Onverwacht
District capital
Building at the Onverwacht railway station
Building at the Onverwacht railway station
Onverwacht is located in Suriname
Onverwacht
Onverwacht
The location of Paramaribo in Suriname
Coordinates: 5°35′35″N 55°11′38″W / 5.59306°N 55.19389°W / 5.59306; -55.19389
CountrySuriname
DistrictPara District
ResortNoord
Elevation
10 m (30 ft)
Population
 (2008)
  Total2,223
Time zoneUTC-3 (ART)

Onverwacht (Dutch for "unexpected".) [1] is the capital town of Para District, Suriname.[2]

Onverwacht started as a wood plantation with the same name and has existed as early as 1667.[3] On 18 May 1881, the plantation was sold to eight former slaves.[3] In 1910 the Lawa Railway passed through the area and a station was opened.[3] In 1936,[4] a road, currently named Indira Gandhiweg, was built parallel to the railway line to connect Paramaribo with Onverwacht. During World War II, the road was extended to Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport.[5] In 1968, Onverwacht became the capital of the newly formed Para District.[6] In 1987, the last train departed and the station at Onverwacht closed.[7]

Notable people

References

  1. "Ala poewema foe Trefossa". Digital Library for Dutch Literature. 1979. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  2. "Distrikt Para". Suriname.nu (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 "Plantage Onverwacht geschiedenis". Pinas Roots (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  4. "De Gids. Almanak voor Suriname 1937". Digital Library for Dutch Literature (in Dutch). 1936. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  5. "Distrikt Para info". Suriname.nu (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  6. "Para". Suriname View (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  7. "De flop van Lely". Parbode (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  8. "Onze sporthelden. Deel 3". Digital Library for Dutch Literature. 1999. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.