernandes Airport, also known as ''Nieuw Nickerie Airport'', is located near the city.

History

In 1718, Dietzel became the first known person to settle in the area. In 1797, governor Jurriaan de Friderici approved the first plantation in Nickerie. A large number of Scottish and English settlers arrived in the area during the British Occupation, and primarily grew

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...

and

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. Seeds of ...

. Nieuw Nickerie was built in 1879 after the former center of the district,

Nieuw Rotterdam Nieuw Rotterdam was the capital of the Nickerie District in Suriname, built on the right bank of the Nickerie River. Around 1875, this town got flooded by the sea. In 1879, on the left bank of the Nickerie River, the current capital Nieuw Nickerie ...

, was destroyed by floods. Nieuw Nickerie was originally planned on a polder created in 1869, but was moved further in land. In 1940s a sea dike was built to protect the area. The name Nickerie is probably based on ''Neekeari'' which was first reported by Teenstra in 1596 for an

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

tribe living the area. The name also appears in Robert Dudley's ''The Voyage of Robert Dudley to the West-Indies, 1594-1595''.

Economy

The main industries are bananas and

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

. Nickerie is the largest rice producer of Suriname. The town contains a market and several hotels, including the Hotel Ameerali, Hotel de President, Hotel Tropical, Hotel de Vesting and Residence Inn. The first Surinamese hospital outside of Paramaribo, Mungra Medical Centre, is located on the Annastraat in Nieuw-Nickerie. Nickerie has a harbour, but the entrance depth is 3.7 metres and can carter to ships up to 6,000

tonnes The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton (United States c ...

. The harbour has been upgraded in 2012, but will be upgraded further. Nieuw Nickerie is started to develop as a tourist area. There are quite a number of

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

s in the city, and the nearby Bigi Pan Nature Reserve opened opportunities for

ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving responsible travel (using sustainable transport) to natural areas, conserving the environment, and improving the well-being of the local people. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide fund ...

Notable people

Clarence Breeveld Clarence Breeveld (11 September 1948 – 6 April 2017) was a Surinamese-born Dutch singer, guitarist and educator. Biography Breeveld was born on 11 September 1948 in Nieuw-Nickerie, Suriname. His parents were ministers of the Moravian Church. ...

(1948-2017), singer and musician. * Ronald Hoop (1967), football player. *

Benito Kemble Benito Kemble (born 27 August 1968 in Nieuw Nickerie, Suriname) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. Kemble played in Scottish football for Motherwell and St Johnstone. He scored once for Motherwell in a ...

(1968), footballer. *

Jagernath Lachmon Jagernath Lachmon, also Jaggernath Lachmon, (21 September 1916 – 19 October 2001) was a Surinamese politician. He was one of the founders of the Progressive Reform Party (VHP), an Indo-Surinamese party founded in 1947 of which he served as Pre ...

(1916-2001), politician. * Ken Monkou (1964), footballer. * Mellisa Santokhi-Seenacherry (1980), lawyer and First Lady of Suriname *

Ramkisoen Dewdat Oedayrajsing Varma Ramkisoen Dewdat Oedayrajsing Varma (March 1907 – 1968) was a member of the Estates of Suriname for the VHP during the 1950s. Varma was born in Nieuw Nickerie. He studied to become a teacher at a primary school, but did not finish it. He beca ...

(1907–1968), politician and Hindu priest. *

Ulrich Wilson Ulrich Johan Wilson (born 5 May 1964) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a defender. Career Born in Nieuw Nickerie, Suriname, Wilson played in the Netherlands with Twente, Groningen, Volendam and Emmen. Wilson also playe ...

(1964), football player.

Climate

Nieuw Nickerie has a borderline

tropical rainforest climate A tropical rainforest climate, humid tropical climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southea ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

''Af'') just short of being a

tropical monsoon climate An area of tropical monsoon climate (occasionally known as a sub-equatorial, tropical wet climate or a tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate) is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category ...

(''Am''). A distinctly drier period occurs from September to November, whilst May to July are the wettest months, although the weather is persistently uncomfortable, hot and humid throughout the year.

References

External links

Nickerie.net
{{Authority control 1879 establishments in South America Guyana–Suriname border crossings Populated coastal places in Suriname Populated places established in 1879 Populated places in Nickerie District Ports and harbours in Suriname Resorts of Suriname