Saint Peter and Paul Cathedral
The Saint Peter and Paul Cathedral (Dutch: Sint-Petrus-en-Pauluskathedraal) is a wooden Roman Catholic cathedral located in the center of the capital city of Paramaribo, Suriname. It is the biggest wooden structure in the Western Hemisphere, and the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Paramaribo. Initially built as a theatre it was turned into a cathedral after it burned down.
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[edit] History
Construction of the cathedral began January 13th 1883, on the site of a former theatre, The theatre was built in 1809 and burned down in 1820 and was owned by La Parra. The church interior is constructed from unpainted Surinamese cedar. Although it was consecrated in 1885, the towers were not completed until 1901. After a botched restoration in 1977, the building began to fall into disrepair, encountering problems with tilting and termites. The building was extensively restored and brought back to usable condition in 2002. With help of EU-funding, actual restoration of the cathedral began in 2007 and after 3 years the church was re-opened on the 13th of November 2010.
In 2009 the gate to the cathedral turned 200 years old.
[edit] Structure
The Saint Peter and Paul Cathedral is the biggest wooden structure in the Western Hemisphere. The cathedral has 18 confession rooms in total. Dutch-Surinamese priest Peter Donders is buried in Saint Peter and Paul Cathedral.
[edit] Measurements
- 49.1 m (161 ft) long
- 14.6 m (48 ft) high in the main hall
- 16.5 m (54 ft) wide
- 49.4 m (162 ft) high in the tower up until the bronze cross
This makes the cathedral the biggest and tallest wooden structure on the western hemisphere. The cathedral has space for 340 people and was initially built for free slaves and contract labourers.
[edit] Bells
The building has 3 bells in the left tower. The name of the smallest bell is Afonsus and it weighs 290 kg. The biggest bell is named John and it weighs 827 kg. The middle one is named Rosa and it weighs 493 kg.
[edit] Pipe Organ
The pipe organ was constructed in Germany and initially contained 1,550 pipes. Many of the pipes have been stolen over the years, leaving the organ with a value of 400 euros. After renovation it is expected to have a value of around 10 million euros.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
Coordinates: 5°49′43.2″N 55°09′14.6″W / 5.828667°N 55.154056°W
