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History
The piece of land to the east of Fort Amsterdam was
undeveloped longer than two centuries because it had to
remain as field of fire of the Fort. After the city
walls were demolished in 1861 - 1866, (semi)-public
buildings were erected here, like the town hall and the
Temple. The building at Wilhelminaplein 2, where now the
Department of Justice is housed, dates from this period.
In the meantime the building, which originally only had
one storey, has been declared a monument.
Wilhelmina Park
On the occasion of the coronation of Queen Wilhelmina in
1898, the ladies' club "Entre Nous" took the initiative
to have a park laid out in the still empty square at the
time. Wilhelmina Park was inaugurated on 31 August,
1898. In 1933 the ladies' association "Entre Nous"
donated a statue of the queen. It is a creation of the
Italian sculptor, Pietro Ceccarelli. The queen is
represented standing upright in a niche on a tall
pedestal. When the park was restructured at the end of
the fifties, the statue, which was first facing the
east, was turned. The original setup of the park has
been altered in the course of the years.
Wilhelmina Square and
Hendrik Square
On the occasion of the marriage of Queen Wilhelmina with
Prince Hendrik in 1901, the square to the west and to
the east of the park was called respectively Wilhelmina
and Hendrik. With the increase in motor traffic, the
squares were soon used as parking space. In the Hendrik
Square there has been a "town gate" since 1989, which150
years after the approval of the building plans, was
still realized on the initiative of the urban
archeologist Jay Haviser.
The statue of the former
Dutch queen Wilhelmina at the park named after her. In
the background the renovated Temple can be seen. On
Monuments Day, the park was full of activity as can be
seen on this picture. Market stands were set-up where
all kinds of things were sold.
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Further Reading Documents and
books can be consulted at:
General
National Geographic,
World Heritage Sites Treasured Places, National
Geographic, October 2002, p.58-73.
(Contains a complete list of all World Heritage Sites)
Temminck Groll, C.L., Alphen, W. van,
The Dutch Overseas: Architectural Survey. Mutual
heritage of four centuries in three continents,
Waanders Publishers, Zwolle, 2002.
Caribbean Region and Netherlands
Antilles
Buisseret, D.,
Historic Architecture of the Caribbean,
Heinemann, London,1980.
Edwards, J.D.,
The first comparative studies of Caribbean
Architecture, De Nieuwe West-Indische Gids, vol. 57,
1983, p.173-200.
Gosner, P.,
Caribbean Georgian. The Great and Small houses of the
West Indies, Washington 1982. (p.200-214 deal with
Curaçao, Aruba and Bonaire)
Hooff, H. van (ed),
The Cultural Heritage of the Caribbean and the World
Heritage Convention, Edition CTHS, Paris, 2000.
Gasparini, G.,
Paraguana. Tradiciones y cambios en el habitat de una
region venezolana, Armitano, Caracas, 1985.
Curaçao
Buddingh’, B.R.,
Van Punt en Snoa: Ontstaan en groei van Willemstad
Curaçao vanaf 1634, De Willemstad tussen 1700 en 1732 en
de bouwgeschiedenis van de synagoge Mikve Israel-Emanuel
1700-1732, Aldus Publishers, ’s Hertogenbosch, 1994.
(On the coming into being and growth of Fortified
Willemstad and the building history of the Mikve
Israel-Emanuel synagogue 1700-1732. –with brief English
summary).
Coomans, H.E., M.A Newton, M. Coomans Eustatia (ed.),
Building up the future from the past, De Walburg
Pers / UNA Publication 34, 1990.
Dienst Ruimtelijke Ontwikkeling en Volkshuisvesting,
Het beschermde monument, Curaçao, maart 1997.
(Practical guide on monuments published by the Island
Government for monument owners and everyone involved in
monuments).
Discover
Discover the Spirit of Historic Curaçao. Walking
Tours and City Map, Old City Productions, Curaçao,
revised 1990.
Gill, R.G.,
Een Eeuw Architectuur op Curaçao. De architectuur en
de stedenbouw van de 20ste eeuw op Curaçao,
Stichting het Curaçaos Museum, Curaçao, 1999 and 2000.
(One Century of Architecture on Curaçao. The
architecture and planning of the 20th century on Curaçao.
– with English summaries of chapters)
Hartog, J.,
Curaçao. Van kolonie tot autonomie, 2 vol., De
Wit, Aruba, 1961.
(Curaçao. From colony to autonomy – comprehensive work
on the history of Curaçao)
Huijgers, D., Ezechiëls, L.,
Landhuizen van Curaçao en Bonaire, Amsterdam,
1991.
(The Country Estates of Curaçao and Bonaire. – A
colourful account of the islands’ plantation heritage)
Jonkhout-Gehlen, G.,
Monumenten hersteld. Gerestaureerde monumenten met
medewerking van de Stichting Monumntenfonds Curaçao
1994-1998, Vol.1, Stichting Monumentenfonds c, 2003.
( Monuments restored with the assistance of The
Monuments Fund, period 1994 -1998)
Newton, M.A.,
Architectuur en bouwwijze van het Curaçaose landhuis,
Delft, 1990. (The Architecture and Building of the
Country Estates of Curaçao. – thorough study on the
plantation houses of Curaçao)
Ozinga, M.D.,
De Monumenten van Curaçao in Woord en Beeld,
Stichting Monumentenzorg Curaçao, Curaçao / ’s
Gravenhage, 1959.
(First and standard work on the monuments of Curaçao,
English summaries of chapters, richly illustrated)
Patrimonio Kultural,
Historic Area of Willemstad Inner City and Harbour,
ICAW, Curaçao, 1999 nr.6. (Edition on World Heritage)
Plan,
Plan di Monumento 2000+, Dienst Ruimtelijke
Ontwikkeling en Volkshuisvesting / Monumentenfonds
Curaçao, Curaçao, 2001.
Pool, J. de,
Del Curazao que se va, Santiago de Chile, 1935.
(Translated in Dutch Zo was Curaçao in:
Antilliaanse Cahiers, jrg.4, 1961, nr.1-4)
Pruneti Winkel, P.,
Scharloo. A 19th century district of Willemstad,
Curaçao: historical architecture and its background,
Edizione Poligrafico Fiorentino, Florence, 1987 (With
Dutch and Spanish summaries)
Renkema, W.E.,
Het Curaçaose plantagebedrijf in de 19e eeuw, /
Zutphen, 1981.
(The Curaçao plantation in the 19th century - with
English summary)
Temminck Groll, C.L., W.A van Alphen, R.G. Gill, R.
Apell,
Curaçao. Willemstad A City of Monuments, SDU-Gary
Schwartz, The Hague, 1990.
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