Lelydorp (

Sranan Tongo Sranan Tongo (Sranantongo, "Surinamese tongue", Sranan, Surinamese Creole) is an English-based creole language from Suriname, in South America, where it is the first or second language for 519,600 Surinamese people (approximately 80% of the popu ...

: ''Kofi Djompo'') 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 neighboring Paramaribo, Wani ...

, located in

Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...

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

, after

Paramaribo Paramaribo ( , , ) is the capital city, 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 p ...

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 (the Dutch

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

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 ( , ) is a brownish crimson color that takes its name from the French word , meaning chestnut. ''Marron'' is also one of the French translations for "brown". Terms describing interchangeable shades, with overlapping RGB ranges, inc ...

rebel leader called Kofi, who escaped by jumping over a 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 founder a ...

, 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 and

asparagus bean The asparagus bean (''Vigna unguiculata'' subsp. ''sesquipedalis'') is a legume cultivated for its edible green pods containing immature seeds, like the green bean. It is also known as yardlong bean, pea bean, long-podded cowpea, Chinese long ...

s 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 neighboring Paramaribo, Wanic ...

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 the employees of an organization perform Business administration, administrative Work (human activity), work in order to support and realize the various goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a po ...

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 ancestry, language, faith, historical continuity, etc. There are ...

. Between 1890 and 1939 many people from

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

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 Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

. 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 () 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 (SNL). The president also appoints a cab ...

, politician and former chief of police.

Twin city

Lelydorp maintains

international relations International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

with the twin city of

Lelystad Lelystad () is a Dutch Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and the capital city of the province of Flevoland in the central Netherlands. The city, built on reclaimed land, was founded in 1967 and was named after Cornelis Lely, who en ...

References

External links

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