Curacao - Willemstad. "Amsterdam Island

The man first arrived from Europe in Willemstad, the capital of Curacao, while all of the Netherlands Antilles, usually do not believe his eyes. Narrow, densely standing houses with pastel-colored facades, steep roofs, paved with red tiles, artful decorations, narrow streets - it's kind of, well known to us through the streets of Amsterdam. Not surprisingly, the oldest part of Willemstad was in 1997, included in UNESCO heritage list. The first trading settlement on the southern coast of the island in a beautiful natural port of the Gulf of Santa Anna established the Dutch in 1634. It quickly turned into the city, continuously developing over the next century. Today it has a few old neighborhoods that are similar in style to the Dutch, Spanish and Portuguese colonial towns with which Willemstad linked trade exchange. Many buildings in town built of small red and yellow bricks brought from Holland in the holds of ships as ballast. The city is divided into two parts, the channel of Santa Anna Bay, leading to the bay Shottegat. On the west side is a quarter Otrabanda yachts - port on the east - Pund with elegant shops and attractions. Ibid, east of passing along the waterfront streets Handelskade, is most of the monuments of antiquity. Both parts of the second kind connects drawbridge Queen Emma, ??built in 1888. Attention visitors pay for itself in the first forts. Most of them were built in the XVII-XVIII centuries to protect the city from the English and French fleet, as well as pirates. Today some forts were destroyed, others are located restaurants, discos and taverns. Bikenburg Fort, built in 1703, was supposed to protect the entrance to the bay. In the good state of preservation of its main tower. Fort Vaakzaam Hayden, besieged by British troops in 1804, is in ruins, but still retains traces of historical events - in his wall got stuck cannonball. Preserved and Fort Nassau in 1797, built for the royal residence, and the port Riffort on the other side of the canal - its task was to guard the port. But the most famous - Fort Amsterdam. Once it housed the main site of the Netherlands West India Company, today - the government institution. We can enter into the courtyard to view the wall and look for traces of the past. The fort was surrounded by walls 3.5 meters thick, which were guarded by 13 guns. The heaviest of them were located in the southwestern part of the fortress. Being in the fort, worth a visit Fortkerk little church in 1769. Structure 16 m high painted in pastel shades and topped by a clock tower. The original clock mechanism of the XVIII century, extremely expensive to use and restoration, was replaced in 1990 with modern electronic gear. Inside the temple is lined cloth-like sails - it is not very large (20,5-13,25 m), but makes a strong impression. Interior mostly made of wood maha-chase. A masterpiece of carpentry skill, no doubt, be called a bench of the governor and the pulpit - the creation of carpenter Peter De Mey. The walls are decorated with stained-glass windows - the ones on the west side, represent scenes from the Old Testament, and the east - the four evangelists. In the church cellar stocks of food (and drink) and ammunition. The temple hosts a small museum where you can see a fine collection of antique maps, sculptures, porcelain and paintings. Pay special attention to the objects themselves elegant Dutch Reformed Church of the XVII century - for example, old silver cup or silver baptistery.