Georgetown, Guyana Culture

Guyana, officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana. Country located on the north coast of South America, former British Guyana, member of the Commonwealth. The country has been independent since May 26, 1966. Georgetown is the capital city of Guyana according to simplyyellowpages. It is bordered to the north by the Atlantic Ocean, to the east by Suriname, to the south and west by Brazil and to the west by Venezuela. It has an area of 214,970 km2.

Culture

The city of Georgetown is a dynamic and elegant city that reflects an exceptional cultural history. In the capital of Guyana you can see wide tree-lined avenues, beautiful lilies that line the canals, and many works and houses dating from the 18thand 19th century, designed by the Dutch Stabroek.

Places of interest

A tour of Georgetown offers several examples of the city’s colonial architecture (18th and 19th centuries), its monuments, statues, pavilions, markets, gardens and museums. Some of which are listed below:

Stabroek Market sometimes referred to as Great Market, is close to an open-air market where slaves were allowed to sell bananas only on Sundays, beginning in 1792. The market was named after an early settlement at the mouth of the Demerara River. This settlement was named in 1783 after Stabroek Nicholas Geelvinck, Lord of Capiscum, Bakum and Stabroek, the then president of the Dutch West Indies Company. The current structure of wood, concrete, zinc and ironoccupies about 0.9 hectares of land and water. The cornerstone for the market was laid on July 17, 1880 by Mrs. Kortwright, the Governor’s wife, Cornelius Kortwright. Stabroek Mercado was officially opened on November 1, 1881. The famous four-sided clock, which stands almost 31 meters above ground level, was manufactured in the United States and installed in its tower above the market in 1881. The market was designed and built by two American companies. Once described as Bizarre Bazaar, anything from gold jewelry to fruits and vegetables can be found in the market. Other municipal markets are Bourda (1880), La Penitance (1925, in Albouystown) and Kitty.
Parliament Building, also known as public buildings, houses the Guyana Legislature and the National Assembly and was designed by José Hadfield. The foundation stone was laid in 1829 and the building was completed in 1834.
The Superior Court, also called the Victoria Courts Act, was designed by César Castellani and opened on May 24, 1887. In front of the Supreme Court is a statue of Queen Victoria, which was unveiled on September 4, 1894 by the Governor, Sir Charles Lees. The statue was moved to the City Engineer Department complex in 1990 and subsequently returned to the Supreme Court compound.
The National Museum is located on North Road, in a complex of buildings that opened in 1951. The collections of the Museum are already in the Carneige building. Other museums in the city include the National Military Museum at Camp Ayanganna, Tomas Lands, the Police Museum at the Leary Eva Police Headquarters, and the Museum of African Art on Barima Avenue. The Monument to the ¹ of the Non-Aligned Movement on the path of the company, east of the hand in the construction of the Hand, is a tribute to the founding leaders of the Non-Aligned Movement. It was released in 1972 by the first President of Guyana, Arthur Chung, and includes busts of Gamal Abd Al-Nasser from Egypt, Kwame Nkrumah from Ghana, Jawaharlal Nehru from India, and Josip Broz Tito from Yugoslavia.
The War or Memorial Cenotaph, at the southern end of Main Street, is near the Bank of Guyana and the National Library building. The marble monument, about 4.5 meters high, is a memorial to those who fell in the first and second world wars.
The National Library, formerly known as the Georgetown Public Free Library, was opened in 1909. The construction was financed by a Scottish-American-born philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, after whom the building was named.
The State House is the official residence of the President of Guyana. The original structure was built in 1845 and was known as Government House, the home of the Governors of British Guiana for over 100 years.
The Liberation Monument was discovered on the Umana Yana esplanade during 1974. The monument in commemoration and solidarity with the Liberation Movement of Africa and is composed of five pillars of the Green Heart of irregular height and a granite slab with stones around its base.
The Lighthouse, a brick and concrete structure around 31 meters high, was built by the British in 1830 near the mouth of the Demerara River. It is the only lighthouse in the country and a guide for ships in Georgetown Harbor with its rotating beacon.
The National Independence Monument, in Brickdam, near Vlissengen Road, is a gift to the people of Guyana, from the Demerara Bauxite Company (Demba) to commemorate the Independence of Guyana from Great Britain on May 26, 1966. The structure, in the form of an arc, consists of three tubes of aluminum from bauxite Guyana mounted on a base of quartz. The bow was designed by a Canadian engineer, Edric Klak.

Georgetown’s tropical gardens are considered the best in the world, and of course, if this country is home to a huge number of native species that come from the same jungle. Around the city you can find the colorful markets of the East Indies.

Religion

St. George’s Cathedral is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese in Guyana. It is one of the tallest, freestanding wooden buildings in the world with its tower over 40 meters high. The building was designed by Sir Arthur Bloomfield and the foundation stone was laid on November 21, 1889. The cathedral was inaugurated by Bishop William Piercy Austin on August 24, 1892 and dedicated by Bishop P. Swaby on November 8, 1894.

Other places of worship in Georgetown include: