Lelydorp is the capital city of

Wanica District Wanica is a district of Suriname located in the north of the country. Wanica's capital city is Lelydorp, the second-largest city in Suriname. Wanica has a population of 118,222 and an area of 443 km2. Following neighbouring Paramaribo, Wani ...

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

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 Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

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 rebel leader called Kofi, who escaped by jumping over creek. Kofi means "born on Friday" (

Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (; 8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founde ...

, for example, was born on a Friday). Djompo means "jump". The hamlet started to grow when the Lawa Railway was constructed, but was mainly dependent on agriculture with cassave and asparagus beans as the main crops.

Modern day Lelydorp

Lelydorp is considered a big village instead of a city.

Wanica Wanica is a district of Suriname located in the north of the country. Wanica's capital city is Lelydorp, the second-largest city in Suriname. Wanica has a population of 118,222 and an area of 443 km2. Following neighbouring Paramaribo, Wani ...

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's employees perform administrative work in order to support and realize objects and goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific du ...

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. 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 mos ...

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 Saramacca River is a river in Suriname. The Arawaks named this river "Surama", and today's name "Saramacca" is probably derived from it. It originates in the Wilhelmina Mountains and flows northwards and enters the Atlantic Ocean together with t ...

divides Lelydorp from Saramacca. Lelydorp is home to the "Caribbean Centre", a

conference center A convention center (American English; or conference centre in British English) is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typica ...

founded by Bhai. On 16 July 2010, the Neotropical Butterfly Park opened. On 7 February 2020, the Regional Hospital Wanica opened in Lelydorp.

Notable people

* Chan 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 ( ...

, 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 a ...

with the twin city of Lelystad.

References

External links

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